16. So far, Scott Nicholson is a stranger to the triumphal stories that his father and grandfather tell of their working lives. They said it was connections more than perseverance that got them started —the father in 1976 when a friend who had just opened a factory hired him, and the grandfather in 1946 through an Army buddy whose father-in-law owned a brokerage firm in nearby Worcester and needed another stock broker.

5. We all know that Steve Jobs was not a professing Christian. While he respected Jesus, he walked away from Christianity at an early age — at least in its organized and doctrinal form.

4. As I read about Steve Jobs, I dared to imagine a conversation with him in his office at Apple. A fantasy, of course, but a trigger for some sober thought.

3. But Steve Jobs also had many critics. "He mistreated people." "He was ruthless in his business dealings." "He was vindictive. " "He lacked compassion. " And that's just the light stuff.

2. Whether one liked or disliked Steve Jobs, he is certainly one of the most talked-about leaders of our time. In his 56-year life, he founded and ultimately led a business organization to a commanding position in the world of technology. He assembled and led teams that produced some of the most admired technological products of our time: Mac Books, iPods, iPhones, iPads. Whole industries came into being because of him.

1.Soon after the death of Apple's co-founder, Steve Jobs, I read Walter lsaacson's newly released biography, Steve Jobs. Once started, I found it difficult to stop reading (on my iPad) about this complicated man, and I regretted reaching the last page.

30. So let us remember that to raise grateful children, we have to be grateful. Let us remember“little pitchers have big ears”—and watch what we say. To illustrate— the next time we are tempted to belittle someone's kindness in the presence of our children, let's stop. Let's never say: “Look at these dishcloths Cousin Sue sent for Christmas. She knit them herself. They didn't cost her a cent!” The remark may seem trivial to us—but the children are listening. So, instead, we had better say: “Look at the hours Cousin Sue spent making these for Christmas! Isn't she nice? Let's write her a thank-you note right now.” And our children may unconsciously absorb the habit of praise and appreciation.

29. Where is Aunt Viola today? Well, she has now been a widow for twenty-odd years, and she has five grown-up children—five separate households—all clamoring to share her, and to have her come and live in their homes!Her children adore her; they never get enough of her. Out of“gratitude”? Nonsense!It is love ---sheer love. Those children breathed in warmth and radiant human-kindness all during their childhoods. Is it any wonder that, now that the situation is reversed, they give back love?

28. We must remember that our children are very much what we make them. For example, my mother's sister—Viola Alexander, of 144 West Minnehala Parkway, Minneapolis—is a shining example of a woman who has never had cause to complain about the “ingratitude” of children. When I was a boy, Aunt Viola took her own mother into her home to love and take care of; and she did the same thing for her husband's mother. I can still close my eyes and see those two old ladies sitting before the fire in Aunt Viola's farmhouse. Were they any “trouble” to Aunt Viola? Oh, often, I suppose. But you would never have guessed it from her attitude. She loved those old ladies—so she pampered them, and spoiled them, and made them feel at home. In addition, Aunt Viola had six children of her own; but it never occurred to her that she was doing anything especially noble, or deserved any halos for taking these old ladies into her home. To her, it was the natural thing, the right thing, the thing she wanted to do.

27. She thought she was sparing her sons, but in reality, she was sending them out into life with the dangerous idea that the world owed them a living. And it was a dangerous idea—for one of those sons tried to“borrow”from an employer, and ended up in jail!

26. Who was to blame? The boys? Yes; but the mother was even more to blame. She thought it was a shame to burden their young lives with “a sense of obligation”. She didn't want her sons to “start out under debt”. So she never dreamed of saying: “What a prince your stepfather is to help you through college!” Instead, she took the attitude: “Oh, that's the least he can do.”