"The essence of profound insight is simplicity."
- jc
I was in the car driving home from Starbucks when my best friend texted me that Steve Jobs died today. I checked FB, Twitter, CNN— Sure enough, my friends’ #SteveJobs statuses were blowing up everywhere. First feeling: Oh my GOD. Second feeling: Isn’t it strange how someone that has no idea that I exist has affected me so much. Forget me. The impact that a single man had on the entire world is truly unbelievable. Steve Jobs is a household name. The last few years have been run on Apple products.
“Stay hungry, Stay Foolish.” My motivational mantra. At times, it truly is nearly impossible to follow though, isn’t it?
Today, I was feeling absolutely depressed with the state of my life. Some stupid guy is being a complete asshole to me, and, honestly, let’s get real I couldn’t bring myself to accomplish anything of substance today. Pathetic. It really are moments like this that have the capacity to wake you up. Because a second later, here’s a snapshot of my thought process as I stumble back into reality. “COME ON KELLY. GROW THE FUCK UP AND DO SOMETHING. AND FOR GOD’S SAKE- STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF!” YouTube vids, articles, tweets, statuses. Today marks the death of one of the worlds’ most influential dreamers, but look at him! He is STILL making a difference. He’s making a difference by igniting a spark in all of us today. SJ told us that, “You’ve got to find what you love. That’s as true for your work as it is for your lovers. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, don’t settle. Stay hungry, stay foolish.” We have to. “If you don’t love it, you’re going to fail.” Our time is limited, so it’s time to own up and stop wasting it living someone else’s life.
In 2005 he told us that, “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”
Steve Jobs, thank you for not only my iPhone, MacBook Pro, iPod… and for making me wish I had an iPad more than anything, but also, thank you for reminding us that we can change the world. Passion. We forget about this sometimes. It’s the key to love, it’s the key to life. We (well, at least this goes for me) forget it really are the little moments that have the capacity to define who we are, what we want and who we should be. We forget to pursue happiness.
Today, we remember someone who changed the world. Who is going to deny that the world is immeasurably not better because of Steve Jobs? He reminds us that with passion- by staying hungry and staying foolish- and by not settling, we too can have a big impact.
Let me leave you with this. Steve said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. You have to trust that somehow the dots will connect in your future. You have to trust in something- your gut, your destiny, fate, karma, whatever- because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path, and that will make all the difference.”
Let’s go out and change the world. The dots are going to eventually connect. You will be missed, SJ; but, from one big dreamer to another, thank you for everything. -kml
Staying Hungry & Staying Foolish
President Obama, “The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”
"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves."
- Thomas Edison, How to Change the World
“I like people who have a sense of individuality. I love expression and anything awkward and imperfect, because that’s natural and that’s real.” -Mark Jacobs
A Manifesto for Creativity in the Modern Era
"There are Times… To hold open a door, To surrender your seat, To thank someone in writing, To let bygones be gone, To remember your parents, To listen with care, To surprise with a gift, To mind your table manners, To honor tradition, To give voice to your heart."
- Tiffany & Co.
