When Steve Jobs mentioned in his renowned 2005 commencement speech at Stanford that he survived pancreatic cancer, I thought it was over long ago. I realized to my dismay that it is not when I got a nasty surprise this afternoon. I thought what I was reading in the web edition of the newspaper was a rumor for rumors are not new for The Man and all the great innovations he has envisioned. I finally had to take this bitter pill when I saw my Twitter feed inundated with condolence messages and homepage of Apple’s website.
I resisted hard to weep. I felt like I lost someone very close to my heart.
My awe for Apple started 7 years ago when I first heard about iPod from my colleague. I started following and treated Apple like any other company.
Couple of months later I owned my first ever Apple product, a first generation iPod Nano. To say that it was gorgeous is a gross understatement. I used to treat it like my child. I used to just admire it. My love for Apple thrived since then. Thankfully I owned an iPhone much earlier than I thought I would. It has only multiplied my love for Apple a zillion times for the value it adds to my life. I admired, loved and cherished Apple so much that last year, when I was thinking a pet name for my kid it took no time for me to decide on Apple.
When I heard his Stanford speech in 2005. These lines struck me:
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.
These lines have helped me immensely at least two times in the last 6 years when I had to take two crucial decisions of my life. I am glad I followed my heart and intuition and it made my life beautiful and happy. Going forward too, I am sure I will keep looking and don’t settle.
For me Apple is not just a brand. It is about Aspiration, Iconoclasm, Being Beyond Obvious, Staying Hungry and Staying Foolish.
Steve, your spirit and message will live forever in my heart and in those billions hearts that love you, admire you, get inspired from you.
I will not weep. I will stay hungry and foolish. That is the best and only tribute I can offer you.
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