Learning from Steve

Today, it was announced that Steve Jobs passed away.  I'm a fan of his leadership and his relentless pursuit for excellence and innovation. He went through many challenges in life. He was adopted, a college drop-out, got kicked out from apple and back again, and suffered a rare illness. Yet despite all odds, through his leadership he gave us the mac, ipod, iphone, ipad, and even Toy Story through his Pixar years.  His inspiring 2005 Commencement speech in Stanford University went viral. He was a master presenter and blew the audience away with his new product ideas.  He changed technology forever.

What can we get out of Steve Jobs' life?

1. He turned defeats into victories.  He had all the reasons to quit and lose hope, but he kept on moving forward until one thing led to another then it led to success.  He knew that there was a reason for everything, evident in his "connect the dots" analogy of life (see his 2005 Stanford speech).

2. He was a master innovator. Steve would "cannibalize" his own products. The iphone could do almost everything that the ipod had to offer.  He knew how to excite the people with new ideas.  We need to be able to innovate our work, our products, or even ourselves.  Having the drive for innovation makes us lifelong learners.  Innovators always challenge the status quo and they know that there is something better than what they see.

3. He finished strong. He resigned as CEO of Apple at the height of his career. I even saw in the news at that time that Apple had more money than the US gov't.  I feel that if he lived longer, he could have given more. He was only 56. The tech world will surely miss him. A void is being felt by the tech industry.  He gave his utmost and truly finished strong.

I am uncertain if Steve Jobs was a Christian. But through his life, we can reflect on how we should live our lives. Christ offers us the fullness of life. With Christ, we can turn our defeats into victories. Jesus innovates our lives by renewing us with his love and He wants us to finish strong by serving Him 'til the end.


I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).

Victory Belongs to God

In my last night in Greece, we went to Sounion. It is a promontory or mass of land overlooking the sea, where we can find the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon. People drive an hour and a half from Athens to Sounion to witness the spectacular sunset at around 8:30pm. The temple overlooks the Aegean Sea. In classical Greek mythology, the Aegean sea was named after the King Aegeus. It was said that the king, upon seeing a black sail on his son's returning ship, commited suicide by jumping off the cliff of Sounion and drowning in the sea. Thus, the name Aegean Sea. His son, Theseus travelled far to slay the beast, Minotaur, and was victorious. But sadly, he forgot to raise the white sail that signified his victory, and so in despair His father jumped off Sounion.

In my reflection, there are important details in life that we take for granted. These are details that do not mean much to us, but mean a great deal to God. Things that we consider victorious, but we forget what victory means to God. Worldly victories like getting a good job, being promoted, having good grades in school, getting married, winning a championship game, receiving an award or recognition, profiting big in business and many more. These are things we prayed for and asked from God. God grants these gifts of victories to us. But sometimes, when we get want we want, we forget the Giver and focus more on the gift.

We forget the Giver when:

- we fail to thank Him.
- our attachments to the gifts lead us far from God and the service.
- we think we achieved it by our own strength

Failing to thank God is a sign that we did not acknowledge His gift of victory to us. We are more drawn to the feeling of victory or success. Often these leads to pride and boastfullness. "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57)."

Our attachment to the gift should not overcome our attachment to the Giver. How many times have we seen single people in romantic relationships end up being inactive in God's service? How many times have we seen people being "too busy" with work for them to serve God? "As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace (1 Peter 4:10)."

Hardwork is not the only reason for our success. We are successful because, by God's grace, He allowed us to be. Those who attribute success and victory solely to themselves, will run out of steam sooner or later. Some even commit suicide if their business fail because they think they didn't work hard enough or made wrong decisions. They do not see God's strength and will behind circumstances. Let us then honor God of His graces upon our successes. "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God (that is) with me (1 Corinthians 15:10)."

Theseus achieved victory in defeating the Minotaur. But he failed to do what was most important: to raise the white sail for his father to acknowledge his victory. In our life, when God grants us his gifts of victory, let us not forget to do what is most important: to give the glory back to Him by thanking Him, serving Him, and honoring Him. Our victories belong to God!