Last week, I had a Mega-WOW at Mega Partnering V in Dallas Texas!
Pictured Left to Right, JT Foxx, Tom Sheppard, Steve Wozniak
Pictured Left to Right, Tom Sheppard and Eric Trump
Pictured Left to Right, Tom Sheppard and Bret Michaels
Yes, that is me in all three pictures! Although the first two were red carpet photos, in coming days I hope to be able to post the videos of me chatting with each of these guys in a private reception where I got to meet them one-on-one. You might notice that the picture with Bret Michaels is in his private tour bus where I was able to meet with him and chat one-on-one for several minutes.
As great as it was to meet and talk with Bret Michaels and Eric Trump, the highlight for me was visiting with Steve Wozniak.
I was working in ComputerLand when the Apple Lisa was created (it was the immediate predecessor of the Apple Macintosh). I remember selling the Apple, the Apple II and the Apple IIe. Most people using a personal computer these days, have never seen or even heard of an Apple IIe and very few people ever saw the Lisa or even knew it existed.
For all you techno-philes out there (like me), I have to tell you that Woz (as Steve Wozniak names himself on his card) is a real, dyed-in-wool, certifiable genius computer designer. It isn't that he cannot program, because he can, but his real love is deep inside the computer chips, making them run like champions. If the experts could do it with 30 chips, Woz would find a way to do it with 25 chips.
I found in his words, as he told his own story, some of the secrets to the success of Apple.
For him, it was a quest for excellence - always competing against his own personal best. The result for Apple was that they could do more with fewer chips (and less cost) than anyone else around. Hooking up that kind of brillance on the inside of the machine with Steve Jobs brilliance in the business is what made Apple the powerhouse it is today.
And, all that brilliance and genius is wrapped up inside of a genuinely nice guy who is as down to earth and friendly as anyone I have ever met.
You should have seen his eyes light up when I mentioned the Commodore Amiga! Like me, he greatly admired the technical brilliance that it represented. Unlike me, he had no real interest in the bad business decisions Commodore made that not only utterly failed to capitalize on their amazing product, but ultimately led to the demise of their company.
Woz is a technician and engineer, first, last and always. Business just gives him the money he needs to pursue his lifelong passion for his real love - computers.
His wildly successful partnership with Steve Jobs illustrates how people with different skill sets can join together in a venture that truly makes the most of each and produces effects that change the world.
My thanks to JT Foxx (www.jtfoxx.com) and Top One Coaching (www.TopOneCoaching.com) for creating the worlds greatest business networking event, Mega Partnering. I am already signed up for Mega Partnering VI in LA late this year.
Tom Sheppard is the author of "Fire Yourself: Get the Job You Want" available from XLibris Press. Tom has been successfully investing in real estate since 2001 while working part time. In 2008 he left a six-figure job as an enterprise project manager with a major national bank to manage his real estate business full-time. His goal is to help 100,000 people find peace of mind by finding quality, affordable homes. He is currently looking to expand his network of funding partners who are helping him achieve this goal. If you would like to know more about how you can Do Well By Doing Good (TM), go to www.CharlotteWealthPartners.com
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