Last Wednesday, the highly esteemed Steve Jobs passed away. His legacy, on the other hand, is alive and well.
Jobs was a mastermind, an innovator and an inventor. He was an overall inspiring individual. There have been many like him before, and with his passing, we have seen the impact Jobs had on so many people. However, what’s important about Jobs, and others like him, isn’t what he founded or introduced, it’s the inspiration that he bestowed on so many of us.
It’s obvious that people have no problem impeding other people’s lives. We’ll get involved in wars, we’ll protest, we’ll complain for just about anything in just about any possible way. So it’s a breath of fresh air when someone like Jobs comes around. Because of his drive and passion, Jobs was able to give his fans something and someone to admire. He pushed everyone to take steps forward, and not step backwards.
“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right,'” Jobs said in his 2005 Stanford University Commencement address. “It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
Without a doubt, Jobs had a talent for electronics, but he had an even greater talent when it came to recognizing opportunities and taking advantage of them. Take how he changed the music industry, for example.
A lot of people don’t realize how big of an effect Jobs had on the music market. With the invention of iTunes and iPods came a different world for music. Whether it was for the better or worse, iPods are the reason CDs are no longer a fad. It became possible to choose songs individually that you want to listen to and digitally download them right then and there. Today, Jobs’ iTunes is still the largest music retailer.
“[Jobs] was someone who was ready to pursue his vision in the face of long odds over multiple years,” a Chron article reads. “And, most of all, he was someone who earned the respect of his colleagues, not by going easy on them but by constantly pushing them out of their comfort zones and, in the process, inspiring ordinary people to do extraordinary things.”
It’s important that we have role models like Jobs to look up to in the midst of the issues we are so consumed by today. People are demonstrating all over the U.S. about Wall Street, presidential candidates are fighting for their two seconds in the spotlight and unemployment is still a major problem. But in a peculiar way, it took Jobs’ passing to remind ourselves of the potential each one of us possesses — which we needed — and that’s why Jobs was important. Lucky for him, Jobs had a mentality — a way of thinking — that could only move him forward.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.
