Steve Jobs' Thirtieth Birthday Present

[jayducharme]

I like the opening, with a psychedelic Dylan dissolving into Jobs. Some things in life will always be an enigma to me. There was Steve Jobs, focused on eating healthy, exercising and working to change peoples' lives. And then look at someone like Keith Richards who seems to be defying all odds and just keeps plugging along, even though with the amount of abuse he put himself through you'd think he would have died long ago.

For those of you saddened by the life you chose, remember Steve's words: that it's most important to do what you love in life. Don't choose a job because you feel that you have to do it, but because you want to do it. In the end, it's never about money but about satisfaction.

 

[SkippyThorson]

For those of you saddened by the life you chose, remember Steve's words: that it's most important to do what you love in life. Don't choose a job because you feel that you have to do it, but because you want to do it. In the end, it's never about money but about satisfaction.

I had every intention of again thanking MacRumors for sharing and spreading this video, one which I've never seen before. It was very sweet and very sad, all the while knowing what Steve would have loved to do with more time on his hands, how he didn't get to see 60, and staring in awe of a side of Steve I never saw. The video was beautiful.

I also needed to address your comment, Jay. Never before have those words been so true. Doing what you love is so simple and yet so important. I will live by that every day for the rest of my life. Life has never seemed so fragile.

 

[sclawis300]

Never knew we shared the same birthday. Steve was a lucky fella to share that day with me.

 

[AriX]

He seem so much more approachable and fun and pleasent in his first 30 years. I wish that was the Steve we had more recently as he kinda gotta a little full of himself towards the last few years. Great video thanks for it.

By many accounts, Steve became a little more humble later in his life, but I think Walter Isaacson will shed light on all of this.

Great to see this video. I wonder what his reaction was when he received his present. Steve was really amazing. He will be missed by everyone.

 

[anomie]

I'm 30, and I just compared myself to Steve Jobs at 30 and became super depressed... I graduated college and dental school and now I work in peoples mouths all day... hip hip hooray!!! jk, peoples mouths kinda suck after 3 years. What a stud Steve Jobs was! I miss that guy, and was always so excited to hear him talk or read his tweets... Huuuuuuuge loss for us all...

Michael

I dont know.. No doubt he did many world-changing things, but there is no way EVERY human beeing can live his life.
We need dentists too, and construction workers and many other not-supercreatives.

RIP.

 

[Reach]

Don't choose a job because you feel that you have to do it, but because you want to do it. In the end, it's never about money but about satisfaction.

For some, with families, it is about having to take unwanted jobs for money. I'm lucky enough to have a job I love, but I don't really like expressing it the way you just did, as it must feel pretty rotten for the ones having to sacrifice some dreams in order to provide.

 

[BC2009]

This video was cool. So sad he did not quite get 30 more years. Would have liked this guy to live to 100 and get interviewed in a retrospective piece on how he changed the world. Just imagine what he might have done with 44 more years.

 

[Savor]

He seem so much more approachable and fun and pleasent in his first 30 years. I wish that was the Steve we had more recently as he kinda gotta a little full of himself towards the last few years. Great video thanks for it.

You might have it reversed in years.

It was his later years after he was diagnosed with cancer that he became more calm.

I am 30 now and just makes me sad how I haven't done anything compared to what he did by the time he is 20. The great ones die young. We lost MJ at 50 and SJ at 56. Considering life expectancy has increased, that is still regarded middle age.

But Jobs once said to The Woz that he thought he wouldn't live past 40 and wanted to get so many things done so quickly. John Lennon didn't live past 40. Many rock stars didn't live past 27.

Such a shame cancer is the one that beat Jobs in this life. Pancreatic cancer is a rare and brutal disease. I remember Big Boi from OutKast saying something after Nate Dogg died at 41, "Your health is your wealth." People at 30 need to rethink how they eat and how to live. Considering there has been thousands of years of humanity, anything less than 80 is not long. Life really is too short.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Wonderful.

 

[Will do good]

It's amazing we can miss a person so much which we've never meet.

That's the magic touch of Steve. RIP.

 

[ecschwarz]

Does anyone know what the video clip at the very end of the video is (where he's "old" with a cigarette holder and cheesy grin)?

 

[Confuzzzed]

excellent. thanks for sharing

 

[Bez]

I'm 30, and I just compared myself to Steve Jobs at 30 and became super depressed... I graduated college and dental school and now I work in peoples mouths all day... hip hip hooray!!! jk, peoples mouths kinda suck after 3 years. What a stud Steve Jobs was! I miss that guy, and was always so excited to hear him talk or read his tweets... Huuuuuuuge loss for us all...

Michael

If we all start comparing ourselves to Steve and trying relive his live, there will be a lot of very frustrated people - and not enough dentists.

I don't believe the philosophy that drove Steve was one of craving success - it was to be the best "Steve Jobs" he could be, whoever and whatever that turned out to be. If his destiny was to be a dentist, and he fulfilled that destiny to its full potential, I think he would have died equally fulfilled. Just less famous.

