I can’t get Steve Jobs out of my mind.
He was only a bit older than me. Cancer cut his life short.
From an article from Yahoo! This morning:
“[In a] 2005 commencement speech at Stanford…delivered after Mr. Jobs was told he had cancer but before it was clear that it would ultimately claim his life, Mr. Jobs told his audience that “death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent.”
I am a guy who thinks about the future a lot. This week I was talking to my brother Pete, and we decided we would trust God to have more impact in the next ten years than we have had cumulatively thus far, and then do that again the next decade. That gives me a lot to look forward to.
What if I were to get cancer, to have some kind of condition that would limit my ability to live productively in this world? That thought scares the daylights out of me!
I don’t want to live in fear. If God takes me home early, then it is because He knows best, and I have to trust that is what is better for everyone. But what can I learn from this?
The article above said that his biggest regret in life was working too much and not knowing his four kids well enough. He had many people want to call on him in his last days, but be reserved his limited energy primarily to spend time with his family.
When faced with our mortality, it forces us to think about what matters the most. For Jobs, was it the billions that he had amassed? The prestige of being the head of one of the largest companies in the world? Jobs concluded that family mattered the most.
Job’s premature passing reminds me to make pursuing quality time with my family and friends a higher priority in my life. They are the things that death cannot take away; for they are eternal.
BTW, here is a link to Job’s Commencement Address at Stanford in 2005, a year after he was diagnosted with cancer. This is a great use of 15 minutes of your time!
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html
So true Jeff…So true 🙂