Thank you, Steve Jobs

As an Aspie, I think one of the hardest lessons we have to learn is that if we try to do something that is contrary to what our brains can handle, we fail.  I thought about being a teacher, but though I wasn't horrible, I failed at it.  I was a darn good librarian, but for various reasons listed in previous posts, I am not doing that anymore either.  So I sit at 35 and am starting all over again.

And I think of Steve Jobs.  Who never graduated from college.  Who was publicly and humiliatingly fired from Apple.  And I think of Steve Jobs, who learned from failure and moved on. Steve Jobs, who was also true to the beat of his internal drummer.  Steve, who rather than dwell on the past and let it stop him, moved on and became, well, the comparisons are many.  The Edison, the Henry Ford, the Einstein of his generation.

What he did, quite simply, is transform the world.  A college drop out who did not float up the ladder of success on a cloud but rather was kicked off a few times but ALWAYS got back on and kept moving.  Steve Jobs and the other creative geniuses at Apple revolutionized the way we think, the way we do, the way we communicate.  Our daily lives run the way they do because of what Steve Jobs created.  And the rest of the world--the Androids and the PCs of this world, they all just emulate what Apple did and is doing better and first.  

And Pixar, Pixar changed the world of movies forever.  

Really, can any greater legacy be left behind?

I won't change the world, but I do hope to change my little part of it.  And I will stay true to what my heart tells me is right. I will also strive, and it is hard, to not let the past drag me down or discourage me.

Thank you, Steve Jobs, for the MacBook I use to type this, and the iPad I used in the hospital waiting room, and the iPod I use as I train for half marathons.  More importantly, thanks for teaching the world that the greatest failures lead so very often to the greatest successes.  Your life is an encouragement to us all.

You will be missed, but you will never be forgotten.