Chase the Money, but Don't Let the Money Chase You!

Steve Jobs is one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time. He's also dead. This sole, intractable fact should give anyone pause. It doesn't matter how smart you are, how much you achieve, or how much money you make, if you're dead, you can't enjoy any of it.

Sure, the media and the general public often waxes poetic about Steve Jobs and the heroes of industry and technology. They'll remind you that while Jobs may no longer be with us, his legacy will be forever entrenched in our hearts and minds.

And to that, I say, so what? I can guarantee you that Steve Jobs doesn't give a crap about his legacy, wherever his soul is right now. To borrow a phrase from the Stanly Kubrick classic "Full Metal Jacket," the dead only know one thing -- it's better to be alive.

The Turning Point

While Jobs is celebrated with countless biographies and movies, many fail to appreciate what ultimately led to his physical downfall. In a revealing piece for Mashable, author Seth Fiegerman stated the following about Jobs' decision to simultaneously lead both Pixar and Apple:

"It was rough, really rough, the worst time in my life," Jobs said of juggling the two top jobs, according to Walter Isaacson's biography of the Apple CEO. It was this period of his career, Jobs mused in the book, that may have led to the health issues that ultimately took his life four years ago today.

I had a young family. I had Pixar. I would go to work at 7 a.m. and I'd get back at 9 at night, and the kids would be in bed. And I couldn't speak. I literally couldn't, I was so exhausted. I couldn't speak to [his wife] Laurene. All I could do was watch a half hour of TV and vegetate. It got close to killing me. I was driving up to Pixar and down to Apple in a black Porsche convertible, and I started to get kidney stones. I would rush to the hospital and the hospital would give me a shot of Demerol in the butt and eventually I would pass it.

Unresolved and unmitigated stress may actually be the biggest, perhaps sole, catalyst for all of our life-threatening ailments. I find it disheartening that Jobs knew that he was physically endangering his life, and therefore, the stability of his family, yet he continued to pursue his job relentlessly.

What was he aiming for? Was something missing in his life? Whatever it was, I hope it was worth it.

Chasing the Money

Every one of us chases the money. It's a necessity, a fact of life. If we don't do it, we can't live. We can't pursue our dreams, nor take care of our families.

But when money becomes a religion, you are no longer chasing the money out of your own volition. Instead, you are letting the money chase you.

I think this is a dangerous scenario. Our bodies are meant to operate at a certain level and frequency. When we continuously push beyond these limits, something is necessarily sacrificed.

That sacrifice may not mean much to you personally, but I guarantee it means the world to your family and loved ones.

In the end, we all fade away. It's far better to spend what time we have in the moments that matter.