I recently watched a TED Talk by Steve Jobs on How to Live Before You Die. I watched the video as part of an assignment for a Business Technology class I’m taking. Here is what I wrote in response . .
Internal Compass
We are all born with an internal compass. It’s this compass that guides our passion and the who and what we choose for our lives. I feel a certain envy for those who’ve had the ability to read their compass from a young age. Jobs is one such person that knew exactly what he had to do. The magnetism of his soul gave his internal compass all the power it needed to determine his path.
Then, there are those of us who have taken a tattered and broken road. A road fraught with cynicism and angst, pain and destruction. For you who do not know this road, you may conclude that it’s a simple choice and that all of it could have been avoided. However, for us who now look back upon the wreckage of our youth we know that we are both responsible and powerless in all these things. This paradox of course can only be understood by they who have trecked a similar path. Jobs talks about a life fulfilled, not wasted, not wanting, guided with every step. Even in failure he speaks with absolute conviction in what he wanted – what he had to do. In hearing these words it may seem dim, the possibility that we too may see a life not wanting.
There is Hope
I say to you, my fellow travelers – those that have seen the confusion of the past, there is hope. I have spent most of my life with no magnetism to power my compass. Not knowing who I should be or what I should do. I have seen the tops of career mountains and the sewers of life’s struggles. So, when I hear a speech such as this, I am reminded that those of us that have seen unrest have the most to offer this world.
We have had experiences that can help the world heal. We have felt the depths of emotions that give us a kindness unlike many. We have come in contact with a power greater than ourselves; a magnetism that offers us an opportunity to be a guide not only for ourselves, but others.
Final Thoughts
I leave you with two thoughts. First, as a person that has been in the technical field for most of my life, I feel a great sadness for the loss of the spirit of Steve Jobs. I believe that it’s evidenced in the declining favor of Apple that without his spirit the company may not be what it could have been. Lastly, for all of you that didn’t know at a young age what you wanted and perhaps still struggle with this question: you are enough, there is enough, and you are guided.
Photo by Vero Villa