Motivational theory/Life lessons

How Steve Wozniak Helped Me Shape My Career

Meeting one of Silicon Valley’s legendary engineers at age 15 changed my life

If you don't know, Steve Wozniak (a.k.a ‘WOZ’) is the co-founder of Apple. Woz was the computer engineer behind the Apple I and Apple II computers.

Steve Jobs (left) and Steve Wozniak (right) working (Image obtained from The Guardian)

Now let’s rewind to 2013, I had just turned 15 and was a stereotypical ‘nerd’. I was really interested in tech but didn’t know how I can make a career out of it in the future. I was also an Apple fanatic and spent a lot of time reading about the company and its products. Although my parents were very supportive of any hobbies and interests I had, they were both in the healthcare sector and, frankly, didn’t know much about the technology sector.

One day, everything changed. I saw an ad that Woz was giving a talk in my city. Instantly, I made it my goal to attend and speak to Woz.

I remember my parents being sceptical at first as the event was mainly targeted at middle management and, well, I was 15 years old.

This next part may seem extreme but, trust me, it happened.

I spent the entire evening in my room, glued to my MacBook (my most prized possession, obviously), writing an essay on why I…