For Steve Jobs' thirtieth birthday, his then Apple coworkers made a video the celebrate his life to that point. The video, dug up by Harry McCracken at Technologizer, is set to My Back Pages by Bob Dylan, one of Jobs' favorite musicians and inspirations, is filled with images from Jobs' first 30 years. The video starts with these words:

To Steven Jobs
on his thirtieth birthday.

For the first thirty years of your life,
you make your habits.

For the last thirty years of your life,
your habits make you.

Old Hindu Proverb.

Tragically, Jobs didn't live to see his second thirty years, something that none of them could have foreseen when the video was made.


For Harry's thoughts and a description of many of the images in the video, visit Technologizer. McCracken offers thanks to "Craig Elliott–Apple employee 8128, who worked there from 1985-1996–for sharing this gem, and to his fellow Apple veteran Tom Hughes for telling me about it."

Top Rated Comments

adcx64 Avatar
170 months ago
This is touching. It's such a shame Steve didn't get to see the next 30 years. The world needs more Steve Jobs.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bez Avatar
170 months ago
I'm 30, and I just compared myself to Steve Jobs at 30 and became super depressed... I graduated college and dental school and now I work in peoples mouths all day... hip hip hooray!!! jk, peoples mouths kinda suck after 3 years. What a stud Steve Jobs was! I miss that guy, and was always so excited to hear him talk or read his tweets... Huuuuuuuge loss for us all...

Michael
If we all start comparing ourselves to Steve and trying relive his live, there will be a lot of very frustrated people - and not enough dentists.

I don't believe the philosophy that drove Steve was one of craving success - it was to be the best "Steve Jobs" he could be, whoever and whatever that turned out to be. If his destiny was to be a dentist, and he fulfilled that destiny to its full potential, I think he would have died equally fulfilled. Just less famous.

Some lives are like the big, shiny, visible parts in a complex machine; some are small and less visible parts. In a society that values fame, money and visible success, it's too easy for those of us whose lives represent the less obvious parts to forget that our function is in fact equally vital. Just be the part you are supposed to be - to the best of your ability, and don't waste energy trying to reshape yourself into a part that you think others will value more. Have faith that your role is to be the best Michael you can be.

"Unknown 56 year old Californian dies. He would have done great work, but his painful teeth stopped him from concentrating. He never found a dentist who could help - they all seemed distracted, as if they were daydreaming about being someone else."
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wizzerandchips Avatar
170 months ago
I'm 46 , and I'm crying! Very moving, and still can't believe he's gone, it's like I've lost a member of my family, I need to get a life !
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Watabou Avatar
170 months ago
Damn. Just damn. Every time I hear about Steve passing away, I get a horrible sinking feeling in my heart. I'm trying to forget he even died. So far, I am failing miserably. I just cannot get it out of my head.

I can't believe I miss him so much even though I haven't even seen him in person. :(
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anomie Avatar
170 months ago
I'm 30, and I just compared myself to Steve Jobs at 30 and became super depressed... I graduated college and dental school and now I work in peoples mouths all day... hip hip hooray!!! jk, peoples mouths kinda suck after 3 years. What a stud Steve Jobs was! I miss that guy, and was always so excited to hear him talk or read his tweets... Huuuuuuuge loss for us all...

Michael

I dont know.. No doubt he did many world-changing things, but there is no way EVERY human beeing can live his life.
We need dentists too, and construction workers and many other not-supercreatives.

RIP.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
highdough Avatar
170 months ago
I wish I was 30 again. Knowing what I know now. Hell, I'd love to be 30 knowing what he knew then.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Alleged M4 MacBook Pro Leak Video

Alleged M4 MacBook Pro Unboxing Video Reveals These Four Upgrades

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:10 pm PDT by
An alleged unboxing video for an unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip was uploaded to YouTube today by Russian channel Wylsacom. The video was later linked to on social media platform X by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. It is possible that this is the same MacBook Pro box shown in photos that were shared by leaker ShrimpApplePro in late September, as he claimed that this MacBook Pro...
M4 Real Feature Red

Gurman: Apple to Launch First M4 Macs and Potentially iPad Mini 7 on November 1

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:40 am PDT by
Apple will announce several new M4 Mac models around the end of October, with the company planning to launch at least some of them as soon as Friday, November 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models...
space black mbp

Apple Potentially Facing Worst Leak Since iPhone 4 Was Left in a Bar

Monday October 7, 2024 3:03 pm PDT by
Alleged photos and videos of an unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 chip continue to surface on social media, in what could be the worst product leak for Apple since an employee accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype at a bar in California in 2010. The latest video of what could be a next-generation MacBook Pro was shared on YouTube Shorts today by Russian channel Romancev768, just...
top stories 5oct2024

Top Stories: iOS 18.1 Coming Soon, October Apple Event Rumors, and More

Saturday October 5, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
It's hard to believe we're already into October with the iPhone 16 launch behind us, but there's lots more still to come from Apple this year on both the hardware and software fronts. We're still expecting a number of Mac and perhaps some iPad updates in the very near future, while Apple Intelligence features are set to begin rolling out with iOS 18.1 and related operating system updates....
Generic iOS 18

Apple Plans to Release iOS 18.1 With Apple Intelligence on October 28

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:18 am PDT by
Apple intends to launch iOS 18.1 with the first set of much-anticipated Apple Intelligence features on October 28, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman says the release date is arriving this month later than initially expected, as Apple is reportedly taking extra time to ensure a smooth rollout and prepare its AI cloud...
watchos 11 vitals

Apple Watch Users Report Vitals App Detecting Illness Before Symptoms Appear

Monday October 7, 2024 5:34 am PDT by
Apple's new Vitals app for watchOS 11 appears to be impressing some users with its ability to detect potential illness days before symptoms manifest, according to recent reports on Reddit. The Apple Watch app, which analyzes key health metrics measured during sleep over the last seven days, appears to be providing early warnings of impending sickness for at least some Apple Watch wearers...
Prime Big Deal Days Hero 3

The Best Early Prime Day Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, and More

Friday October 4, 2024 10:43 am PDT by
Amazon is hosting another Prime Day event this year, called Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and offering shoppers the first chance to save on holiday shopping from a major retailer. Similar to the first Prime Day, it will last for two days (October 8-9) and you can already find a large selection of early deals across Amazon's storefront, covering savings on tech, clothing, video games, groceries, and...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.0.1 With Touch Screen Bug Fix and More

Thursday October 3, 2024 2:22 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, the...
maxresdefault

Two Weeks With the iPhone 16 Pro Max

Friday October 4, 2024 12:04 pm PDT by
Now that it's been two weeks since the iPhone 16 models were released, we've been able to spend enough time with the new devices to share a more in-depth review on their performance, battery life, feature set, and more. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've been testing the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, but the gap between the Pro models and the standard iPhone 16...