From his 2005 Stanford commencement speech:<p>"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."
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
This is the first "celebrity" death in recent history that's really upset me :/<p>I feel like he really truly had a rare combination of drive, personality, and talent that is extremely rare, dare I say one of a kind? Our field owes him a great debt for pushing us forward, even when we didn't want to.<p>RIP Steve.
"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.<p>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."<p>- Steve Jobs
He held out for one final launch. When I think about that, I cry. His passion kept him going, passion for work, passion for life, passion to make a difference.
What a strange thing. I'm actually going to miss him a little as if I had known him.<p>Its not going to be quite the same now that I know "the Steve" is not in his Cupertino lair working his magic.
Looks legitimate: <a href="http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/" rel="nofollow">http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/</a><p>Goodbye, sir. Thank you for changing my life.
Rest in peace, Steve.<p>While everything you built wasn't necessarily for me, god damn if it wasn't brilliant. Everybody in the community really seemed to speak highly of you, I wish I would have had the chance to experience this in person.<p>The world will always, always love you, and love the impact that you made on it. Thank you for that.
One thing that he really forced down all our throats was the importance of taste. He knew what he wanted, and he made us all see how great it was.<p>Here's a clip from back in 1996, before his return to Apple, where he talks briefly about Microsoft, and in it you can really see his continuing obsession with making insanely great things: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upzKj-1HaKw" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upzKj-1HaKw</a>
For real? Sadly, knew he was sick, but wasn't expecting this.<p>The world has lost a unique and brilliant technology / business / design leader, the likes of which are few and far between.
I grew up with the machines he and his team at Apple designed and built.<p>I was four when I got my first mac, and some of my earliest memories are those of customizing my system with the Font/DA Mover app on System 6. My earliest ideas about the role of machines in our lives were shaped by things like HyperCard and MacPaint. My dad still tells the story of the time that 14-year-old me skipped basketball practice one afternoon to install System 7 from the six floppies it came on. Apple hardware and software has directly shaped who I am today, as cliche as it may sound.<p>I recall seeing exactly one empty seat in the town hall during the 4S reveal, in the front row, labelled "Reserved" in their iconic Myriad typeface. I wonder if that's who it was for.<p>A friend just suggested that perhaps he died a short time ago, and they waited until after the launch to announce it. It's not a stretch, considering that he devoted his life's work to the betterment of Apple's shareholders.<p>Regardless, I'll miss him. He was as much an influence on my life and development, both aesthetically and technologically, as any family member.
This is a link to the "Think Different" commercial from Apple. I must admit that after watching it just now I teared up a bit.<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE</a><p>What a life.
Steve Jobs has inspired us all, through his business philosophy, through pushing the mobile landscape to where it is today, for changing the music industry as we know it, for his snappy turtle-necks, for the opportunities he has given his employees and developers on iOS.<p>The world lost one of the greatest business man of all time.<p>RIP
"In Memory of Steve Jobs" video. Made it in iMovie for the HN crowd. <a href="http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=3081923" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=3081923</a>