Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Steve Jobs and Zen Buddhism

Steve Jobs was a man that seemed to favor the life of a Buddhist.  http://www.tubechop.com/watch/847299 In the first few minutes of the larger video we were required to watch and in the segment found in the link above Suzuki talks about the idea of Zen mind, beginner's mind.  This idea is about how we should always approach a project with this clean slate that is a beginner's mind, instead of thinking of ourselves as experts we should always approach things with this thought process that we know nothing of the ways and customs of the practice you are about partake in even if you have done this activity a thousand times.  This idea applies to the life of Steve Jobs in the way that he approaches business both at Apple and elsewhere.  The way he deals with potential employees and the way he deals with Woz is as a new college graduate might act, not a very grateful or respectful new employee but a new employee nonetheless.  You see it in the scene made in the job interview with the man that he feels is an IBM guy and asks this rather rude question and in a way that was Jobs's way of showing the man he didn't belong in this beginner's world.  This leads to a whole new way to do business across the board and a completely separate way of business that only Apple can do.  This can also be seen when Jobs is fired from Apple and is released to go become a member of Pixar, and once there shows this new world of computer animation the way of beginner.  This can be seen along the way in Toy Story that this movie was different from those movies that were contemporary with it, it was a movie that told a new story and in a new way.  This was the way that the beginner showed the world the path can be laid and taken care of by the beginner.

1 comment:

  1. I completely agree with you Rob! It's amazing to see what the potential creations having a beginner's mind can lead to. If everyone thought they were experts on the daily things that they do throughout their life's their would be no innovative new designs and amazing movies like Toy Story coming out. Rather everyone would just become complacent not searching inside to find a new way to approach something or to build and design something. I think it's fascinating (although potentially somewhat rude) the way Jobs's is able to pick into people's minds and determine whether they have the "beginner's mind" needed to work in such an innovative environment as that of Apple.

    ReplyDelete