Passion forges success, creates legacy

An icon of the Silicon Valley and titan of the computing industry, Steve Wozniak stands as a revolutionary who changed and shaped the lives of modern society with his genius. With his work as a computer engineer and the pioneer of the Apple engine, Wozniak stood at the forefront of a technological revolution and armed the people of today with the technology they use.

Being raised in San Jose, California, Wozniak is a native of the San Joaquin Valley. The SJV Town Hall lecture series invited Wozniak to a moderated question and answer interview with the CEO of Bitwise, Jake Soberal, Oct. 8. The SJV Town Hall was completely sold out for the first time ever.

During the two-hour segment of question and answer, Wozniak spoke to Soberal and the audience about his personal life, the way he honed his craft and what led him to success.

Ever since a young age Wozniak wanted to be an engineer, but he was unsure what kind of engineer he would become.

“I knew I was going to be an engineer because I liked making peoples lives easier,” Wozniak said. “I just didn’t know I was going to be a computing engineer. But I love it. I loved only having to add 0’s and 1’s. I loved computers and how easy they made life for people and companies.”

As a young computer engineer, Wozniak enjoyed working with computer chips. Creating them, and making them perform simple tasks, he eventually devised a game that he played with his designs.

“I always really enjoyed computers because they were so simple for me and easy to understand,” Wozniak said. “I eventually started designing my own computers. And when I would design them, I started trying to use less making them more efficient. Sometimes when I thought I had one chip that could do one function, I could find a way to make it do another function.”

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Later in the interview as the conversation shifted to Apple, Wozniak made an off the cuff comment about the conception of the company.

“The garage was a myth,” Wozniak said. “It was made up by an advertising company to brand Apple.”

During his time growing up in the Valley, Wozniak played pranks on people with the inventions that he created and the technology he manipulated. Because of this, Wozniak believes that pranks are important for some part of the creative process.

“When I was growing up, I played lots of pranks on people, but I really got in to it when I met Jobs,” Wozniak said. “Jobs and I with a lot of our friends played pranks on other schools, like turning the sprinkler systems on at games. I think that pranks are actually a very good thing and help with creativity. When a person is pulling a prank they’re thinking of things in a different way than most people would.”

Though Wozniak enjoyed having a few friends, he later thinks that it was best for him and his passion to mostly stay to himself and practice with his designs.

“It caused me to become a very independent person,” Wozniak said. “I didn’t stay and talk people at school outside of my group of computer friends. I stayed at home and read these books from computer companies and then designed my own computers. I eventually wrote my own book about them because I was so good.”

Though Wozniak is successful by financial means, he was only interested in practicing his craft.

“Anything I’ve ever built I built for myself and my enjoyment,” Wozniak said. “I never did it for the money or the company. I just wanted to build things and show off my engineering skills.”

Throughout the interview, Wozniak stressed the importance of creativity, passion, and freedom as cornerstones for success. With his countless inventions and entrepreneurial spirit, Wozniak empowered the generations of today with an engine to fuel their visions.

For more information about Steve Wozniak, please visit his official website.

For more features, read the Oct. 15 article Homecoming from around the world: Day 3. To read about the last San Joaquin Valley Town Hall lecture, please visit Humble beginnings inspire sweet success.

This author can be reached via Twitter @RRoggenstein or via email at [email protected].