You are not Steve Jobs (and that is okay)

And reading books about how Steve Jobs thought and worked and acted will never change that.

How many books about Steve Jobs do you think Steve Jobs read in his life?

(In fairness, the number might not be zero. Egos are real, and his was perhaps larger than most. But the number might, in fact, be zero.)

And that you are not Steve Jobs is a good thing. Steve Jobs was brilliant, inspiring, and successful–and also combative, stubborn, long in denial of his own daughter, famed for a mercurial style that burned sane people out, and perpetually dissatisfied. Most of us, on balance, would not be happy in that life.

You are not, and won’t be, Elon, or Altman, or Cook, or Zuck, or Larry, or Gates.

Substitute virtually any man¹ so successful in building their personal wealth through business that they’ve become pop-famous. Even the most public relations-shielded among that cadre appear perpetually dissatisfied with what life has given them.

There’s value to be had in examining the strategies used by folks that’ve built sustainable systems and businesses. But don’t get lost trying to become more like somebody that you’re not–especially when that somebody can never be happy with their life.

You risk succeeding.