An Authentic Life @ edlamour.com

The world lost one of its brightest lights yesterday.  I won’t try to be wordy, clever or even pithy since there are many who can do a much better job than I could ever hope to do.  I didn’t meet him, but I feel I knew him.  Many of my friends have said the same.  He changed our world and, in doing so, bettered our life experiences.  He was the underdog despite also being the favorite.  And the tragedy of his affliction was as enormous as his success and wealth.  He was about as transparent and real as anyone ever was or will be in business and yet he was painfully private.

So, all that said, what I thought I’d do is simply share a few of his quotes — ones that have influenced me both personally and professionally.  In his words I find the same immense wisdom that the world saw in his actions.

#1

“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
– BusinessWeek interview, May 1998

#2

“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
– BusinessWeek interview, May 1998

#3

“Picasso had a saying: ‘Good artists copy, great artists steal.’ We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas…I think part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, poets, artists, zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world.”
– 1994

#4

“[Y]ou can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
– Stanford University commencement address, June 2005.

#5

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered 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. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. … Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
– Stanford University commencement address, June 2005.

Thank you, Mr. Jobs.  May you now rest in peace knowing you made a remarkable positive difference in this world, not only by your entrepreneurial genius, but through your words and actions.