And that was what made him great. He was fierce, uncompromising, and brilliant, and his devotion to elegance earned him a massive following that he truly deserved. But unlike many fierce, uncompromising, brilliant jerks, he was willing to learn—and that’s what made him nigh unstoppable.
People talked bad about him all the time. I’ve badmouthed him enough, and I’ll continue to do so. His death won’t make me change my opinions. But even though I think he was kind of a jerk, I also can’t speak more highly of him, and I didn’t even know the guy. Jobs consistently did what most of us can’t bring ourselves to do: whatever needed to be done.
Either we’re not motivated enough, or too afraid of failure, or too concerned with hurting people, to do what needs to be done in our own lives. It is okay to want to be successful, provided of course that you’re not actually evil. And just to be clear, I don’t think the man was evil. He loved his wife and his companies and the wicked cool life he created with the support of those around him.
As I see it, the closest thing to luck that we can get is to keep an open mind—to learn to see opportunities, even if they’re not what we’re looking for, and to treat obstacles as things to be overcome or creatively worked around, not insurmountable walls. My friends know that I’m an unusually lucky person, and I attribute it entirely to this mindset, one which I’d wager Jobs must have shared in order to get where he did.
Our time on this planet is finite. Let’s all serve the memory of Mr. Jobs by taking a leaf out of his book, and doing what we ought to do—no matter what anyone else thinks.
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