ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Videos
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
People are all noticing one detail in email Steve Jobs sent himself a year before his death
Home>News>Technology
Updated 11:45 8 Sep 2025 GMT+1Published 11:37 8 Sep 2025 GMT+1

People are all noticing one detail in email Steve Jobs sent himself a year before his death

The Apple founder wanted to get an important message to himself

James Moorhouse

James Moorhouse

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Steve Jobs will always be a huge name in history having founded Apple, one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

The company, which is now valued at well over $3 trillion, was thought up by Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Wayne sold his stake in the company for just $800 back in 1976. Ouch.

Despite his reputation as being a tough negotiator, with one former colleague describing him as 'not a nice man', Jobs clearly had a sensitive side as well.

When he wasn't using his beer test to interview prospective candidates or asking tough questions of his Apple employees, it seems he had a fondness for poetry, going off one of the last emails he ever sent himself.

Advert

Jobs was a tech whiz but also not a bad poet (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Jobs was a tech whiz but also not a bad poet (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

He wrote the email back in September 2010, just over a year before his death in October 2011 following a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.


It said: "I grow little of the food I eat, and of the little I do grow

"I did not breed or perfect the seeds.

"I do not make any of my own clothing.

"I speak a language I did not invent or refine.

"I did not discover the mathematics I use.

"I am protected by freedoms and laws I did not conceive

of or legislate, and do not enforce or adjudicate.

"I am moved by music I did not create myself.

"When I needed medical attention, I was helpless

to help myself survive.

"I did not invent the transistor, the microprocessor,

object oriented programming, or most of the technology I work with.

"I love and admire my species, living and dead, and am

totally dependent on them for my life and well being."


Now, if you can think back to your English literature classes at school, you can probably find a potential hidden meaning within the poem, and it's nothing to do with pathetic fallacy.

It seems to me at least that while Jobs is reflecting upon the many things he did in his life, he is suggesting that greater minds than himself helped to establish fundamental aspects of life such as health treatment, mathematics and languages.

However, the little note, sent from my iPad, which no doubt will have been one of the first off the shelves given it was sold for the first time that year, perhaps reminds the reader (which was of course Jobs himself), that he did have a rather big say in creating the thing which he sent the poem from.



Steve Jobs' poem (Reddit)
Steve Jobs' poem (Reddit)

We all need some words of affirmation and self love sometimes and Jobs perhaps used these words to remind himself of everything he achieved with Apple, having also lived with cancer for several years at that point.

Users on Reddit certainly seem to agree with that point, with several suggesting similar arguments which would hopefully get you full marks in an English literature essay question.

One user wrote: "Sharing the above sentiments regarding appreciation of human race accomplishments via a piece of technology that culminates so much human effort from such a wide range of fields."

Another posted: "It’s his small commentary on his contribution to the world."

A third said: "It’s him giving back. Honouring what others have done for him by doing something himself."

There's no doubt that there's plenty of people who think their lives would be worse off without an Apple device, as I write this from one of my own, so I'm glad that Jobs' genius helped to create the technology many of us use on a daily basis, even if it also means kids screaming for their iPads in restaurants these days.

Featured Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Topics: Steve Jobs, Apple, Technology, Reddit

James Moorhouse
James Moorhouse

James is a NCTJ Gold Standard journalist covering a wide range of topics and news stories for LADbible. After two years in football writing, James switched to covering news with Newsquest in Cumbria, before joining the LAD team in 2025. In his spare time, James is a long-suffering Rochdale fan and loves reading, running and music. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@JimmyMoorhouse

Recommended reads

Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury reveal gender of second child days after birth(Instagram/@mollymae)Nine injured after shooting near England team's World Cup base in Kansas CityJamie Squire/Getty Images‘Blank page’ passport rule that could see you banned from flightGetty Stock PhotoLandmark study makes ‘remarkable’ finding about Mounjaro side effectsGetty Stock

Advert

Choose your content:

4 hours ago
8 hours ago
9 hours ago
  • Jamie Squire/Getty Images
    4 hours ago

    Nine injured after shooting near England team's World Cup base in Kansas City

    Police are investigating after multiple people were injured in a shooting less than four miles from England's base

    News
  • Getty Stock
    8 hours ago

    Landmark study makes ‘remarkable’ finding about Mounjaro side effects

    It could be the biggest benefit of the GLP-1 drugs yet

    News
  • (Severe Weather Europe)
    9 hours ago

    All of these food items will get more expensive when Super El Nino hits, experts warn

    Changes in global weather will likely wreak havoc on crop harvests, driving up prices

    News
  • X/Dapper Laughs
    9 hours ago

    Comedian Dapper Laughs hits back at viral tweet claiming he'd 'relapsed during show'

    He's been sober for more than three years

    News
  • Fans are rediscovering this brilliant series and it’s set to be your next binge watch
  • Reason Steve Jobs always wore a black turtleneck jumper despite being able to afford anything he wanted
  • Brutal ultimatum Steve Jobs sent rival CEO after he found out his company was recruiting from Apple
  • Steve Jobs asked himself the same morbid question every day for 33 years to stay successful