Creatively Alike

The late Steve Jobs & Jim Henson Thought Different from most people but also Thought Alike each other. They created what people loved instead of what they yelled at out of frustration. Jim Henson was one of the innovators shown in Apple's tribute ad to innovative thinkers, similar to the homage to famous people on the Sergeant Pepper's album cover by The Beatles. The name of the Beatles record label helped to inspire the tech gadget company's name.

Visionaries often share similar ideas & ideals.
Steve Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011 after resigning exactly 6 weeks earlier from Apple Computers on August 24, 2011.
Jim Henson would have been 75 years old exactly one month after Jobs' resignation on September 24, 2011.
Both sold their entertainment to the Walt Disney Company.

Do what you love with a vision of what would be popular in the future instead of what everyone one else is doing now. This approach towards success produced innovative gadgets such as music players, phones & computing devices, television programming including Sesame Street or memorable commercials and family friendly movies.

People loved The Muppet Movies plus the numerous Pixar films instead of yelling at a product or creation out of frustration or that it either was difficult to understand or insulted their intelligence.

The downside is they both focused on their work to the point that they didn't want to bother others when dealing with health issues.


Think Different

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."

Apple's "Think Different" ad - 1998

It's better to be crazy by trying new things until figuring out what works, than insanely do the same thing repeatedly.


other comparisons

Both Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein had multiple sets of the same clothes to wear so they didn't have to waste time thinking of what to wear each day.

Working with dummies or puppets like Jim Henson does not indicate that one is not very smart. The inventor of an early prototype of an artificial heart was ventriloquist and voice of Tigger in the 1960s Winnie the Pooh movies, Paul Winchell. Ironically, the man who that further developed the idea, Robert Jarvic, is married to Marilyn vos Savant who is listed as having the world's highest IQ.


Disney buys Pixar from Steve Jobs in 2006 for 7.4 billion

Similar approaches to life

"Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains."

Steve Jobs - BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998

"Simple is good."

Jim Henson - It's Not Easy Being Green And Other Things to Consider

"When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can oftentimes arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions. Most people just don't put in the time or energy to get there. We believe that customers are smart, and want objects which are well thought through"

Steve Jobs - Newsweek Oct 2006

"Here's some simple advice. Always be yourself. Never take yourself too seriously. And beware of advice from experts."

Jim Henson - It's Not Easy Being Green And Other Things to Consider

(In 2004) The doctors told me that this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable and that I should expect to live no more than 3 to 6 months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to and tell your kids everything you thought you thought you had the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months.

Steve Jobs - Stanford Commencement Address, 2005

"Many of the things I've done in my life have basically been self-taught. I learned as I tackled each problem. … if you learn too much of what others have done you tend to take the same direction as everyone else."

Jim Henson - It's Not Easy Being Green And Other Things to Consider

"It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much."

Steve Jobs - BusinessWeek Online, Oct. 12, 2004


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