16 things I learnt from Jordan Price’s sudden resignation from Apple

So I read about some dude — a UI/UX designer from Cupertino, California who always wanted that dream job — to work for Apple — and then got it, only to quit after a short time. Jordan Price was his name, and his story was fascinating.

I ended up earmarking 18 things about life and work that his experience taught me. A few I already knew, but others were new:

1. When the day comes that you’re invited to the big league, what you do with the opportunity remains solely up to you.

2. Never assume people who work for big firms have made it in life, never assume they have it all figured out and have found ‘uhuru’ (‘freedom’ in Swahili). Unless you sit behind their dashboard, or wear their shoes, you won’t know exactly how they feel.

3. Revamping your portfolio or résumé regularly is essential, whether you have a job or not.

4. People love to associate with good news; the birth of a child, acquisition of a house, getting married, or getting a new job.

5. No matter how little people converse or interact with you, in real life or on social media, they are always watching, reading, scrolling, judging, waiting for good or bad news, and they know a lot about you and your business.

6. People love to embrace success — failure has no friends.

7. No matter how much we think getting to a certain level of success or achievement will answer some of our most pressing questions about life and the future, the reverse will probably be the case.

8. For commuters: Wi-fi enabled buses and train systems can actually be useful, and could boost sales.

9. For companies and firms: too many office meetings and sessions actually wear out employees. Felix, a former colleague of mine in the consulting company I worked for, always dozed off during meetings, but never in front of a computer or watching his lines of code.

10. Horrible bosses and supervisors will always exist; knowing how to manage them makes a lot of difference.

11. Even the biggest cities have ghettos; even the biggest companies have flaws that you may not be a fan of.

12. Running alone, you’d think you are the fastest — running with people makes you know how slow you actually are, and this will actually make you better.

13. Standing your ground and setting boundaries will always leave you in many peoples’ black books. People really like ass-kissers and many people prefer to be liked, thus they keep kissing ass.

14. Many people are afraid to speak out when a wrong is being done to them, especially at the work place, for the fear that they may lose their jobs.

15. Many look forward to Fridays and dread Mondays, they do not like their jobs but just do it for their résumé and, of course, because there are bills to pay.

16. There are people in this life who don’t have all the answers to their questions, who are anxious about the future but look at words like ‘fear’ and ‘uncertainty’ in the face and smile — people like Jordan Price.