Death and Dying

First, I am sorry for your loss.

I belonged to a special generation. Born in 1986, I never knew life without Macintosh or a world without Apple. A world without Steve.

Steve’s spirit was there when I learned to read and write. Steve helped me with my homework. He connected me with friends and family when I was away, and eventually gave me my first career.

I have had the privilege of serving under Steve Jobs for only a year and a half, but that time has taught me how far-reaching the ramifications of Steve’s vision really are. His mission, Apple’s mission, is to change the world for the better and usher in a new era of global communication, cooperation, and creation. He succeeded. 

The most important thing Steve did for me was to teach me how to handle death. In a renowned commencement address, Steve taught me that death is inevitable and nothing to be feared. Instead, it is the single greatest motivating force, the most powerful inspiration and the strongest agent of change in life. Death is the reason to strip away everything until you find what you truly care about and the reason to expend all of your energy in its pursuit.

Steve taught me that death is the reason to live, and I can think of fewer greater gifts to bestow on a living thing.