FabTrol Insights

This morning FabTrol's halls and email inboxes are abuzz with conversations about Steve Jobs and his impact on us and the world. We are saddened by his passing but always encouraged by the power and value of his work and example.

Before Steve Jobs, great designers preached the value of elegant solutions.  They filled books with examples of objects and devices that, once they existed, felt like they were destined to be delivered in that particular way. A few enlightened people learned from this message and appreciated these books.  Then Steve Jobs helped the rest of us catch up and catch on.  He raised popular expectations and let the consumer know that he should expect elegant technology that was easy to learn and delightful to use.

He was raised by uneducated parents, a college drop-out and, in his words, "very publicly fired" from the company he started in his garage.  Here is his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford where he describes the philosophy that helped him connect those and other dots for good purpose in his life.

From that speech,

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 other's 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 ...