Thanks, Steve Jobs.
I check my news exactly twice each day…once when I wake up and once when I go to bed. I read my news from sources all over the internet, and never watch it on TV for the simple reason that I’m a titch sensitive to visual imput. What I can read and digest easily via the internet will send me into a tailspin of despair and hysterical crying via the television. Tonight, though, I cried a little when I read that Steve Jobs had passed away today.
I’m sitting here surrounded by all sorts of Apple products…MacBook Pro, ipads, ipods, iphone, etc. etc., and am trying to quantify the ways that he ushered in a giant step off the beaten path for the world around me….around all of us.
Apple came out with an ad that coincided with us deciding to pull our round pegged daughter out of the square holed school system. We watched it over and over that first year, and it was one of the few strands of hope I clung to while in that initial phase between “Yay! We’re advocating for ourselves now! We’re FREE!” and “OMG what the **** did I just do?! We’re SCREWED!”
It was my favorite inspirational thing to sit and watch with the kids, until Steve Jobs gave the commencement speech at Stanford. It was forwarded to me, so I started watching it in my bed when I heard him say, “I’m honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. Truth be told, I never graduated from college and this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation.” I knew it was going to be something special, so I called for the kids to come in, and we snuggled together to watch it. Sure enough, his speech changed my life even more than the ipod nano.
The title? “How to Live Before You Die”
If you haven’t seen it already, stop what you’re doing and watch. it. right. now! And if you have seen it, but it’s been a while, stop what you’re doing and watch. it. right. now.
He has three key points that have stayed with me ever since hearing them.
1) “you can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots right now will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something–your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever–because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.”
2) “You’ve got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it, and like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don’t settle.”
3) “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 thing 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.”
As a family with pretty much exclusive Apple products in our home, Steve’s legacy is a huge one. But not as big as the ideas and words in that commencement address. Those were catalysts that sparked my determination to play by our own rules and encourage everyone to follow their own paths, as scary as that sounded.
Thank you Steve, wherever you are. Not just for the things that we have because of your vision, but thanks for being who you were and following your own path so very authentically.
6 Comments
I have watched that speech several times in the past, but I watched it again last night. It is our anthem and such a good reminder. Oh, and our temperature dropped at least 20 degrees the past few days – we are freezing!
Wonderful post, Tiffani. What a great guy he was.
Sent from my Mac.
Life hit me in the head with a brick this year. Thank you for posting this video I wouldn't have watched it otherwise.
As always you write so well. I more than often think, "what is the worse thing that will happen?" when making big decisions or facing what feel like huge walls being built around me. It is refreshing, though tremendously sad, that having lost so many people who meant the world to me, I know that all of this world crap we hold so dearly in reality is just that, crap.
Your post alone sparked tears in my eyes that I can't even explain. Thank you for this and for reposting Steve's speech that I have seen several times before. It used to bother me that my husband would say, "We'll be dead soon." I suppose I didn't really get what he meant. I do now. Maybe that's what spurred the tears? Not the fear of dying but the beautiful openness of what is POSSIBLE and the confirmation that although we live pretty well off the beaten path, it is the right path for us. I feel blessed to be one of those following my heart on a quest for living a free life of joy. Thank you, again!
Steve's speech always gives me a little charge! Amazing!