The Magic of the Word Magic.
What Steve Jobs figured out about the kid inside adults.
The word magic takes me down memory lane, watching magic shows as a child was a roller coaster of delight, curiosity, wonderment, surprise and intrigue- all rolled into one.
For me, magic is a personal experience to cherish and the kid in me was overjoyed to observe its cross over to the professional side — thanks to Steve Jobs.
He is usually known for thinking different, a rebel who grew up in the counter culture of the 60’s. But there were moments in his conversations, he retained the kid in him. Word choices are the window to the deep mind, who else would have conjured up the word magic in business context? An evolution of Steve Job’s interviews:
- 1985, Playboy interview, on Computers: “It takes these very simple-minded instructions…but executes them at a rate of, let’s say, 1,000,000 per second. At 1,000,000 per second, the results appear to be magic.”
- 1996 PBS interview, on Product Design: “…every day you discover something new that is a new problem or a new opportunity to fit these (five thousand) things together a little differently. And it’s that process that is the magic.”
- 2007 iPhone launch : “And we have invented a new technology called multi-touch, which is phenomenal. It works like magic.”
- 2010, iPad introduction: “We want to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and revolutionary product today.”
The thought of using the word “magic”/”magical” in business setting is amazing, incredible, great, and beautiful — just to borrow a few often repeated words of Steve Jobs.
In my words, magic is a brilliant way to bring the kid in us to work- the kid who enjoyed the amazing childhood charm that magic shows had to offer.
There is something magical about thinking different, cherishing the kid in all of us and creating amazing memories.
