What I learned, belatedly, from Steve Jobs

Some call him a genius, someone who changed the world for the better. Others criticize him for creating a selfish society. Truth be told, I never really developed an interest for Apple products (even though Colin tried to convince me many times of the greatness of a Mac). But when Steve Jobs died, I happened to check out the below video which was posted by one of my friends on Facebook. 

I was awed by how inspiring his commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005 was. Especially because it was the type of inspiration I needed at that moment as I was searching within myself to find what it is that I love to do, what it is that matters to me to the point that I want to spend the rest of my life working on it. Jobs’ stories made me realize that I am on the right track and that I should not give up that search, that I should continue following my heart and that I should always “stay hungry and foolish.” 

Not much later, I had a chance to read his biography (thanks, Luis!). It was a riveting description of his and Apple’s lives. Despite many technical descriptions of products, I could not put the book down (and no, this blog won’t be all book reviews, I just read a lot and get inspired by it …) and finished it within 5 days. 

Steve Jobs comes off as a passionate person regarding developing products at the intersection of technology and design. He has a great vision about how hardware and software should be integrated to create the best possible product. He is a perfectionist, a person who knows how to create excellence. But he also comes off as a person who is often rude with people, insensitive to other people’s feelings, and someone who is hard-headed, including concerning his family.

A few things really struck me and seem very valuable again in my own search. Jobs strongly believed that an excellent product sells itself (of course he had good marketing and sales people around him too, another lesson learned!). To achieve excellent products, Jobs focused. He would select two or three products the entire company would work on and that would be it. As a friend of mine told me this past Thursday: “To focus is to direct all your energy in one direction.” 

I had never put focus and energy together but am even more convinced now that if I want to move forward doing what I love to do, I need to focus and not let myself be distracted by (too many) other things (something that is actually happening with me right now, reason you do not always find a blog post on Monday morning!). So as of January 1st I want to direct all my energy at writing and figuring out what type of writing fits me best and how I can make a living out of it.

What sticks to me though, is his message to follow your heart (be it in career or personal life). As I was reminded again this weekend when I received the very sad news that a former classmate of mine at SAIS had died in a car accident: Life is short and if you do what you love to do, you can make that short period you live matter to yourself and others.

To borrow from Jobs' speech

"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 others' 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."

Have a good week.

Rose