Steve Jobs’s Glasses Were Symbolic, and This Is What They Meant to Him- Valutrics

Steve Jobs’s Glasses Were Symbolic, and This Is What They Meant to Him

They were a hat-tip to one of his heroes.

Who were Steve Jobs’ heroes? originally appeared on Quora – the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.

Answer by Brian Roemmele on Quora:

There were a few people Steve Jobs held as his heroes. But the one person that through his entire life he held most dearly was Mohandas Gandhi.

In 1999 Time Magazine asked Steve his choice for the person of the century, and he replied:

“Mohandas Gandhi is my choice for the Person of the Century because he showed us the way out of the destructive side of our human nature. Gandhi demonstrated that we can force change and justice through moral acts of aggression instead of physical acts of aggression. Never has our species needed this wisdom more.”

Steve changed his style of glasses during the very agonizing period he experienced after being fired by the board of Apple. He purchased a pair of circular, wire rim glasses to match the picture of Gandhi he’d had since his early 20s. He later switched to a rimless brand, the Lunor Ideal i 380.

While he was working at Atari, Steve asked Nolan Bushnell to fund a trip to India for him. He did pay his trip up to Germany, where he had to work on fixing some Atari machines. Steve then took a month to find enlightenment in India and came back very disappointed. He said:

“We weren’t going to find a place where we could go for a month to be enlightened. It was one of the first times that I started to realize that maybe Thomas Edison did a lot more to improve the world than Karl Marx and Neem Kairolie Baba put together.“

The trip did, however, reinforce his love of Gandhi. On returning Steve announced that:

“There is no one that embodies better what I want to become, other than Gandhi, he changed the world.”

Steve always kept a picture of Gandhi and perhaps history will remember him much like his hero.

“Think different celebrates the soul of Apple brand that creative people with passion can change the world for better.”- Steve Jobs

This question originally appeared on Quora – the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions:

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