“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” ~ Steve Jobs from his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford
I audibly gasped when I got the nytimes.com breaking alert that Steve Jobs had passed away. I turned to Twitter and saw that in the past few minutes the outpouring of gratitude and empathy had begun to build and would reach dizzying heights within the next 10 minutes. My favorite tributes were from Wired Magazine and on the Apple site itself. His was a passing heard and felt round the world, mostly by people who never had the honor to interact personally with him. Yet, he is with us all the time, in our homes, cars, and offices. We take Steve with us everywhere through his ingenious inventions and as the spark that so often lights our own imaginations. The legendary Apple ad “The Crazy Ones” continues to be an anthem for innovators all over the globe. Steve gave us something to aspire to – our highest selves.
I remember having this same wave of thankfulness flow over me when I heard about the passing of Tim Russert several years ago, and I remember the exact moment when I learned Jim Henson had passed away. They all died long before their time – Steve was 56, Tim was 58, and Jim was 53. All taken in the very prime of their careers, and in a short time they grew to be a part of our lives. They all share the magical gift of being able to make the seemingly complicated simple, approachable, and knowable for people from all walks of life – Steve in the field of technology, Tim in politics and government (particularly elections), and Jim in education and the power of television. All of these men were intensely involved in media, the creation and dissemination of information and knowledge. They defined our times.
Though the sting of Steve’s passing is obviously still being felt by so many, we can take comfort in how the legacies of Tim and Jim have thrived. Tim Russert’s CBS Sunday Morning, though not the same as when he anchored it, is still a top-rated show and a source of enjoyment and education for millions of people each week. At election time, we still miss his wipe board where he demystified the numbers for us. Jim Henson’s tributes can still be found in every corner where education is discussed and debated. Sesame Street is still a much beloved show. The Muppets are still iconic figures in our lives and the much-anticipated new Muppet movie will be released next month. The Museum of the Moving Image is currently showing a retrospective of Henson’s brilliant work in honor of his 75th birthday. (My post on that outing will be run this weekend.)
And while tributes to the work of these three icons are touching and thought-provoking, their greatest legacies live in the people whom they inspired, including you and me. They set a fire in our bellies and in our imaginations to do something extraordinary with our time. The best way to honor them and show our gratitude is to make our days as meaningful and creative as possible.
Steve, we miss you now and will continue to turn to the counsel you’ve left in speeches, in writing, and in your creative work as we wrestle through our own creative processes. “What would Steve do?” will be a phrase we turn over in our minds again and again as we try to design a better world. You showed us how to be a beginner and love it. Thanks for being here with us and showing us the way. We’ll do our best to carry on the great adventure into the imagination that you started.
[I am a firm believer in the power of a well-crafted letter. If you’d like to send your thoughts, memories, and condolences for Steve, click here.]
Christa Avampato 