After much persistent and gentle prodding of management, Practical Sailor converted to Macs last year. So, like millions around the world who rely on Apple magic to make it through the workday-not to mention our iPad-fueled weekends on the water-we were deeply saddened by the loss of Steve Jobs, the genius behind Apple Inc. who died Oct. 5.
One of the items of interest revealed in Walter Isaacsons biography of Jobs was that he had been involved in the design of his custom 245-foot megayacht to be built by Feadship in the Netherlands. Isaacsons book, Steve Jobs, initially set for release in late November, went on sale Oct. 24. I haven’t yet found much detail on the yacht, but its a good bet that most, if not all of the systems, could be monitored and controlled from an iPad, or a similar device still in development. Having little more than Isaacsons discussion to go on, Ive tried to imagine-using Steve Jobs own words-how the design might have evolved.
Steve Jobs: Whats taking so long? Whats the problem?
Feadship: Nothing major, Steve. Look, with the amount of money youre putting into this project, its nothing we can’t solve.
Steve Jobs: Its not about money. Its about the people you have, how youre led, and how much you get it.
Feadship: There are a couple of things to sort out. How many heads do you want on the boat? Right now, weve got eleven, including one for the crew.
Steve Jobs: Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.
Feadship: All the changes you are suggesting are going to push this project over budget.
Steve Jobs: Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying weve done something wonderful … thats what matters to me.
Feadship: Monique, our interior designer, wondered if you want curtains for the master berth, or that new tint-shifting glass. She has picked this nice burgundy fabric…
Steve Jobs: In most peoples vocabularies, design means veneer. Its interior decorating. Its the fabric of the curtains or the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.
Feadship: Do you have to be so hard on everyone?
Steve Jobs: My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.
Feadship: Its just that Monique-thats the designer-is scared to death what youll think about these curtains.
Steve Jobs: Almost everything-all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure-these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Feadship: Got it. Tint-shifting glass it is. Anything else?
Steve Jobs: Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone elses life. Dont be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other peoples thinking. Dont let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Feadship: This reminds me. Weve got this engineer whos kind of quirky . . . and brash. He insisted that I send you his ideas for the nav station. If you ask me, hes a bit of a misfit on this project.
Steve Jobs: Heres to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes … the ones who see things differently – theyre not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things … they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Feadship: He also mentioned that you wanted a titanium bow. Whats that all about?
Steve Jobs: I want to put a ding in the universe.
Feadship: Another one?
Steve Jobs: Im convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.
(For more classic Steve Jobs quotes, see the collection of quotes on www.macstories.net).
