How I was Bitten By the Apple Love Bug
It all started when I took to freelancing. One Upwork proposal dripping with new-found knowledge from Donald Miller’s Building a StoryBrand caught the eye of a prospect looking to hire a ghostwriter for a book on business storytelling that would highlight Steve Jobs’ presentation chops.
Somehow, I got the job, which meant I’d have to read a lot on Steve Jobs, so I kicked off my research by picking up Jobs’ biography penned by Walter Isaacson.
Although I was out to learn about Jobs, the Apple story was intertwined with his. It turned out that learning about Jobs was learning about Apple, and I fell in love with both parties.
It was Jobs’ eccentricity that won my heart, but as to what drew me to Apple, here’s a theory that’s not really mine. And yes, it has everything to do with the power of stories.
Poring over the connected stories of Apple and Jobs helped me put a face to the former. And in just the same way that we build connections with people by getting to know them (a.k.a soaking up their stories), I began forging a bond with the brand by discovering its journey.
But it wasn’t just the history lessons that got me hooked; it was the themes of the brand’s story and their relevance to my journey. Jobs’ goal was to make a “dent in the universe”, to do something wildly unusual but worthwhile, and Apple was his way of getting it done.
For me, spotting the brand’s values and its struggle to build an identity around them was like sighting a kinsman in a foreign land. Apple, for me, became a symbol of possibilities and proof that I could dare to do something special.
Stories are cords that connect people with others, movements, and even things. But that doesn’t imply that we automatically bond with everyone and everything whose stories we learn. Instead, we connect with those whose stories most resonate with us.
Day 3 of the Not Enough Writers 30-day Writing Challenge
