-image used with permission care of Tom Christmann-

 

As an entrepreneur and a person hearing about the passing of Steve Jobs tonight created a reaction I hadn't expected. Of course, being in a creative business, and being entrenched in the technology world since I can remember. I have always felt that Steve was not only a visionary and a genius, but he was also a real person. Authentic.

 

From his commitment to quality, results and change to his fearlessness and his thoughts about life. Steve Jobs, felt like a kindred spirit to me. I'm sure millions of other people around the world feel the same. From dropping out of College (so did I) to being fired from Apple, and being utterly devastated to rising up from the ashes and realizing that it truly was the best thing that could have happened to him (me too). I relate to that first hand. 

 

"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. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. 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. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle." 

 

I've suffered my own losses, tragedies and made similar mistakes but all of those things make you who you are. You make that decision in life about whether you're going to learn from your mistakes or not. Whether you're, going to "connect the dots". 

 

"Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

 

Steve Jobs reinforced that for me. That if your intentions are to do the right thing (even if other people don't always agree), and do great work and trust your instincts anything is possible. I also know this to be true. That's Steve Jobs the person.

 

From a business perspective he taught me not to pay attention to competitors, that the only thing you can really control is yourself, and being afraid just isn't an option. That when you find something you love you do it, and that when you're connected with great people you do great things. I think that's the part that many people don't think about, to grow, and create the beautiful products Apple did, took legions of people. Perhaps Steve's greatest gift was his ability not only to lead, inspire and challenge but to motivate his teams, by rolling up his own sleeves and be engaged with his people. Not just his employees, shareholders, but his consumers. He often was known to reply to tech support emails which he received. 

 

There were also a lot of things that Steve did that I didn't agree with, whether it was his thoughts on Flash, and Adobe or his militance in regards to technology etc. etc. . However, you have to respect the place it came from. Passion. Heart. Living fearlessly isn't easy and of course at times that creates opinions that are unpopular, but when you look at what life really is, it's a legacy. You get one chance and you make whatever mark you can based on whatever it is that drives you. Steve Jobs admitted he'd done things he wasn't proud of, admitted he'd made mistakes but he just kept going. Learning.

 

Being an evangelist for something you believe in, isn't always safe, and more importantly when you're that passionate it isn't always pretty. But when you do something you love - you get inspired again and you fall in love with it every day, no matter what anyone else is saying and you dust yourself off and you move forward. 

 

I know that tomorrow will certainly be a different day. The world has lost a force. Not just the founder of a company, but a visionary. I hope everyone will be blessed with just a small percentage of Steve Jobs' passion for life and creativity. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

 

Thank you Steve.

 

- Amy Miranda, October 5, 2011.