Some lives are like the big, shiny, visible parts in a complex machine; some are small and less visible parts. In a society that values fame, money and visible success, it's too easy for those of us whose lives represent the less obvious parts to forget that our function is in fact equally vital. Just be the part you are supposed to be - to the best of your ability, and don't waste energy trying to reshape yourself into a part that you think others will value more. Have faith that your role is to be the best Michael you can be.

"Unknown 56 year old Californian dies. He would have done great work, but his painful teeth stopped him from concentrating. He never found a dentist who could help - they all seemed distracted, as if they were daydreaming about being someone else."

 

[cgbier]

Bez, that was very beautifully written!

 

[MartiNZ]

Agreed. Again my mind goes back to the commencement speech; suddenly everything is sounding very profound to me, but I think that really was.

 

[liavman]

If we all start comparing ourselves to Steve and trying relive his live, there will be a lot of very frustrated people - and not enough dentists.

...

Some lives are like the big, shiny, visible parts in a complex machine; some are small and less visible parts. In a society that values fame, money and visible success, it's too easy for those of us whose lives represent the less obvious parts to forget that our function is in fact equally vital. Just be the part you are supposed to be - to the best of your ability, and don't waste energy trying to reshape yourself into a part that you think others will value more. Have faith that your role is to be the best Michael you can be.

Bez, that is beautiful and rich. I am sure SJ would have said the same. In a way he did in his Stanford Commencement speech "Do not waste your time living other's lives' ( paraphrasing ) And that includes others trying to be like him.

What you say about the visible and invisible parts of a complex machine is so true. In fact, the invisible parts is what make the visible parts shine. Imagine, all of us did not do our best and we did not have money to buy Apple products, Steve's designs would not have seen the light of day. All efforts, big and small, are important.

----------

Adding to the above, if at all one wants to learn from Steve, it is one thing: Surround yourself with other people who are equally passionate. Not necessarily those who agree with you but equally passionate. That alone will carry you a long way.

 

[hob]

Very well said, Bez!

 

[bobob]

peoples mouths kinda suck after 3 years.

If you're lucky.

 

[Yaboze]

I have been really sad since Steve passed and I didn't know him personally.

Watching this had me nearly in tears, especially the younger pictures of him, what a cute kid.

I think if I watched this years ago it wouldn't have had the same effect, obviously.

 

[mrmartin11]

what to write, about Steve, simple, very simple, he was, no, he is and will be genius ....!!!!!

 

[yanki01]

awesome video.

 

[aimeeinohio]

I really enjoyed that video. And I eagerly await the book that's coming out about Steve.

This is what I posted on FB the day after he passed:

"So I've spent the last hr while I have my lunch and snuggle my wieners reading the tributes and stuff to Steve Jobs, and I'm in tears. I have to say whether you are an Apple fangirl or not, whether you like the man's politics or not, the impact Steve made on our culture has been nothing short of amazing. And let's not forget Pixar. Some of the most fun and amazing movies have come from the Disney/Pixar partnership.
I don't normally mourn the loss of celebrities, but I am truly mourning the loss of this man. To be so bright, so focused, so inventive is amazing. To see a techie with an artist's heart is so very rare. Prayers going up for Steve's family and those who are missing him today."

And it's true- usually when someone 'famous' dies that I enjoyed their work (Patrick Swayze for example), I have a passing moment of "oh, that's so sad", but it doesn't stick with me. Steve Jobs' death HAS stuck with me. I wonder what the future holds for Apple. Yes there are fully capable people however I cannot imagine anyone having the sheer drive and force of will that Steve had. It truly makes me sad that he is gone.

 

[Tarzanman]

I've never been a fan of Jobs. He has always struck me as an arrogant jerk. Reading his biography (half-way through) has shown me that my impression is not far off from that of those who worked with him.

His productivity and drive are to be commended, but I do not find myself any more sympathetic over his passing than that of any other stranger.

His legacy is mixed

 

[MartiNZ]

And it's true- usually when someone 'famous' dies that I enjoyed their work (Patrick Swayze for example), I have a passing moment of "oh, that's so sad", but it doesn't stick with me. Steve Jobs' death HAS stuck with me. I wonder what the future holds for Apple. Yes there are fully capable people however I cannot imagine anyone having the sheer drive and force of will that Steve had. It truly makes me sad that he is gone.

Yep I hear ya. And all the more so while reading the biography. I very quickly made the leap to comparison with James Cameron and how I've read he treats his cast and crew ... and then the same was said on MacBreak Weekly, and I was like wow GMTA!

But anyway, it seems to me that some of the best stuff we have has come from perfectionists pushing their workers really hard. Okay from reading, with Steve some of it sounds a bit OTT, and I'm not sure any book has reported of more tears being shed ... but still, as I said, THE BEST STUFF.

And even with how good it has been and what we have, I can't help thinking we're already behind where we could have been if Steve had sorted things out sooner - what little I've seen and heard of NeXT makes it pretty obvious that its failure set things back several years - that OS was seriously impressive, and for 1989, just wow.

And now? Well the current product lines will continue on their trajectory, but the future? How many years will we lose this time?

 

[Rocketman]

For the last thirty years of your life,
your habits make you.

In this case it is literally true. His focus on holistic not traditional medicine is what killed him early. With surgery he would have at least lived considerably longer, probably through Watch 1.