I just recently finished the book, Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his Own Words, which is a collection of quotes, interviews and speeches during his time on Earth. Me being an enthusiast of all things Apple, I decided to give it a read. It does cover perhaps one of the most famous commencement addresses ever in the one he gave at Stanford in 2005.
It was broken down into three stories. The first covers Steve dropping out of Reed College, but then dropping back in to learn calligraphy. Few could possibly find an application for this in real life. But ten years later, Steve would apply what he learned and apply that to the first Macintosh in 1984 (40th anniversary coming up on January 24th!). You cannot connect dots looking forward, you can only do so looking backwards he told the graduates.
The second story cover covers him getting sacked from Apple. It was devastating, but started over because he still loved what he did. “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life,” he would say in speech. He would found NeXT and Pixar. The software developed at NeXt would wind up being incorporated in Apple’s renaissance while Pixar was making waves with “Toy Story”, “Cars”, and “The Incredibles”. He told the grads that you have to find what you love, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.
His third story was about death. The year prior, Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was essentially told to “settle his affairs” since he did not have long to live. However, a biopsy determined that it was a rare form of pancreatic cancer that could be cured with surgery. Steve would live for seven more years after the surgery. Because time is limited one shouldn’t waste it living someone else’s life or being trapped by dogma.
Yes, as beat writer for the both the Fire and Red Stars, it was quite dispiriting in 2023. Yet, I still love what I do in covering soccer. It was the thrill of a lifetime to go to New Zealand and cover the Women’s World Cup and attend the opening match (for which the featured photo is from). Even if the closing for both the USA and the Final itself and its fallout was not ideal, I still attend New Zealand. I also got to see Megan Rapinoe’s final US National Team match and her final regular season match in person.
I didn’t really get good grades in English until midway through high school. I guess I finally figured out the structure there. While unemployed outside of soccer back in 2004, I decided to take a crack at writing about soccer at a now defunct website (The Fire Alarm). It was a way for me to keep my edge, though I would find a job shortly thereafter and be there for 13 years. It took some time to connect the dots that I was quite articulate when I was writing and I could apply that to something. I have loved Statistics since I was young, and I’m always looking to apply that to this job as a writer as well wherever I can. I feel that it some of my best work there.
Next June will mark 20 years in doing this and in many ways I still love it. (I would admittedly love it more if both the Fire and Red Stars could start winning again, but that’s beside the point.) I also make effort to not let other voices drown mine or those of my colleague here. That doesn’t mean in the slightest you shouldn’t listen to others, but do use what you listen to develop your thoughts and ideas.
I still feel like I have plenty of more years left writing about soccer as much I do most everything in my life outside of soccer. That is my light in the darkness that was 2023 in most circles this year. There will be stumbles, but learning needs to follow. My other two holiday messages mention seeking the light in the darkness. It’s fitting that the English Premier League team I support is Wolverhampton Wanderers, as the city’s motto is “Out of Darkness, Cometh Light.” I knew it was going to be a tough year for them given they were close to facing financial fair play discipline, but they are currently 11th at the time of this post and looked good in a win over Chelsea.
At the end of his commencement address, Steve Jobs mentioned a publication called the Whole Earth Catalog. Before the age of personal computers and desktop publishing, this was the Google of the day made with typewriters, Polaroids, and scissors. When it ran its course, its back cover featured a photo of an early-morning country road and the caption, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”
It may be foolish of this reporter to believe that fortunes will change for the better in 2024 for the Fire and Red Stars, but I will continue to stay hungry for the next adventure. That’s the advice I pass on you for 2024. Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
May you have a safe and healthy holiday season and we hope to see you at the other end of New Year’s Day.
