In 1968, when Steve Jobs was just 12 years old, he boldly looked up the phone number of Bill Hewlett, the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, in the local phone directory. Without hesitation, he dialed the number and asked Bill for spare parts to build a frequency counter for a school project.

Bill was not only impressed by the boy’s curiosity but also by his courage. They spoke for about 20 minutes. At the end of the call, Bill offered young Steve something far more valuable than just spare parts — a summer internship at the HP factory, where Steve would work on assembling frequency counters.

This bold act of simply asking opened one of the first doors in Jobs’ career. He often reflected on this experience as a powerful reminder that most people never ask — and that asking, with sincerity and passion, can lead to incredible opportunities.