Thank You, Steve

19 | Posted In Life & Mindset by David

The Internet is still abuzz with tributes to Steve Jobs. As I’m sure you know, he passed away yesterday of cancer.

I can’t really say anything that hasn’t been said a million times before. But, let me just say a few words…

Yesterday, I flew back to Florida from a family trip to Portland, Maine. It was a great trip, but I was looking forward to getting home and getting back to work. I got into bed last night with my Macbook Pro… fully expecting to do some weekly planning, get some thoughts in order, then go to sleep.

Instead, I found out that Steve Jobs had passed away. It was like a punch to the stomach, in some ways. I didn’t really get any of that planning done. Instead, I was immersed in the news.

Nobody can say it was a surprise. We knew this was coming… it was just a matter of when. When Steve stepped down as CEO of Apple, we saw the writing on the wall. There was only one reason he would step down. He knew his days were coming to an end.

I don’t usually think too much about the passing of a well-known person. But, this one is a bigger deal.

Yes, I am an Apple user. I converted to Mac in 2007 with the purchase of a Mac Pro. Since then, I have bought 4 additional Macs, 2 iPhones, an iPad and an Apple TV. I will probably pick up an iPhone 4S and plan to upgrade my iPad when the iPad 3 is released.

In that aspect alone, Steve has had a major impact on how I work on a daily basis.

But, in many ways, his work has had a deeper impact on me. Long before I was blogging here, I was and am a tech blogger. In doing that, I obviously talked about all things computer. Windows was naturally the focus of much of what I wrote, but…

The computer industry is very much driven by intense competition. The very way that Windows works was very much driven by innovation that Apple spearheaded. The competition between Apple and Microsoft drove both companies to be better at what they did.

Microsoft wouldn’t be where it was without Steve Jobs. Facebook wouldn’t be where it was without Steve Jobs. Right on down the line, almost all of the technological innovations that I built my career as a blogger on… all were influenced either directly or indirectly by Steve Jobs.

I honestly don’t think I would be where I am now without Steve Jobs. Did he cause it? Of course not. But, life is usually the result of an endless concatenation of events – some self-caused and some otherwise. If Steve Jobs did not drive his vision like he did, the computer industry would not be where it is. I would not be where I am.

There are many lessons to be learned from the life of Steve Jobs. And I’m sure he will go down in the history books as one of the leading innovators of our times. A modern day Thomas Edison, in many ways.

This video has been making the rounds. If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to watch it. Steve’s viewpoint on life, no doubt shaped by the prospect of death, is a fitting lesson for us all.

 

Thank you for thinking outside the box, sir. If a man’s life can be judged by the lasting impact made on the world, then you really, REALLY lived.

Thank you, Steve.

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  • Lyn

    Good stuff. Many of the same things I was thinking. I’ve been a Mac user for 20 years. It’s weird, but I, and many of my friends, felt a profound sadness at his passing. It’s almost like we knew him. He came into our homes and convinced us that we needed 1,000 songs in our pocket, a phone that surfs the Internet, and a hybrid phone laptop contraption that we’d never heard of. You have to feel a loss to anyone who has that kind of influence. Thanks for sharing.

    Lyn

  • http://tonyclingan.com Tony Clingan

    Hi David

    I think we were all touched by his passing but yes we knew deep down his time was short

    I listen to his Stanford address often and of course did so again this morning, his observations on not letting anybody drown out your inner voice and on death being a change agent feel all the more powerful now

    We should all question what we do if we don’t enjoy it or feel it adds any value because or time is limited and life is too short to spend it on things that are not important

    Thanks for sharing   Tony

  • Kerwin

    It was an interesting day yesterday indeed. I was actually shocked at the news and had tomcheck a second source to ensure I wasn’t on the Onion or some other site.

    Sadly a site I subscribe to used his passing to make money, today they sent an apology email. Serves them right for trying that stunt.

    I was never an Apple computer fan, still is not although I use and own the company’s products, but I like how Jobs presents and I applaud how he manages to get people to line up in varying weather for days to get a new very expensive gadget. And how he changed the entire world by keeping us glued to the phones. And how he left Sony in the dust even though I think they created the Walkman.

    If I can learn anything I’d like to learn how to do that.

