Steve Jobs :: 1955-2011

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Jobs, after his last keynote, WWDC 2011, leaning against his wife. (Via MinimalMac)

"Remembering that i'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever enountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because 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." -Steve Jobs

Genius. It's a word that gets used a lot. Music, Art, Literature, etc. but make no mistake about it, Steve Jobs was one. Upon hearing the news of his death, I shook my head in silence for about a minute. The guy had pancreatic cancer, which, sorry to be cynical, is pretty much a death sentence. We all knew this day would come, but the expectation doesn't make things easier. It just conjures up a lot of feelings I have about cancer. I've watched friends battle it before they could legally drink. I've watched it take family members who had so much life to still live. Cancer doesn't discriminate. It's claimed another victim. This time, one who we'll remember every time we turn on a computer, make a phone call, turn on a heated seat, or swipe a credit card at a gas station (yup, Jobs had a lot more than just computer patents, over 300 actually). Steve's genius is all around us, helping make our lives easier and more enjoyable, because he wasn't scared. He didn't listen to naysayers, didn't follow the status quo, and had the audacity to think differently and remind us to do the same.

Thank you, Steve. Not just for your products, but for your outlook, courage, and attitude right up until the end. It reminds me of an asian proverb interpreted as, "A lifestyle is what you pay for; a life is what pays you." We all knew Steve Jobs was one of the richest men in the world. His life taught us it's because he never measured it in dollars and cents.