The Chosen One

When the news circled swiftly around the internet that Steve Jobs had died, I was amazed by the mass grief. Yes, I had an iPhone and iPod and was still hedging on the iPad, but I found the overwhelming response to his passing beyond belief. Was I not enough of a techno-geek or did I take his inventions for granted? Was I simply annoyed that my new iPhone was faulty and needed to be replaced? Or was I assuming the term “great inventor” belonged under a portrait of Henry Ford or Thomas Edison. Was I scouring my history books for inspirational figures while “genius” was there, mock-turtlenecked, staring me in the face.

The reason I wanted to comment on this wasn’t to repeat Steve Jobs’ life story or to hammer home the obvious rag to riches clichés. I just wanted to highlight a few sentences uttered by the visionary that make me shudder to this day. When speaking about his early life and being adopted, this is what he had to say: "I wasn't abandoned. I was chosen. I was special." His whole axis turned on this one childhood epiphany and his destiny was shaped.

What one little boy decided about himself changed millions of lives forever. There is no discounting the power of perception when it comes to self-esteem. We can choose to see ourselves as perpetual victims or we can use our circumstances to fuel our dreams. Indeed, his life was a winding path of outer uncertainties, but Steve Jobs pieced together a perfect puzzle with the glue of a compelling belief. Thankfully, the “chosen one” took everything that happened to him good or bad, and chose what it would mean.