Today it was announced that Steve Jobs passed away. While there are a number of mixed opinions of how he did things, no one can argue that he made a difference in this world. He looked at the world differently and so many people have enjoyed the fruits of his visions either through one of many Apple Products or through the works of Pixar Animation Studios. Through his works, his vision, and perhaps even his reality distortion field, his legacy will be experienced for decades.
But in this time of reflection, I look around and see so many companies and people paying homage to him via Twitter, Facebook, and any other broadcast channel. Even the President of the United States made a point of commenting on this event. I see this amount of collective voice and remembrance and am in awe. If there ever was a person of recent years with such a bold legacy, it would be Steve’s.
This reminds of of a book I read four years ago that talked about building a legacy and the stages a person goes through to get to that point. In retrospect, the book was off if you compare the legacies that it outlines and that of Steve Jobs. Based on Steve’s 2005 Stanford University commencement speech, he didn’t seem to be a person that set out to build a legacy in and of itself or setup a foundation. His legacy was based on his stubborn focus in doing what he loves and refusing to bend to many of norms of the common era. He paved his own road and produced a legacy as a true biproduct.
Thinking about how he accomplished things and the sheer magnitude of it all, I can’t help but consider how plausible a fraction of such is today. Because of the innovations that Steve, Apple, and other pioneers of technology have given us, it is easier for us to communicate and execute and build our own visions. We can materialize our dreams and it’s when we realize we are our biggest restraints are within that anything is possible.
It’s never late to begin building our dreams and visions. Nothing is written that what we create today won’t reshape the world to the same degree that Steve did. Now is the time to start building our passions.
James Eggers 