In 1983, Apple Company was being run by Mike Markkula, one of the company’s original investors. Mike was ready to retire, so he worked with Steve Jobs, one of Apple’s co-founders, to attract John Sculley to be the new CEO. Sculley wasn’t sure he wanted to leave his job as president of Pepsi-Cola, but Jobs persuaded him to do so. In the words of Sculley:
“He looked up at me and just stared at me with the stare that only Steve Jobs has, and he said, ‘Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?’” Sculley later remembered, “I just gulped, because I knew I would wonder for the rest of my life what I would have missed.”
Sculley decided to join Apple.
In 27 AD, a carpenter named Jesus was beginning His ministry. While walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw four fisherman named Peter, Andrew, James, and John fishing in the sea. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men,” he said, or to paraphrase Steve Jobs, “do you want to catch fish for the rest of your lives, or come with Me and change the world?” The Bible says they immediately left their nets and followed Him. The world would never be the same.
Today, you and I have the privilege to extend that ministry, as we too are called to Care for our community and our patients. We are placed in our patients’ lives at a time when they are the most anxious and feeling the most vulnerable. We are in a position to help them through the stressful times, and whatever the outcome, let them know that we care about them and will do our best for them. While we may not feel like we are changing the world, I can assure you we are often changing their world. We can give them comfort and the knowledge that their world is a better place because we are in it.
Thank you so much for providing that type of care in our sacred work for our patients and their families every day! Your words and actions say ICARE!