Steve Jobs 1955-2011: Sharing His Message

I pulled into the driveway after I had just picked up my son Chris from CCD. I told him that Steve Jobs had died. “Who is that?” he said. I was a bit surprised that he didn’t know who he was; other than Jesus, Steve Jobs has been one the most influential persons in my life. [Yes, I may have subtly compared Steve Jobs to Jesus :p]. I wanted to share a few of his quotes with Chris.

The first are from his Stanford commencement speech:

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.

…

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

This is an important thought to keep in mind as much as possible. We will all die. When faced with death, we forget the minutia of life but remember what is important. This should be done daily.

As I tucked Chris into bed, I said to him:

Those who are crazy enough to believe that they can change the world are the ones that actually do.

This quote came from an old Steve Jobs presentation.

Much has been said about how we probably heard the news aboutSteve Jobs’s death via his products. But consider this, Steve has given us wonderful products, wonderful products that we use to improve our lives. Now, what will you do with these products to make a difference in the lives of others and to maybe even change the world?