On Steve Jobs

With all the furor over the death of different thinker Steve Jobs, I am most affected by the speech where he talked about his impending death sentence actually freeing him to be alive in his remaining time. Here is an excerpt of his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford:

"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because 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."

thanks, Steve