{"id":15833,"date":"2011-10-06T01:23:07","date_gmt":"2011-10-06T00:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrianwarnock.com\/?p=15833"},"modified":"2017-09-16T18:26:10","modified_gmt":"2017-09-16T17:26:10","slug":"rip-steve-jobs-his-thoughts-on-living-like-you-will-die-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/rip-steve-jobs-his-thoughts-on-living-like-you-will-die-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"RIP Steve Jobs – his thoughts on living like you will die tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Steve Jobs has died of cancer. I think a suitable way to remember him today is to read this quote from him in 2005, not very long after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. There is no doubt that he made a massive impact in those \u201cextra\u201d years since the diagnosis to which in the end he would succumb:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: \u201cIf you live each day as if it was your last, someday youll most certainly be right.\u201d It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: \u201cIf today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?<\/strong>\u201d And whenever the answer has been \u201cNo\u201d for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.<\/p>\n

Remembering that Ill be dead soon is the most important tool Ive ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.<\/strong> Because almost everything \u2014 all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure \u2013 these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.<\/strong> You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.<\/p>\n

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didnt even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctors code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought youd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.I lived with that diagnosis all day.<\/p>\n

Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I\u2019m fine now. This was the closest I\u2019ve been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades.<\/p>\n

Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: No one wants to die<\/strong>. Even people who want to go to heaven dont want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Lifes change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.<\/strong> Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so dont waste it living someone elses life.<\/strong> Dont be trapped by dogma \u2014 which is living with the results of other peoples thinking. Dont let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.\u201d<\/p>\n

via Text of Steve Jobs Commencement address 2005<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou can\u2019t just ask customers what they want . . .By the time you get it built, they\u2019ll want something new.\u201d Steve Jobs http:\/\/bbc.in\/p7tvSf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don\u2019t know what they want until you show it to them.\u201d \u00a0BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been one of my mantras \u2014 focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it\u2019s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n

BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing the richest man in the cemetery doesn\u2019t matter to me \u2026 Going to bed at night saying we\u2019ve done something wonderful\u2026 that\u2019s what matters to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wall Street Journal, May 25, 1993<\/p>\n

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Steve Jobs has died of cancer. I think a suitable way to remember him today is to read this quote from him in 2005, not very long after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. There is no doubt that he made a massive impact in those \u201cextra\u201d years since the diagnosis to which in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[538],"class_list":["post-15833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nRIP Steve Jobs - his thoughts on living like you will die tomorrow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Steve Jobs has died of cancer. 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My qualifications and training reflect this integrated background: \u2192 British MB BS medical degree (equivalent to an MD in the USA) \u2192 Postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed) \u2192 Theological training courses run by Newfrontiers","sameAs":["http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/adrianwarnock"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/author\/awarnock\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15833\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}