Reflections on someone who truly had a life
The news was not unexpected, but it’s still very tough to take. I met Steve Jobs a couple of times, but I didn’t know him well. Like most, I simply admired his skills – understanding what the market needed and wanted, designing and building products to meet those needs, having a sense of style that matched those functional requirements, and especially in managing the huge enterprise required to bring the vision to reality. He could do it all, and there have been few like him throughout history. He stands, and will always, as an example if not a symbol of what our species can do when we simply set our minds to no option but success.
Occasionally, when hearing news reports of the death of someone particularly famous, I’ll remark to myself “he (or she) had a life“. Not to put too fine a philosophical point on it, but, look, we’re all temps. I’ve been convinced for some time that the only element that gives life its value is the fact that life itself is finite. We each have an unknown number of days in which to do whatever it is we are going to do. And that “do” is limited only by our willingness and desire to create a certain state of affairs. Knowing that time is always short is a powerful motivator for success – and Steve Jobs was nothing if not a success. OK, some people didn’t like Apple products, fine. Some people may not have liked Steve Jobs personally. So what? No matter how one might feel about either, one can at least look back at someone who truly had a life and consider the possibilities that remain. It’s never too late, until it is. And then, if someone remarks that a life was in fact had, well, that to me is as good as it gets.
Sleep well, Steve Jobs. And thank you for everything.
