Steve Jobs-Yes, We Left a Message at the Apple Store

Well finally, I am stealing the Steve Jobs book from my 15 year old daughter. My other daughter is reading Blake Mycoskie's "Start Something That Matters". Blake is the owner of Tom's Shoes.

Raising kids is tough. I do think it is a worthwhile endeavor to help them take risks and start businesses when the are young, Having and learning to run a business when the risks are low, is a really great thing. I started my business when I was 23 years old in my apartment with a computer. I met my first client in a bar (happened to be from a Fortune 500 company and wanted to so some research). Next thing I know, I had the average starting salary in my hands for a three month project.

Fifteen years and 150 employees later, I was a business owner.

I believe young people need to be encouraged to follow an entrepreneurial path. My oldest daughter had a Princes Camp for 7 years and, well my younger children are not quiet as willing, but I have not yet given up. My oldest made a lot of money, turned it into a non-profit for sick children at hospitals, and now is creating a dog collar where the proceeds will support animal shelters.

Lots of kids go to college and get jobs. Then they graduate and at 50 years old, complain about not having control of their schedule, bosses, money, etc. While they are young, it is time to teach them to take a risk, learn by doing, and go for it.

My favorite quote by Steve Jobs....

" Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?" Steven Jobs

Well, we happened to be in Chicago after Steven Jobs died we were at the Apple Store and i actually was one of those geeks who wrote something on a post-it note. I wrote:

Steve Jobs...

I-came

I-saw

I-did it.....life well done!

I appreciate Steve Jobs for not only what he invented, but his entrepreneurial spirit. Well, as any good prep, we are trying to raise the future tycoons of industry over here.