“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…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.”
“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. 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.”
– Steve Jobs
The passing of any celebrity often causes us to give pause, and ask ourselves how we have been enriched by their lives, and what we have done to enrich the lives of others. This was true with the passing of Princess Diana or Michael Jackson. And while those individuals certainly contributed to society, few people have affected as many people as Steve Jobs. He literally touched the lives of almost everyone on the planet.
He has been referred to as the Thomas Edison of our time. Just as the light bulb changed the way we looked at things so did the innovations that Steve imagined and produced. And it wasn’t just the computer industry that he changed – he changed the music industry (iPod and iTunes), the movie industry (Pixar), and the phone industry (iPhone). He took on the status quo and made the world a better place. Whether you personally use Apple products or not, your life has been altered by this one individual who wanted to “make a dent in the universe”.
Yes, the world has lost one of the great visionaries in history. Yet he continues on as in inspiration to all of us that seek innovation, perfection and success. Now it our time to make a dent in the universe.
RIP Steve.
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