The Humble Narcissist

Steve Jobs is seen as narcissist by many people. But they will be agreeing that his narcissism was counterbalanced by his humility. By this humble narcissism, he tremendously led Apple, Pixar, and NeXT to be the most valuable companies in the world, and at the same time, he got high admiration from around the word.

Genius, creative, innovative, and dedicative. Those are what conventionally people say about Steve Jobs. Even many people hate and criticize him, but they cannot deny his integrity toward his works. His past time experience appeared shaped him to obtain this persona.

Born as unexpected child of Syrian-German unmarried couple, Abdulfattah Jandali and Joanne Carole Schieble, Steve Jobs is given for adoption by his biological mother. It was his very first rejection. Nevertheless, Schieble wanted him to be adopted by Catholic, well-educated, and wealth family. She found that family, unfortunately that family prefer a daughter than a son. Steve Jobs then given to un-college couple, Paul and Clara Jobs. Schieble actually declined that couple, but after they convinced her by their pledge that they would send baby Jobs to the college when he is grown up, she finally agreed.

Jobs’ childhood was spent with Paul and Clara Jobs. Paul was a great mechanic, he built a fine household appliances and great in fixing cars. It hooked a little Jobs to mechanics world. But instead of a carpentry and car he was preferring technology. In his early years, Jobs had deep collusion with thing that will be his expertise in the future. But again he got refusal, he had a very hard time with traditional school. He was also appearing his tend to be anti-authority. Many teachers gave up on him. Strangely his act and tendency were supposedly supported by Paul.

When it was time for Jobs to go to college, his adoption parent fulfilled their past promise. They sent Steve to Reed College, an exorbitant college that made them ill-spending all their savings for his education. By seeing his parent’s sacrifice, Jobs decided to drop out.

As proverbs said iron sharpens iron, rejection after rejection he experienced that seems to be his ultimate power. His first Apple Company was built in his garage. After this company was becoming big, he was fired from his own company by his former friend, John Sculley, the co-CEO and directors board of Apple for the reason that they had a different direction. But Sculley himself stated that they were never firing him, Steve himself took his sabbatical and off from that company. Whatever actually happened, that situation made him could not apologize Sculley. Driven by his willingness to prove and find his true self, he used that hard time to start NeXT. And again, it was abundantly succeed. It became his turning back to get his pride and recognition again. He rehired by Apple and started Pixar the greatest animation company in the world to this day.

Many people then pointed him as a narcissist person for how he always said that his product is better than all his competitors, including Bill Gates’ Windows. He always fly his pride flag high above in the sky, make world adored but scorned him at once for his arrogance.

After he was getting all, in the last decade of his life he turned into warm and lovable person. After getting pancreatic cancer, Steve always humbled himself in front of the youth and small people, he always bowed his head deeply facing them. He noted that finally nothing more valuable than love and friendship, neither pride nor recognition. That kind of statement, which he said very often in his last days. He even said “I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death … the wealth I have won in my life I cannot bring with me. What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love.”

People can say anything, but Steve jobs was a portrayal of narcissist pride together with humility. That charisma made him will not just remembered as great person, but beyond and immense. Eventually for him life is worth to fight and struggle, not only for honors and triumph, but for life itself.