Steve Jobs and some of his many notable quotes

Nothing like stealing media from the net. But for those of you  not on LinkedIn, here are some wise words for all of us.  Before I paste the quote here, I think that those of you who use a Mac have already taken the first step to the greatness Job speaks of.  Myself, a non Mac user, am a non Mac user simply because I am in a job that requires me to have the same computer as my colleagues. But once this work is complete, I believe I will take that plunge into Mac ville, and join the rest of you adventuresome people.  It certainly cant be worse than what pc's have done for me.

I watch my son Ryan go on adventures far greater than I have ever taken. And his current one is something I have no doubt will be successful.  He knows how to study something he goes after, and doing his homework is the key to the success.  I remember his first plan to be a diver. He knew more about diving than many people who already had begun that path, and definitely more than I will ever know. His methodology of certifying himself in the steps to where he has come were clearly well thought out with a result of what he has attained in this underwater world. Why have I told you this? Because I read a Steve Jobs quote this morning and I can see how Ryan's focus matches what Mr Jobs has quoted as a description of a creative person.Ryan is a man who thinks before he speaks.

Something many of us never master.  Here is the quote:

What it means to be a creative person“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.

Another page from my son's life is something else Mr Jobs has been remembered for. Ryan is not one who takes his work lightly. I recall him contemplating the diving work even after he took the 'plunge'.  My old woman wisdom which is actually not very wise, told him to do what he loves doing - thinking not about the money - but about the joy in doing it, and the money will come. Good grief, dont look at my life to see me as a model of that philosophy. I cannot hold a candle to Ryan's accomplishments, but I am not penniless, and I am joyful. So, I seem to have part of the formula he has figured out, in spite of me. I am pasting another Jobs quote that I think is very integral in success and in life, and here it is.

Don’t. Settle.

“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.”
[Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

Oh my, after reading that one again, I realize I 'think'  I have actually found my work I believe in. I think this is the job that has plucked that string in my heart.  But why did I have to travel half way around the globe to find it? Maybe this is not the one. If I have to write the words 'I think', perhaps it is not the one. You see, that is why I have not reached the greatness he speaks of - I keep second guessing myself, instead of just enjoying the journey. I whine here about travelling around the globe. Ryan has done more laps around the world than anyone else I know, and is half my age. Buck up Frannie, you are no hero.

And here is another description of Ryan on his journey thus far. He could have taken the easy road to the work he has done. But that easy road comes with a pricetag of ownership. The route he has taken has given him ownership of what he does, who he answers to, and now this new venture he has begun.  If working for someone as an employee, he probably never would have seen the opportunity he has found. I applaud him for this, maybe because there is a large part of me in that way of looking at the world. We two have had many discussions of why we are contractors and not employees. I have to admit now, that I am an employee - but my work I am doing allows me to be very independant, which in my mind is the same as a contractor. And the reinforcing factor in that is the company I work for is a contractor - so the job is not 'secure' in the sense of an employee model as well. Besides, we have all seen what kind of security an employee has these days. Once downsized and turfed, they are given the opportunity to look at contract work another time. Following is one of the best quotes I think Steve Jobs has been noted for. Having said that, I must also mention that Jenn has been an employee at a comfortable level of employment. She is one of those downsized people, but unlike many, she is poised and ready to step up to the plate, like her brother, and seize the opportunities that await her attention. I have no doubt that she will seize a great one, once she is ready to get back into the workforce after getting her little chicks settled into a routine without her constant attention.

Conformity is boring. “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.”

[from Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple, 1987, via The Wall Street Journal]

And there is my tribute to Steve Jobs and the man who I think has been described in many of his quotes.  Ahar Me Matie, lets all be pirates and see what we can do in this world to create the life  we were put here to experience.