I must admit I was a little taken aback when I heard the news about Steve Jobs passing. For the record, I was playing XBOX in my living room when the text came in (on my iPhone, of course). I quickly pulled up a few news services to confirm. I never thought he would go so quick after his resignation as CEO but that was foolish thinking on my part.
I wasn’t sad but I have since experienced a feeling of remorse. The remorse comes from the knowledge that this man, a consummate perfectionist and unapologetic asshole – the only business leader in the world whom I truly admire – won’t be around to continue the narrative. Apple’s renaissance is over, its beloved King is dead and far too young. A glorious dictatorship cut ridiculously short. I had hoped he would be introducing the iPhone 10 (iPX ?) to my 2 year old daughter several years from now when we finally give in and get her her own phone. What would you expect from a tech geek like myself? I’m sorry that I won’t have the pleasure of his existence to directly and indirectly benefit my life. The world is ‘mourning’ the loss of Steve Jobs and for whatever reasoning people use to explain why Steve mattered, it is enough to say he was a badass ninja in a world gone soft.
Plenty has been already written about the mans life, passion and commitment to the user experience – I wont regurgitate that here. Nor will I place flowers outside an Apple store or hold up a flickering candle iPad app since I’m pretty sure Steve would have thought such gestures to be a little silly. Still, people project grief in all sorts of different ways – to each their own.
It’s all about your legacy and most importantly - will the planet miss you when your gone? For most of us the answer is a solid no. Very few of us have that level of impact; especially on a global scale. Most, like myself, just want their kids to be proud of them one day. Steve has that plus a whole legacy that will echo on into the ages.
Make no mistake, Steve Jobs wasn’t Mother Theresa nor was he Mahatma Gandhi – a Saint didn’t die yesterday – but a quote from Gandhi does seem to sum up the very successful, yet all too brief , life of Steven Jobs.
“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes”
Steve thought he was always right and drove the point home. In my opinion, the world would be a better place if people ‘thought’ a little more because we seem to be running short on badass ninjas.
As I wait for 3AM EST to order a new iPhone 4s – I have some thinking to do. Don’t you?
