Saddest Dusherra Morning

As you have likely heard, computing genius and visionary tech pioneer Steve Jobs passes away today after a battle with cancer. He died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Everybody is heavily touched by the man who created the iMac, iTunes, iPhones and the iPad unsure how to honor his legacy. He will be always considered as an irascible and extraordinary impresario who led to the paradigm shift in computer industry. The transformation that took from metal box minicomputers and IBM PCs into sleek shaped Macintosh, iPhone and iPad. His vision was to use the power of complex computing to create extremely user friendly and fun to use devices for the planet. If he would have lived a decade more , no doubt you would have seen a device named as iWatch or iMirror redefining a whole experience what his “i” does to an ordinary thing. Steve Jobs was the man who will be remembered for putting the benchmarks. He was the initiators of several technologies and it drove the copycats to invent cheaper devices. He signifies the spirit of fighting back whether it was making presence felt in boardroom, captivating the ever competitive market or fighting with cancer. 

His style will remain iconic representing a guy who used to come year after year in his trademark turtle neck black t-shirt and denims with eye catching gadgets to redefine what user experience was before that and setting high bars for the peers to work harder if you want to come close to him. His presentation style in keynotes became a learning lesson for management graduates and industry veterans of delivering a presentation. Most presenters convey information while Steve used to inspire in his presentations. He not used to sell gadgets but he sold experiences to user which separates him from the other inventors. He quoted “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” and he meant it. This can be seen in his innovations or in his presentations. India never achieved the status of being the territory of the Apple’s Empire but his mere presence at US induced similar Asian products in Indian market. So, he had a strong impact. From now on he will be missed in Apple Conference’s Keynotes. He will be missed for being there as a person leading the technological transition of this era. Leaving you with few of the quotes and his legendary speech at the Stanford in 2005. May his soul rest in peace.

"Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations."

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”

“My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.”

“We made the buttons on the screen look so good you’ll want to lick them.”

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and everyone should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.”

“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. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. 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 important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Youtube clip of Steve's speech at Stanford in 2005