Steve Jobs is one of the most influential individuals of the last few decades. The companies he founded and the products he created made Apple the most valuable company in the world. He has certainly made a dent in the universe, and will be remembered for a long time.

“Jony Ive was one of the few people Steve was never intentionally vindictive with“. That’s a quote from Jobs’ wife (from the Steve Jobs bio, which is a highly engaging read). Intentionally vindictive. Is that how I would want my wife to remember me? For all he accomplished, one of the major things I’m taking away from the book is that he was worshipped by those not close to him (Apple fanboys everywhere), and difficult to many who were (said best here). From what I can tell, being more successful than Steve Jobs is nearly impossible. Being a better person, however, seems very doable.

Ultimately, he built two fantastic companies (Apple and Pixar). But he did so at the cost of his health, many of his personal relationships, and the respect of many he worked with. Reading through the book has really made me start thinking about the  buy isotretinoin pills kind of dent I want to make. Do I want to focus on friends and family, or work and learning? What are the 3-4 things in my life I want to focus on and improve as much as I can? I’m not sure that I have the answer just yet, but reading about Jobs certainly has gotten me thinking.