On the 14th anniversary of Steve Jobs’ passing, the world remembers not just the visionary behind Apple, but the deeply introspective thinker who in the final year completed the essence of human independence. Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011, at age 56, just one day after Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S and Siri. Before his death in 2011, Jobs’ wrote an email to himself. In September 2010, just one year before his death, Jobs wrote an email to himself. The email has now surfaced online via the Steve Jobs Archive offering a glimpse into his private reflections. The email was sent from his official Apple email ID and was never intended for the public view.
A meditation on gratitude and human connection
Steve Jobs sent an email from his iPad to his Apple email ID. The message sent by Jobs appears like a quiet medication on the countless ways his life was shaped by others. In the message, Jobs also acknowledged that he did not invent the language he spoke, the food he ate or the technology he worked with. “I grow little of the food I eat… I speak a language I did not invent or refine… I am moved by music I did not create myself,” he wrote.
Jobs also went reflected on the freedoms and laws which protected him, the medical care that helped him sustain and the inventions which powered his work were all created by others. “I love and admire my species, living and dead, and am totally dependent on them for my life and well being,” Jobs concluded.
Read Apple founder Steve Jobs email to himself here
From: Steve Jobs, sjobs@apple. com To: Steve Jobs, sjobs@apple. com
Date: Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 11:08PM
I grow little of the food I eat, and of the little I do grow I did not breed or perfect the seeds.
I do not make any of my own clothing. I speak a language I did not invent or refine. I did not discover the mathematics I use. I am protected by freedoms and laws I did not conceive of or legislate, and do not enforce or adjudicate.
I am moved by music I did not create myself. When I needed medical attention, I was helpless to help myself survive. I did not invent the transistor, the microprocessor, object oriented programming, or most of the technology I work with. I love and admire my species, living and dead, and am totally dependent on them for my life and well being.
Sent from my iPad
Preserved by the Steve Jobs archive
As mentioned above, the last email written by Steve Jobs to himself was never intended for public view. The email is now part of Steve Jobs archive which is a project launched by Laurene Powell Jobs, Tim Cook, and Jony Ive to preserve the legacy of Apple’s co-founder.
Apple CEO Tim Cook remembered Steve Jobs on his 14th death anniversary
Apple CEO Tim Cook remembered Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on his 14th death anniversary. Cook wrote an emotional tribute to Steve Jobs and called him a visionary who “lit the path forward” for innovation. “Steve saw the future as a bright and boundless place, lit the path forward, and inspired us to follow,” Cook wrote in a social media post on X. “We miss you, my friend.”
