Thursday, October 06, 2011
This cuts deep
I knew it would be hard to see Steve Jobs go, but I didn't think this would affect me as much as it has. It's not like I have ever met the guy before, but like you say its not just the products that he made his whole philosophy about life. Work till perfection and keep what you need and leave off what you don't. Losing Steve Jobs makes it seem like this voice has been silenced. It is almost like following a philosophy with Apple products. It was so cool when you hear how he still would pickup the latest new device and genuinely hold it fondly and say "isn't this amazing?". He still had a kid inside of him. Bringing wild dreams into reality. Don't we all wish we had his job? Able to create something amazing out of nothing.
The coverage of his life is truly amazing. Even the comments of people who don't like Apple showed signs of respect. And if a lone wolf tried to go negative, he was quickly silenced. Jobs was respected by many different groups of people. For his business prowess and his love of design for beauty and function. He was known to have a temper, but usually it was for a really good reason. I took it as a sign for standing up for intelligence, and good faith and against injustice. Either in injustice in marketing through deception or injustice in deception of quality where there is none. He was true and real. Not a common attribute these days. This is what I will miss the most. A voice to standup and say when something was just messed up and he could find a better way.
My favorite quote was when he was trying to negotiate with the cell phone carriers and he was getting frustrated with the roadblocks being put up everywhere by the carriers. He said something like, " I never had to go through so many orifices to get to my customers before". He has the same appeal as why Simon Cowell on American Idol was popular. He wasn't afraid of stating the obvious. Usually in very blunt terms.
So in the end it hard to lose such uniqueness and purity of spirit. Jobs was an original and he has tried to bring this out in all of us. I think it wasn't just about the products that drove him, but how much joy they would give people who used them and tapped talents they never knew they had. Steve, we miss you.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
We aren't the only ones who are taking this very hard. As you say, Jobs garnered respect from so many, even if they didn't agree with him. I agree with you on all the points you've made.
I think his passing hurts even more for those of us who have been with Apple before Apple was one of the most valuable brands on the planet. I'm not sure all the folks who use Apple products have the same thoughts and feelings you've mentioned in this post.
A main point you have made is the fact that Jobs has always been genuine - genuine in his love of music, genuine in his love of Apple, genuine in his overwhelming drive to make products that just worked because everyone on the team wanted to make it the best product on the market. When Apple screwed up, Jobs had the courage to admit it. If he disagreed, he carefully laid out his reasoning and stood his ground.
Stitch, it has been a rough couple of days for me, and I know it has been for you as well. I already do things I would not be doing if it were not for the outstanding products and software from Apple. One of the first thoughts I had after I heard of Job's passing was that I would honor his life by doing the things I was meant to do to the very best of my ability. I think I already mentioned another blogger who kind of said the same thing - go out and be awesome, because that's what Steve would have wanted. I would phrase it like this: "Go out and pursue the things you know are in your heart, and do them awesomely because if you're not going to do that, why do them?" That's something else in his philosophy - we're only here for a short time; better make the most of it!!
We need to stay in touch more than ever!
Post a Comment