He is known to be the CEO of one of the largest companies in the world.
But before Tim Cook took the reins at Apple, he started his career in a very surprising place.
Speaking on Table Manners, Mr Cook revealed he started working when he was just 11 years old.
He says: “A lot.” [his upbringing] He was focused on work and the belief that hard work is necessary for everyone, no matter your age.
“So I started working when I was 11 or 12 on the paper route.”
After years spent “throwing papers,” Cook says he “graduated” to his next job flipping burgers for a local restaurant at the age of 14.
“I worked at a place called Tastee Freez. “It was the only fast food place in town, so everyone gathered there,” he explained to Jesse and Lenny Weir.
“I wore a beanie, I wore an apron, and I was making $1.10 an hour at the time, which was less than minimum wage, which was legal at the time.”
While he is now known as the leader of one of the world’s largest companies, Apple CEO Tim Cook (pictured) began his career in a more humble position.
Tim Cook grew up in rural Robertsdale, Alabama, which had a population of only 2,000 at the time. Tim says his first job ever was delivering papers, a job he started when he was 11 years old. Pictured: Tim Cook in his high school yearbook
Tim Cook was born in 1960 to Geraldine and Don Cook in Mobile, Alabama.
However, the family later settled in Robertsdale, which, although technically a city, had a population of just over 2,000 at the time.
“I came from a very humble background in a rural town of two or three thousand people, so it was just a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of place,” Mr. Cook says.
‘But it was great.’ The house was full of love and everyone knew everyone in town and what everyone was doing. And so it was a completely different upbringing.
In Robertsdale, Cook got his first job delivering papers and flipping burgers while attending the local high school.
Later, according to Mobile press recordHe worked at Lee’s Drug Store in Robertsdale with his mother.
While the Tastee Freez where Mr. Cook got his first taste of lucrative work is no longer open, Lee Drugstore remains the only independent pharmacy in town.
In high school, Mr. Cook reportedly played trombone in the band and served on the yearbook staff.
After spending a few years “throwing papers,” Cook says he “graduated” to flipping burgers at a local restaurant called Tasty Freeze, a chain of burger and ice cream shops that still has a few locations in the United States.
During this time, Mr. Cook also worked on the high school yearbook as business manager his senior year. Pictured: Mr. Cook in the high school yearbook, Class of 1978
In a sign of his future business success, the young Mr. Cook served as the yearbook’s business manager during his senior year and was responsible for selling advertising to local businesses.
Cook says it was those years growing up in rural Alabama that taught him the value of hard work.
‘they [his parents] Instill hard work. “That stuck with me for life, the value of it, and the fact that work can be part of your purpose,” Mr. Cook says.
“I think before Apple, I think I loved work. I didn’t love work, and now I love both. And there’s a big difference you feel when you do that.”
After graduating from Auburn University, where he saw his first personal computer, Cook worked at a number of technology companies including IBM before Steve Jobs invited him to join Apple in 1998.
“I worked with Steve for 13 years before he died in 2011. That was a very sad time,” he says. I thought he would always be there, and that’s not how things worked out.
Now, as Apple’s CEO, Cook says he still uses the hard-work values he learned as a child — including one habit that came in handy on his early morning paper route.
The technology leader says the one thing he always stuck to was starting his day at 5 a.m.
Since graduating from Auburn University, Mr Cook has become one of the world’s most famous businessmen, even meeting King Charles III (pictured). However, he attributes his hard-working attitude to his parents and his “very humble” upbringing.
In previous interviews, he said he uses the time to respond to some of the 500-600 emails he receives daily.
This includes emails sent by the many happy or not-so-happy Apple customers who communicate with him daily.
“It’s the part of the day I can control the most,” he says. As the day starts to unfold, it becomes less and less predictable, and by the end of the day, all of these things can take over your time, intention, and energy.
“So I like that part of the day where I can shut out the world and focus on some important things and just be silent for a while.”
Apple’s value rises by $1 trillion
1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1, 1976, when they set out to sell hobbyist computer kits, each of which Wozniak manufactured.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first personal computer manufactured for the mass market.
Steve Jobs unveils Apple Computer Corporation’s new Macintosh on February 6, 1984 in California.
1981: Jobs became president.
1984: The Macintosh was introduced during a Super Bowl commercial break and later officially unveiled during the launch event. It was discontinued after a year and Jobs left the company.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first color Mac.
1997: Apple announced that it will acquire NeXT Software in a $400 million deal that includes Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took on this role in 2000.
Apple’s then CEO, Steve Jobs, with an iPhone
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X, and the first generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was launched on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino, and was capable of holding up to 1,000 songs.
2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was unveiled.
2011Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing over the title of CEO to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October of pancreatic cancer.
2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled the first larger iPhones – the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the company is locked in a legal battle with the FBI, with the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly attack in December in San Bernardino, California, with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple is introducing the iPhone
Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.
2018In a first for the company, Apple is introducing new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage their devices and spend less time on them. The move came as a result of a strongly worded letter from shareholders urging the company to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among children and teenagers.
2019: In January, Apple reported its first decline in revenue and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed the sharp decline in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple closed all retail stores outside China in response to the coronavirus.
2021: At an online virtual event in April, CEO Tim Cook announced Apple’s goal of becoming carbon neutral on Earth Day. Later in the year, the iPhone 13 was announced.
2022: In September the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if the user had been in a car accident as well as an improved camera system.
2023: Apple brought back its “Home Pod” after the first generation was discontinued. The Home Pod can be considered an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home as it is operated by voice commands.