Steve Jobs

The breaking news banner flashed across the bottom of the tv with a sound signaling the something was going on. I looked up from my laptop to see a headline scrolling across the screen announcing, "Steve Jobs has died." Three weeks ago I read a biography of Steve Jobs that focused on his innovation and leadership. I was astonished to realize how much he has impacted technology, society and culture. The mouse you are using with the arrow icon to navigate your computer screen? Steve Jobs made that happen. You can point and click instead of typing commands into a prompt on your computer. The windows and menus you use to access all of your programs? Steve Jobs made that happen. The new Mutemath album you just bought and downloaded on iTunes? Steve Jobs did that. It didn't take much for me to realize the impact he has had on our world, but in that moment I saw how much he has impacted my family. Even as his death was announced, I was loading new songs from my Macbook onto my daughter Cameron's iPod. My iPhone was sitting in between in between me and my son, Calvin, who was playing on the iPad. My kids will interact with technology in a completely different way than I did growing up, and much of that is due to Steve Jobs.

In a commencement speech he gave at Stanford University, he talked about one of the things that drove him to not just create great products, but to be passionate about what he does. He said:

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.

There is a lot we can learn from the life of Steve Jobs - his passion, creativity, and care for the people he produced for. My thoughts and sincere prayers go out to his friends and family.