I opened my Macbook Air this morning and clicked on Safari, where my home page setting is Apple. Lovely cello music began, and a video automatically launched. Young Steve Jobs sat cross--legged on the floor with a Mac Classic in his lap, arms folded across the top, chin resting on a hand. Even then he was wearing a black turtleneck shirt. The music continued and a much older Steve Jobs appeared balancing a lighter than air, Air, on the tips of his right fingers. When he spoke, there was a low, aged quality about his voice, a self-assured wisdom that drew me into the Apple story, once again.
"There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love," he said. "'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been.' And we've always tried to do that at Apple."
Today (October 5) marks the first year anniversary of Jobs' death, the music/video montage a tribute to his memory. Last year at this time, my husband, Drew, and I had lived in New York City for 3 months. I needed help with my computer and had made an appointment at the Soho Apple Store for 9:00 am that morning. The remainder of the story is written on my October 7 blog posting, and I invite you to read it.
Before opening my computer to check today's email and find Jobs staring back at me, I had randomly picked up a book from my bedside pile to read as I munched Wheat Chex and sipped tea.
Where will you be five years from today? aka, "What are you going to do with the rest of your life, for crying out loud?" My friend, Marian, gave it to me last year on my 60th birthday, knowing that I needed direction and inspiration for the next 60. Why not think long-term?
Jobs' Wayne Gretzky quote could easily fit among the book's motivational sayings to evoke a vision of "five years from today." He has been called a visionary, someone with an idea of what the future could be like. If I were to read Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson sitting on Drew's nightstand, I'm sure I would learn how Jobs' vision became the Apple reality. Hard work, focus, commitment, perseverance, belief-in-self, and belief-in-the dream, mixed in with his own signature uniqueness, undoubtedly top the list. But it's the Gretzky quote that keeps replaying like the refrain of a song, "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been."
The combination of Jobs popping up on my computer screen and the serendipitous selection of "5," seems like a sign, or more pointedly a call to action. What is my dream, that place I want the puck to be in five years? Can I envision it? How can I make it happen? I see pieces of it, too early in the vision to share today, but it's taking shape. Time to grab it and move forward before it floats away into the "I'll-get-to-it-someday" stratosphere, where all becomes a distant mist.
What about you? Where is your puck?
"There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love," he said. "'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been.' And we've always tried to do that at Apple."
Today (October 5) marks the first year anniversary of Jobs' death, the music/video montage a tribute to his memory. Last year at this time, my husband, Drew, and I had lived in New York City for 3 months. I needed help with my computer and had made an appointment at the Soho Apple Store for 9:00 am that morning. The remainder of the story is written on my October 7 blog posting, and I invite you to read it.
Before opening my computer to check today's email and find Jobs staring back at me, I had randomly picked up a book from my bedside pile to read as I munched Wheat Chex and sipped tea.Where will you be five years from today? aka, "What are you going to do with the rest of your life, for crying out loud?" My friend, Marian, gave it to me last year on my 60th birthday, knowing that I needed direction and inspiration for the next 60. Why not think long-term?
Jobs' Wayne Gretzky quote could easily fit among the book's motivational sayings to evoke a vision of "five years from today." He has been called a visionary, someone with an idea of what the future could be like. If I were to read Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson sitting on Drew's nightstand, I'm sure I would learn how Jobs' vision became the Apple reality. Hard work, focus, commitment, perseverance, belief-in-self, and belief-in-the dream, mixed in with his own signature uniqueness, undoubtedly top the list. But it's the Gretzky quote that keeps replaying like the refrain of a song, "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been."
The combination of Jobs popping up on my computer screen and the serendipitous selection of "5," seems like a sign, or more pointedly a call to action. What is my dream, that place I want the puck to be in five years? Can I envision it? How can I make it happen? I see pieces of it, too early in the vision to share today, but it's taking shape. Time to grab it and move forward before it floats away into the "I'll-get-to-it-someday" stratosphere, where all becomes a distant mist.
What about you? Where is your puck?
I used to know...and then I caught it, scored, started chasing another puck. It's more ephemeral, with less defined edges (a happy, healthy daughter) because, I guess, I'm just there to assist on that one--not to take the puck myself.
ReplyDeleteRight now, I hope it's in Brussels. ;>
You're right, it does change as we move through life. I like the metaphor of assisting (supporting), which you're certainly doing with Lexi. Seems like the puck has both of your names on it, and I'm cheering for you to score a goal in Brussels, too. :-)
ReplyDelete(I'm glad that the "assist" metaphor worked. I'm pretty clueless about hockey! ;> )
ReplyDelete