Tag: daily-prompt

Defining Success: Lessons from Steve Jobs

Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
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When I think of the word successful, the first person who comes to mind is Steve Jobs — the man who, in my mind, shaped the modern world of smart devices. The iPhone alone changed everything. Even beyond that, he had this magnetic energy — a “reality distortion field,” people called it — that could make the impossible possible. When he presented a product, the world believed in it.

The image that always sticks with me is the black-and-white portrait from his biography — the one with his fist resting casually under his chin. That was probably the first biography I ever finished. Reading it made me realize how rare it is to find someone with such vision, even if it came with flaws.

Jobs’ list of achievements is long: Apple I/II, Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and even Pixar. Most people would be lucky to create one thing that defines a generation; he helped build several. He left behind a legacy that reshaped industries and habits worldwide.

What I admired most about him was his tenacity — that relentless drive to push past limits. At the same time, I know I wouldn’t have liked working for him. According to his colleagues, he was difficult, even harsh. It’s strange to look up to someone whose leadership style I probably couldn’t tolerate. But I think that makes him more fascinating: his flaws were as much a part of his story as his brilliance.

For Jobs, success wasn’t just a product launch or a billion-dollar milestone. It was his ability to keep creating, influencing, and moving the world forward. Death was the only thing that stopped him. To me, that is both inspiring and tragic.

Compared to him, I’m nowhere close. I start many projects and never finish any of them. But maybe success isn’t about being like Steve Jobs. I like to think that being a better husband and father makes me more successful than he was in ways that matter to me.

When he died, I read his biography and felt motivated, less lazy. For a while, that drive changed how I lived. I should probably reread it again, just to recalibrate.

I still admire him, even knowing he wasn’t perfect. His passion, his presence, his ability to make people believe — all of that still moves me. Every once in a while, I rewatch one of his keynotes on YouTube, not for the nostalgia, but as a reminder of the success he had.

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October 16, 2025
When I First Felt Like a Grown-Up

Daily writing prompt
When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?
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The first time I really felt like a grown-up wasn’t some grand milestone. It wasn’t landing a job, getting married, or becoming a dad. It was the first night I moved into my college dorm—completely free, finally on my own.

I remember setting up my computer, feeling independent and responsible for the first time. Meals? My responsibility. Laundry? My responsibility. Sleep schedule? My problem. And what did I do with all that newfound freedom? I fired up Diablo II. My sorceress’s spell sounds echoed down the dorm hallway—loud enough for everyone to hear. Looking back, I can’t believe I did that. So embarrassing.

That moment was my first glimpse of adulthood: freedom mixed with clueless enthusiasm.

Years later, the “grown-up” moments kept leveling up. Getting my own place after college. Paying rent. Starting my career. Doing taxes, paying bills, keeping food on the table—all the standard side quests of adult life. It’s tiring, but also strangely rewarding. There’s comfort in the rhythm of responsibility.

Now I’m the husband, the father, the guy who makes sure things keep running. My younger self would probably see me and think, “Wow, I became my dad.” And he’d be right. The difference is, I understand now why my dad always looked tired—but also why he kept going.

I still don’t always feel grown up. I go through the motions: work, family, bills, repeat. Sometimes I wonder if anyone truly feels like one, or if we’re all just older kids pretending, learning as we go. Maybe being grown up isn’t about feeling like one—it’s about doing what needs to be done, even when you’d rather be doing something else.

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October 11, 2025
If I Couldn’t Fail

Daily writing prompt
What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.
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The easy answer would be to win the lottery. If I’m guaranteed not to fail, that means I’d win, right? But that feels like cheating. The premise of this question already breaks reality, so I might as well think beyond money.

If failure wasn’t possible, I’d probably start with something I could do perfectly. Maybe run a company? After all, success there ultimately leads to what the lottery gives you: money. But the funny thing is, once you have money, money stops being the point. So maybe that’s not the best use of my one perfect attempt.

Perfecting a skill feels more satisfying. Because when you perfect something you love, value follows you anyway. Maybe I’d choose writing. Writing is useful everywhere—whether you’re leading a team (need documentation), writing a blog/book, or trying to express something that matters. To write perfectly would mean I could tell any story, explain any idea, or reach anyone in exactly the right way.

Of course, I could also take it to the extreme. Maybe I’d save the world. Why stop small when failure isn’t possible? If I could actually do that—end suffering, fix climate change, cure disease—that would be the obvious choice.

But maybe the deeper point isn’t about what I’d do if I couldn’t fail, but about what disappears when failure does. Fear, embarrassment, wasted time—all the friction that makes us hesitate. Humans cope with failure by glorifying it: “You must fail to succeed.” If failure were gone, maybe we’d finally see what we really want, stripped of all the excuses.

If I couldn’t fail, I’d still choose writing. Because even in a world without failure, the thing I’d want most is to connect—to say something that matters.

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October 9, 2025
My Life Without a Computer

Daily writing prompt
Your life without a computer: what does it look like?
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If I’m being honest, my life without a computer would look completely different. And I don’t just mean a Windows PC or a Mac — let’s lump in smartphones, tablets, and all the other smart devices too. Otherwise, it’s kind of boring, right?

I rely on computers for everything — work, communication, entertainment, even creativity. Without one, I basically wouldn’t have my career. I’m a software engineer, so no computer means no code, no programs, no job. I probably would’ve ended up as an author or something like that, which was my original dream growing up.

But here’s the thing: life without a computer wouldn’t necessarily be all bad. The last time I didn’t own one was in the early ’90s, when I was just a kid. Life was so much simpler then. If you wanted to see friends, you arranged a time and place — and actually showed up. If someone called your house and you weren’t home, you just missed the call. You memorized phone numbers. You went outside for fun. And honestly? There were no endless streams of short video clips melting your attention span.

My free time would probably shift a lot. Maybe more TV, more books, more family events. I’d be more active. Probably healthier too. Sure, I’d miss the digital world if computers suddenly vanished one day, but if they had never been invented at all, I’d just lean into analog hobbies and not know what I was missing.

And stress? I bet I’d have less of it. Computers — and especially the internet — made life faster, noisier, and more anxious. Sometimes I think we all need a break from screens just to breathe a little easier.

So is life without a computer a step backward? Yeah, kind of. But it’s also a rediscovery of simplicity. Some days I really do miss those simpler, pre-computer days.

Funny how thinking about this makes me feel old. But maybe that’s just the nostalgia talking.

October 1, 2025