In a 2006 interview with Newsweek, Steve Jobs said: “Look at the design of a lot of consumer products – they’re really complicated surfaces. We tried to make something much more holistic and simple. When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often-times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.”
Substitute yourself for the iPod.
Think about it.
As we have ‘survived’ our lives, we have made ourselves very complicated products…layer after layer of personae, each with its light and shadow sides, some recognized and honored, others despised and hidden even from ourselves. In an effort to become whole, become happier, live more authentically, we do attempt to peel off these layers like peeling off the layers of an onion. Sometimes, it is too painful. Sometimes, we are too invested in our “story”. Sometimes, we are afraid that if we peel away too much, there won’t be anything left of us. Sometimes, we give up because it is too difficult to “live with the problem” until we are better equipped to craft a solution.
But if we persevere, if we have a good ‘coach’ or mentor, we are able to arrive at a very elegant and simple self.
This is our true self. This is the person we are born to be.
Rest in peace, Steve Jobs.
