Thoughts from Steve Jobs
As everyone now knows, on October 5th, at age 56 Steven P. Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple Computer passed away. For someone as influencial and prominent as Steve Jobs, there have been many articles, slideshows, and tributes in his honor and memory.
I have a few thoughts of my own I would like to share.
The Personal Computer
When I was 5 years old (1989), my family bought a Macintosh SE/30. My father showed us children how to use it in various ways. We had a program called HyperCard that we could use to create "Stacks" with pages and images in them. We also were able to create little buttons that would do stuff when you clicked them. I remember as a young child, figuring out how to make the buttons would play music, move little icons around the screen, and pop up little prompts. What started then as childhood fun kept developing over the years.
When I was 12, my family (with a PowerPC at this point) got the Internet and I took the simple skills I developed in HyperCard on the SE/30 and used them to start building little websites. I kept doing this for fun through high school.
In college, I studied Graphic Design. I didn't plan on doing web design for my job, but with the skills I had developed it eventually made the most sense. Today, I work in the web design industry, enjoy my work, and still love the learning and discover process that started when I was 5. This was only possible because of the Mac I used as a child.
It seems a little silly for me to get choked up over the death of a man I never knew, but the reality is that I did know very well the work of this man. My life has been profoundly shaped by of the work of Steve Jobs. I am very grateful to him for the work he did.
I, in a small way, want to give tribute to a man who shaped my mind, my experience, my career path, and my life all in a very meaningful way. So, here's to you, Mr. Steve Jobs—thank you.
Laser Focus
The other thing about Steve Jobs that I've been coming to understand more fully in the wake of his death, is the laser focus he lived with. Many others have already written more eloquently than I ever could, so I won't say much here. I just want to share a quote from his 2005 Standford University commencement speech:
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Steve Jobs clearly understood the most important reality that all of us must face—death. It doesn't matter how rich you are, how successful you are, how famous you are, how many followers you have on twitter or friends on facebook: everyone dies. Death is the great equalizer of humankind.
Steve Jobs understood this and lived in this life to make the most of it. This surely is good wisdom. We must all, like he did, ask ourselves daily if we're living in a way that we'll be pleased when we die.
What Steve Jobs maybe didn't do, however, is even more important. That is to live now to be ready for the next life. We all absolutely must face eternity. There's no sidestepping it and our belief in it or lack of belief in it doesn't actually affect the reality of it at all. It's external to us and we have no choice of whether or not we face it.
What I want to do to end this is to, in honor of a great man, but also in respect for yourself, encourage you to take a minute to think about your own life. How are you doing? Are you making the most of each day as if it were the last? Are you ready for eternity?
I am asking myself the same questions. I want to make the most of what I've been given.
-Andrew
If you want some more reading and food for thought, check out a little site I made about eternity: The Vital Question
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