    As for the video, it’s powerful and only what 15 minutes. The thing about it is that not many cared about it until he died, but that’s the world we live in. Heck, I never saw it until he died…

  • Pam Britton

    David, thank you for this tribute to Steve Jobs, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time. He will be greatly missed.

  • David Coleman

    “A punch to the stomach”…exactly how I described it as well. Nice tribute David—the passing of Steve Jobs is most definitely the end of an era. Truly one of the legends of our generation.

  • http://twitter.com/sharabright995 Sharon Albrecht

    I love this address!  Thanks you for making it so easily accessible.  This is the best possible tribute to a beautiful and enlightened human being.

  • Mike Lamb

    It was like we all lost a family member. His drive and vision achieved success for his company, but the amazing culture he created has given so many of us the opportunity to absorb that attitude of stepping up, of being better and more creative that we would have been.

    Yesterday, for a brief time, took the wind out of my sails. But his passing also gave me an additional push that we all need from time to time. Rest in peace, Steve, and thanks for all you’ve given us.

    His Stanford address now is chilling and equally thought-provoking. David, thanks for sharing it.

  • http://www.belizepropertyagent.com Dave in Belize

    Firstly I’ll just say I’m a PC and have always been a PC except for my VERY FIRST INTRODUCTION to computers when I was in elementary school with the Apple IIe. (kind of ironic, isn’t it?)

    And I will also say, like Dave, it’s rare indeed that the passing of a famous person affects me like this.

    But it got me thinking…. I wonder what the reaction of the world will be when Bill Gates passes……?

  • Gerson Perez

    Great post Dave (as always).  I’m not a Mac user (yet), but recognize that Mac is what Windows will never be: a concept, a way of life, a peace of art, and all that is because Job’s vision.

  • http://twitter.com/StuMcLaren Stu McLaren

    Steve was an inspiration to many.  I too felt my stomach drop and heart sink after hearing the news.

    I’m just thankful to have lived in a time where I could see (and experience) the work of such a visionary.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    For me, it would be the same. Because Bill Gates was equally as instrumental to the development of computing as we see it today.

    They’re different people, and I don’t think Gates is the same kind of person (reflected in the differences between Microsoft and Apple)… but, despite those differences, Bill Gates has played a VERY large role and is one of the founding fathers of personal computing.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    You’re probably talking about AppSumo? If so, I saw that email. I think it was an honest mistake on their part. I take them at their word.

  • Melinda

    The world lost an incredible visionary. He was the Michael Jackson of technology. I, too, was thinking about how different the world would be without his creations.  Not a fanatical fangirl (PC), I have nothing but the highest respect for him and I do LOVE my iPhone 4 – couldn’t live without it. In fact if there was a fire it ranks just behind my kids in what I would save. :) That commencement speech is my favorite – timeless advice that applies to everyone…so eloquently spoken as only Steve could do. The tweet I saw…iSad…so true.

  • http://dool.in Dave Doolin

    I subscribe to AppSumo as well, and got the email and the apology. 

    I’ve also met and talked with Noah Kagan, the creator of AppSumo, and I’ll vouch for that email being an unfortunate coincidence, and for Noah’s apology being sincere. In fact, I’m gonna email him right after I post this comment. He might just pop in.

  • http://okdork.com Anonymous

    Thanks David and Dave. It was truly a perfect storm of unfortunateness. 

    We love our sumo-lings like we love our friends so we’d never try to do you or any of them wrong. Appreciate you supporting us!

  • Boris Nelson

    Hey steve,
    “Thank You, Steve”
    really thanks to you.
    I like this article.
     

  • Anonymous

    ,..awesome.., 

  • Anonymous

    “Right on down the line, almost all of the technological innovations that I built my career as a blogger on… all were influenced either directly or indirectly by Steve Jobs.” ?? b?st fri?nd’s m?m m?kes 81 d?llars ?n h?ur ?n th? ??mputer. Sh? h?s b?en ?ut ?f ??b f?r 9 m?nths but l?st m?nth h?r ?h?ck w?s 7500 d?llars ?ust w?rking ?n th? ??mputer f?r ? f?w h?urs. R?ad ?bout it h?re http://alturl.com/acggv

  • http://www.designsnprint.com Design Online

    Great post. Thanks for sharing. We will never forget how steve changed our lives through tech.