Dear Creators and Innovators,

I want to share a story that I hope will inspire you as you bring your own ideas into the world—especially when others might doubt you.

Years ago, when my wife, Girija, and I both went to India to meet a guru named Neem Karoli Baba, we met Steve Jobs. He was just 19, and he was tired and hot and hoped he could come to an air-conditioned room with “safe” salads. We met at the World Health Organization office in New Delhi, where I was working on the campaign to eradicate smallpox. We did have salads and an AC room.

Steve asked about our campaign to eradicate smallpox and was instantly fascinated by the idea that people from all corners of the world could unite to eliminate a disease that had plagued humanity for centuries.

“Humans can really do this?” he asked.

Even as he began building Apple, and my wife and I started the Seva Foundation (which he helped fund by making the first donation), he remained deeply interested in the progress we made with smallpox. What especially intrigued him was the idea of truly turning something “off”—not unlike the minimalism you see in Apple’s product designs, where sometimes there isn’t even an obvious power button. The concept of erasing a virus from existence captivated him.

But it’s important to know: the journey to eradication was not smooth.

Many thought we were dreaming too big. Too aspirational. That the goal was impossible.

One of our most vocal critics was a senior leader at WHO named Dr. Ignatovitch. He was convinced it couldn’t be done. He called the effort a waste of time and resources. He even mocked us publicly, saying:

“If smallpox is ever eradicated, I’ll eat a Land Rover tire.”

Despite all this, we believed. We pushed forward.

In 1975, a massive search of the entire country of Bangladesh found one last case of smallpox in a young girl named Rahima Banu, in a village on Bola Island. I was sent from New Delhi to confirm she was indeed the last case of variola major in nature. In 1980, the world officially declared the disease eradicated—the first (and so far only) time that’s ever happened.

And yes—one of the happiest days of my life was when we sent Dr. Ignatovitch a Land Rover tire. It was cleaned, boxed, and shipped with a note that read:

“Dear Dr. Ignatovitch,

In keeping with your promise, here is your tire. Would you like ketchup or mustard to go with that?”

It was our way of saying: sometimes the impossible is possible. The crazy ones are sometimes the ones who do crazy impossible things.

To all of you building, inventing, dreaming—please remember: skepticism often comes with bold ideas. You may be told that your vision is too ambitious, too strange, or simply unrealistic. Don’t let that stop you. When you stay focused, persistent, and collaborative, you just might change the world.

And one day, you too might get to send someone a tire.

With admiration and encouragement,