I’ve tried and failed several times to write some sort of a send-off to Steve Jobs. My feelings about Steve are complicated, mixed, and often changing. He was hailed as a visionary– a once-in-a-generation sort of figure. He was dismissed as a tempestuous, stubborn, and overly-demanding leader. He was loved, hated, mocked, worshipped.
However, Steve was a private man. We know a lot about the “public” Steve, from his rousing press conferences to his reputation as a stickler for absolute perfection.
Steve’s sister, Mona Simpson, had a bit of a different perspective- different from the pundits, the Silicon Valley insiders, and you and me. The touching, revealing liturgy that she delivered at his memorial service is worth a read, especially if we feel compelled to pass judgment on a guy that none of us really knew.
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.
