Steve Jobs Gift To You
We are globally experiencing the lost of a great leader. Perhaps one of the most creative, powerful geniuses of our time. Whether you own an Apple or not, you were affected my Steve Jobs. Just like Michael Jackson, whether you loved him, liked him, or didn’t pay attention to him – you were affected by him. These cultural icons shape the way we understand reality, and Steve Jobs made way more possible than most people realize.
Just check the internet or newsstands and you will find tons of stories about Steve, his background, his personality, his accomplishments, his dreams, and more. We will celebrate him and mourn for him for a while. During this time, when his essence is still fresh in our consciousness, I think it is useful to consider what gifts he actually presented in being the fullness of himself.
A small blurb from Wired Magazine 19.10 (written before Steve died, yet after his resignation in August)
What makes the perfect chief executive? Understanding customers and what they want, even if they don’t know it yet. Mastery of market dynamics. The acumen of a poker champ. Commitment to excellence and brutal rejection of “good enough”. Accountability when things go wrong. Charisma that makes product launches as exciting as as Springsteen show. Steve Jobs had it all, in abundance. (Not necessarily included in the ideal skill set is a tendency to witheringly dismiss anything that fails to meet his “insanely great” standards. And a penchant for secrecy that makes the NSA look like the public library. But maybe those darker traits can’t be separated from such an exacting oversize personality.) – Steven Levy
The gift that Steve gave everybody, without much effort, was that he fined-tuned himself – and all of his work – wiht the fullness of what he believed in, and did not hold back. He was known for his anger as much as he was for his praise. His creative brilliance was coupled with his emotional range. One does not come without the other people.
In the maturation of creative mastery you must come to terms with the alive-ness of what you feel. Whether you are a political leader, a dancer, lawyer, school-teacher, or CEO of a multi-billion dollar tech company – if you want to free yourself into the fullest expression of your self and what you are creating you must plug the totality of yourself into that which is greater than you, and give yourself over to what that entails, including that which Levy calls “those darker traits”. This often involves becoming more engaged and expressive in ways you have often avoided, and usually are vulnerable and cause for concern.
Steve Jobs demonstrated that when you plug the fullness of your ego into your creative mastery than the unimaginable is possible. And Apple continues to show us just that.
To understand what it means to plug your ego into something important, freeing yourself of the traditional confines of creative mastery – click HERE and listen to track 8 – called “Egolessness”
If you are looking to step into your next level of expression – professionally, personally, relationally, even spiritually – I suggest taking some time to read some articles, listen to some stories about Steve Jobs. He gave us way more than what comes from a bite into an apple.
