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People sometimes ask where my ideas come from — how I see things differently. The truth is, I’ve always lived that way. In the late 1990's and early 2000s, while running one of the most unique antiques showrooms in San Francisco, I met someone who became my friend and client — Steve Jobs.​​​​

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Steve Jobs Reflection

People will never stop believing that life can be more — that they can get more out of their jobs, their money, their future.

Everything around us — the rules, the systems, the limits — were all made by people no smarter than us. And that means we can change it.

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them — but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as crazy — we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world — are the ones who do.

Steve Jobs was a friend and client of mine in the late 1990's and early 2000's in San Francisco. He was a remarkable man — ahead of his time — and I believe not fully appreciated until he was no longer with us. Steve Jobs was, to me, the greatest innovator to ever walk the earth — until the next chapter of genius arrived with Elon Musk.

I think Steve liked me — and my staff — who were all young Balinese from the Island of Bali, Indonesia, whom I brought to San Francisco to work for me in my antiques company — a business I had for 20 years across California, Arizona, and Nevada, with multiple locations. At that time, we operated a 12,000-square-foot showroom in the Baker Hamilton Square building, owned by Ronaldo Chunchurillo, on Townsend Avenue in San Francisco— in what was then called Media Gulch, home to many new internet startups like Razorfish (which is now owned by Microsoft). The CEO of Razorfish was a friend and big client of mine, and encouraged me to take my company public and do an IPO at the time. He went on to tell me that, with the ranking you have on Yahoo, if you wanted, you could sell the URL of your website for around $10 million at the time — an offer I declined to look into.

My showroom was like a cross between a disco and what some might call a Buddha-Bar global atmosphere. The music was loud — like a club — and the space itself was designed that way. It had a global, eclectic energy: a fusion of cultures, sound, and design that hit you the moment you walked in. It was totally immersive — the instant anyone came through our doors, they were jettisoned into another world. Some people even called it The Buddha Temple — because we always had so many statues from asia, hundreds of them, personally imported from Bali and across Asia — hundreds — that I personally imported from Bali and across Asia.

I had a $45,000 Bose sound system installed and pumped out exotic world music mixed with uplifting 70s and 80s tracks that gave the showroom a vibe unlike any antiques gallery before it. It was a totally new concept — vibrant, emotional, and magnetic. At one point, I even installed a $30,000 laser gun that shot beams of light across the showroom like a top nightclub in Las Vegas — synchronized to the rhythm of the music. When it all came together — the sound, the lights, the energy — it felt as if you were heading toward nirvana.

We built an incredible clientele in the Bay Area. Many people used to come by every week just to feel good, to escape the ordinary, and to enjoy the atmosphere. My staff used to tell Steve, “This antiques showroom idea and concept was all Donald’s doing really — and he has enormous plans to take it globally.” Steve would smile and say, “What you all built here... is interesting.”

After that, my staff used to tell Steve, “You should have your own showroom for Apple — just for your products — and control the atmosphere.” We all loved Apple; that was all we used. But we often said that buying Apple products at places like CompUSA brought the product down. Sure enough, not long after, Steve opened Apple’s first official showroom — in Glendale, California, in 2001. 

We always believed, though Steve never said it directly, that it was our idea — my staff and I — that inspired Apple to have its own stores. That experience taught me something timeless: innovation isn’t just about technology — it’s about vision, atmosphere, and the courage to reimagine what others take for granted.

They used to tell Steve, “A lot of other stores come here in California — especially San Francisco — and say this won’t last. They call it a one-hit wonder, that people will get bored coming here.” But we always thought they were just jealous — because our showroom was packed every weekend, shoulder to shoulder, like an Apple Store today.

Steve would tell them, “Well, don’t get trapped by dogma — by the thinking of others about what you can and can’t do.” He always reminded us, “Your time is limited. So don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” Those words have stayed with me ever since. Because he was right — you can do anything. 

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The Golden Gate Bridge to Today​

That time in San Francisco taught me something profound — that the environment you create shapes the results you get. Whether it’s a business, a state, or a nation, atmosphere matters. I built spaces that inspired people to believe in possibility, and I intend to do the same for Nevada — to create an environment where innovation thrives, opportunity multiplies, and every citizen can feel what we once felt in that showroom: that anything is possible — because it truly is.​

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