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Tim is also about connecting people to the beauty around us, which is such a big draw to the land of opportunity here in Silicon Valley. See below for more on this abundant land of opportunity, where he has personally helped dozens of executive level people in coming to this area for the opportunities to which they were attracted. Tim has a saying,   “People come to this area for the opportunity, but they stay for the weather and the lifestyle. ... It is a very special place on the planet, and we are fortunate to all be part of it." More of his photography can be found with the link below to Tim Blake Imagery.

This area is also home to outstanding higher education institutions, most notably Stanford University and U.C. Berkeley, which have attracted some of the best young talent in the world to this area. This has spawned unparalleled innovation in Silicon Valley. As Steve Jobs noted in an interview some years ago, this educational attraction coupled with great weather, an abundance of great food and fun things to do, people attracted to this area stayed. The rest as they would say is history. See the link to the Smithsonian interview of Steve Jobs in 1995 below for more insitht into his message.
Tim grew up with Stanford University. His father went to Stanford Law School, and everything around their house growing up was about Stanford. From little dog mascots with S on them to banners, going to Stanford Coaching Camp as a kid, and going to every Big Game with Stanford and Cal when playing at Stanford since he was a boy. And Stanford Library was his go to library since high school. So it was in his blood growing up. And then...

Tim had this dream of being an architect like Joe Eichler, Eichler Homes, who, was not an architect, but that was what Tim thought back then. Tim's Dad, as a mortgage broker at his Palo Alto Mortgage Company, did a good portion of Joe's loans for his home building. So even though Joe was not an architect, his contemporary design work intrigued Tim. So his dreams aimed Tim in the direction of UC Berkeley, known for having an outstanding school of architecture. So, where his intention went, so did Tim. 

A degree later in Architecture and a super experience there at the University and at his Sigma Nu Fraternity House on Bancroft Avenue, it all seemed to make sense in hindsight. To this day, Tim is still is still a Stanford fan, locked into his DNA from a kid, but roots for Cal at the Big Games. Funny how life works sometimes!

And for the UC Berkeley University as a school of education,  Tim has felt incredibly fortunate to have attended there. And with a minor in business, off he went to first work for a few law firms to see if he wanted to become an attorney. Vern Goodin was a Senior Partner with Bronson Bronson and McKinnon who he worked for, who specialized in architectural law. That experience led Tim  to what became is new desire to jump into the world of real estate, and yet always keep his love for architecture. Today, he continue relationships with notable architects and firms predominantly in California and is an affiliate member of the San Francisco Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a member of the Urban Land Institute.

 Steve Jobs is as much a part of Silicon Valley's DNA as any one individual, and this one person so represents the highest level of entrepreneurialism, drive, talent, brilliant technological thinking of our time of any one individual that comes to my mind. Here, in this now classic 1995 interview of Steve for the Smithsonian, he shares some of his inner most philosophies of his time here. For Tim, it is a personal and nostalgic message, as they grew up in the same area and many of his references to memories of the environment growing up are parallel with Tim's.  In particular, if you want to fast forward toward the end, Steve is asked, after being complimented for a great interview, if there is anything else he wanted to add. This, if you have a moment, is well worth the listen, where he references the unique qualities of the Bay Area, and of particular note the universities, Stanford and UC Berkeley…