Reflection
I woke up to hear the very sad news that Steve Jobs has passed away age 56.
Like countless others around the world I am saddened by this news. I began using Apple products about 5 years ago and after only a week with my first MacBook 13” (the original unibody model) I was hooked. Since then Apple and Steve have heavily influenced the way I think about technology, software and my day-to-day work as a designer and developer.
Today is also a particularly heart wrenching day for me because a chap I know, age 36 is being laid to rest after also battling with cancer. According to twitter I tweeted on finding out about his condition only 60 days ago. He leaves behind his wife and 1 year old son. I’m sad to say I didn’t know him as well as I would have liked, he’s a friend of a friend, but I’ve drank with him, laughed with him and will remember him for a long time.
Cancer is a disease that seems to have been haunting me for a long time. My grandmother, age 80, whom I was very close to, passed away last year from pancreatic cancer. My uncle, 54, passed away just 4 weeks later also from cancer and my aunt (best friend to my grandmother) passed 8 weeks after him again to cancer.
I realise this post has turned into an obituary and by now you’re probably feeling quite depressed, for that I apologise, but for me the last 12 months, and of course today, have brought into stark realisation that illness is indiscriminate. It strikes the old, young, rich, poor, fat, thin, it really doesn’t care. This realisation was one of the biggest influences in my decision to go freelance. In fact the Taylor household has changed drastically in the last 12 months as my wife has also quit her job and is now studying for a degree to become a midwife for which I’m very proud of her. We’ve decided to pursue our ambitions and not settle for our lot in life. I encourage anyone who’s reading this to do the same. If you’re unhappy, do something about it. If you want something, go get it. Excuses are easy but when it boils down to it, you really don’t know how much time you have left.
I’ll leave you with two things, firstly a James Dean quote that I’ve always liked:
Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.
And finally the inspirational Stanford Commencement Address by Steve Jobs who speaks far more eloquently about pursuing your dreams than I ever could:
Thanks Steve. You changed the world!
