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9 similarities between Narendra Modi and Steve Jobs

9 similarities between Narendra Modi and Steve Jobs

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Apple founder Steve Jobs were born thousands of miles away from one another, but the trajectory of their lives had some peculiar similarities.

Photo: Reuters Photo: Reuters

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Apple founder Steve Jobs were born thousands of miles away from one another, but the trajectory of their lives had some peculiar similarities.

As Apple revels in the launch of iPhone 7, the rest of the world continues to remember Jobs for pioneering change in the world of technology with his out-of-the-box thinking.

Jobs has a huge fan base in India, a country with growing number of start ups. But there are very few iconic personalities, here at home, with commonalities to the iPhone creator.

Surprisingly enough, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite belonging to a completely different profession, comes closest to Jobs.

Born in the 50s

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi was born on September 17, 1950 in Mehsana district of Gujarat, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco. Jobs, who was born to a Syrian father, referred to his biological parents as "my sperm and egg bank." He was adopted shortly after his birth by a couple named Clara and Paul Jobs.

Humble background

Both had humble beginnings. Steve Jobs started working on his first computer in a garage at his parent's house. In his famous 2005 commencement speech to Stanford University, Jobs spoke about his time in college, "It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5 cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's father sold tea at a tea stall he set up at the local railway station. In his early years, Narendra Modi helped his father at this tea stall.

Troubled personal lives:

Narendra Modi, who was 18 when he married Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi in 1968, left after three years of the marriage to travel across the country. Later, Modi started working as a RSS pracharak. Jobs too had a turbulent personal life. Chrisann Brennan, the mother of Jobs' first daughter Lisa, wrote to Jobs in 2005 asking him to compensate her for not taking care of their daughter.

Travel

Jobs, who had an eye for the detail when it came to designing, traveled extensively in India when he was just 19. In his early years, Narendra Modi too traveled across the country. Both of them seem to be on a quest to self-discovery.

Early setback

Both Jobs and Modi stumbled before they could become successful. For Jobs, it was when he was forced out of the company he had built from scratch. For Modi, it was when he was reportedly reprimanded by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for failing to control post-Godhra riots in 2002.

Hard taskmasters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is believed to have set high standards of performance for his ministers while taking under-performers to task.  Steve Jobs also had a reputation for being a hard task master. When he left Apple to start NeXT Computer, Jobs micro-managed almost everything. However, after his return to Apple, Jobs delegated his work to people he trusted for better efficiency.

Influence of spiritual gurus

Steve Jobs is said to have the vision for creating Apple after he visited the Neeb Karori Baba's Kainchi Dham ashram in Uttarakhand.

Ramakrishna Mission's president Swami Atmasthananda is believed to have advised a young Narendra Modi to join politics, when Modi wanted to become a monk.

Just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Steve Jobs took huge interest in yoga.  After his death in 2011, guests who came to his memorial service were given a copy of the classic book 'Autobiography of a Yogi' by Paramahansa Yogananda.

Oratory skills

Steve Jobs was one of the most successful marketers of the 21st century.  He had a flair of presenting Apple's new innovations to his millions of fans.

Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took up the top job, he has been lauded for his speeches both in India and abroad.

Success

Steve Jobs is credited with creating the most valuable company on the planet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi successfully brought BJP to power in 2014 with an absolute majority to become the leader of world's largest democracy.

Published on: Sep 08, 2016, 6:25 PM IST
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