This is why Steve Jobs, in my eyes, is an inspiration. You can say
what you want about his megalomania, his perfectionism, his use of
Chinese labor (and trust me, people are saying all these things. As much
as people rushed to sing the praise of Jobs right after his death was
announced, people rushed to malign him as well) but the man leaves
behind this awesome legacy that includes not just products, but ideas
and visions and words. Powerful, inspiring words.
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 other’s 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.
——
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.
Those two quotes are words to live by. They encapsulate the ideals I
try to pass on to my children when talking about goals and the future
and having a life well lived.
To leave behind an empire of products with your name on it is one
thing. To leave behind a legion of people of who were inspired by you,
to leave behind words that people take to heart, to leave behind people
that will carry on your desire to create, to innovate, to do more with
their lives, that is a legacy. That is a well lived life and a well
loved man.
You can try to dismiss his greatness or detract from his legacy by
pointing out his faults - and no one is trying to say he wasn’t human -
but you can not take away the fact that he inspired so many people to do
and to be beyond what they thought they were capable of.
If you find the death of Steve Jobs and the sadness of those who
admired him or learned from him to be a reason to find negative things
to say about the man, then you’re not the kind of person who would
understand the meaning of his words, anyway.