Thanks, Steve: Lessons from the Apple icon to pass on to your kids.

1. Love what you do. Clearly, passion fueled his genius, and he had his parents to thank. Paul and Clara Jobs raised him in a supportive but hands-off environment. When kids are allowed to experiment, creativity flows.

2. Think different. He never accepted the status quo. Next time your kid has a project to do, help her brainstorm at least two other ways to attack it besides the first thing that pops to mind.

3. Get it right. Jobs's perfectionism fueled anticipation for his covetable products. Resist temptation to gush flattery to your child for every “OK” job; he'll learn stick-to-itiveness.

Check out how these game-changing luminaries started out. Hey, you never know.

Albert Einstein

• Developed the theory of relativity; the father of modern physics
• He hated school.

 Oprah Winfrey

• Media magnate; philanthropist
• Her grandma taught her to read at age 3, which started her famous love of books.

Mark Zuckerberg

• Internet entrepreneur; Facebook founder
• His dad taught him Atari BASIC programming in junior high.

Jay-Z

• Rap mogul; marketer
• Unable to keep him from banging on the kitchen table, his mom got him a boom box.

Gloria Steinem

• Journalist and social and political activist
• She attended school only sporadically until the age of 11. 

Alexander Graham Bell

• Scientist; innovator
• After he built a wheat de-husker out of brushes and paddles at age 12, his friend's father gave him a small workshop.

Toni Morrison

• Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner
• Her dad told her folktales of the black community, which inspired her writings.