Steve Jobs: The Legendary, The Visionary, The Revolutionary.

Steve Jobs the former CEO of Apple Inc. and one of the greatest visionary and humanitarian of the world was lost to us couple of month ago. With great ambitions and enormous will power he astonished the world through his innovative inventions which has considerably changed the style and the psyche of world towards technology. The great man died of a rare pancreatic disease which affected him.

                Steve Jobs through his works made many happy and inspired many to make others happy. He added a motto to lives of many. He was a unique creation of god who departed early because he had completed the mission assigned by God much earlier than anyone of us can. He saw things in different ways which enabled him to see something which we would take a life time to notice. A personality like him is not so easy to find but is hard to forget. The inspiration behind the revolutionary products like Mac Book, I Pad, I Pod and I Phone was none other than the dreams, imaginations and ideas as well as Steve’s calibre to implement them. His role in development of technology and that of humanity in world was significant. The social commitments he showed was something exemplary and will inspire every human to kindle the light amidst darkness till time humanity subsist.

                Once-in-a-lifetime, people grace our world and bring a force with them that leaves the world in awe of their vision, determination and ability to mesh the two into something tangible. We hang onto their creations, hoping to catch just a tiny sliver of their magic! The most amazing thing about these once-in-a-lifetime people is that when they go back into the universe beyond the stars, they don't disappear. They radiate. Their magic remains and our world reflects their brilliance in a whole new light. Steve was such a person. His charisma, his attitude, humour, intelligence has amazed the world forever since he co founded Apple Inc. Without Steve's inspiring keynotes and the ground breaking products Apple has come up with our lives and the world would not have been the same. He changed the way we listen, the way we watch, the way we interact, the way we communicate, with style, with simplicity and with elegance. His impact will be felt for generations, and his example will be cherished.

                The great man who was exiled from Apple in 1985, following a power struggle in Apple, made a glamorous return to Apple in 1997 as he was called back by Apple itself considering the revolutionary works he done during the 12 year period. He said being fired from Apple was the best thing that could have happened to him; "The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life." And added "I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful-tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it”. He was a man who changed the view how we see (and work with) the personal computer, with Apple as a reference, continuously raising the bar for exciting innovations. He gave utmost importance to his ideas. However bad they were he followed it to implement them. “I never idolized a person, but an idea. People very often tend to set you back, but ideas no matter how bad they are they keep you moving forward.” Today we lost a realist that was driven forward by idealism. Even though the very essence of the philosophies are contradictory to each other, he personified them both, just like an idea. “An idea that reminds you, no matter how bleak the future is, it is your responsibility to change that future for the better. When the future becomes the present, and "clears out the old to make way for the new", we are going to be driven forward by the same idea.” He said.

                He inspired the world in ways uncountable and its effects unimaginable. The great man made rapid progress in the technological world. His innovative ideas paved way for the invention of the GUI (Graphical User Interface), which now has become the cornerstone of computing technologies. He transcended the horizons of achievements and success for Apple Inc. He was an extraordinary man who led ordinary people out of ordinary times. He created new set marks for others to follow. He truly was a role model who took initiative in changing the world in an innovative and unique way. He was a good administrator of Apple Inc. by working for only $1 a year even holding 5.426 million Apple shares along with 138 million shares in Disney. He accepted this salary to reduce the economic pressure as Apple was going through difficulties. Jobs knew what was truly pivotal and centre to one's life. His ideas have been paradigm shifting and revolutionary. But his aura stems from his humanity, straightforwardness and hard work.

                His death accounts for a blank space in the progress card of world which none other can fill. His impact will be serving us with inspiration and strong will to march towards prosperity and humanity. His achievements and untimely death proves that you don't have to live long to leave your mark on this world. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” Jobs said. “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 importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” If you follow this then you are ought to be a success to be followed by others.

He believed in working hard. Like he once said ... "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on”. He was a visionary and a great business man. He was the greatest CEO in corporate h history. He approached any core belief with passion and vision.

Today we all miss him, because there are very few people whose death causes a pain of losing in everyone’s mind, even if we don’t know them, and Steve was one of them. It always feels awful to lose our loved ones sooner than expected and now the world feels the same to lose such a charismatic hero of the Silicon Valley. Remembering that his passion, dream, visions and his spirit made the world a new and better place to live, we should inherit the inspiration he left behind and use it up as energy to work for the cause you are fighting. This will ensure that his death will not go vain. Let’s follow the lessons of Steve Jobs of dedication, determination and devotion to the work, implementing innovative and unique ideas through independent thinking and overall becoming a better human. May his soul rest in peace and may God be kind to continue to create such visionaries for the coming generations.  

Sarath C Warrier
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