I’m currently reading Walter Isaacson’s, Steve Jobs, a riveting, fascinating biography about the late Steve Jobs.
While Steve was a mad man of sorts and did all kinds of eccentric things such as fasting for weeks, dropping acid in wheat fields, and meditating in his attic, he also was a brilliant man with so much to learn from.
One particular lesson I learned from and really admire about Steve is his attitude. He believed that so long as you put your mind to it there is nothing one can’t accomplish. He really, truly held to this and lived his entire life with this mind-set. One such incident Isaacson talks about takes place with a close female friend of Steve. She recalls how one time Steve decided they were taking a trip somewhere. He told her she would be the one to drive and had her get behind the wheel. The car he was driving then was stick shift and she hadn’t a clue how to drive it. She told him this but he merely laughed it off, turned on some music, and went to sleep. He literally put his life in her hands. She goes on to say that if Steve decided she can do it that must mean she can and for the next 55 miles she drove, for the first time in her life, stick shift while Steve soundlessly slept beside her.
While this may be a bit of an extreme example- no, I am not recommending anyone get behind vehicles they do not know how to operate; I found a very profound lesson from this.
Here are two of my favorite quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson to help understand: “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine.” And, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
We constantly undermine our capabilities and that which we can accomplish. When we decide in our mind we can not do something than no, we can not do that. But it is not G-d determining that fate but us putting it onto ourselves.
Don’t go for the easy, safe route which you know you can do but rather step outside your comfort zone and realize just how competent you actually are. People surprise themselves every day with that “Hey! I didn’t know I can do that,” thought. Well that’s because you never tried! No matter how far off or out of your league it seems you’ll never know if you can do it unless you try.
Another defining characteristic of Steve was simplicity.
What Apple has done is combine software and hardware into a seamless experience. Steve’s goal, which he integrated into the whole Apple experience, is to offer products that are simple and user friendly but never at the expense of quality.
No one is asking or expecting of you to make grand, extravagant gestures. It’s really the simplest of acts that can make a world of a difference.
Learning from everyone and understanding Hashgacha Pratis, the importance of everything happening for a reason, we can look at Steve’s passing and really gain a lot from him.
Craziness and all he was a brilliant man who took thinking, innovation, creativity, and ambition to entirely new levels.
Find one thing today that you think is “beyond” you and just go for it, there is no feeling more rewarding.
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