'Choices' Published Oct. 12, 2011 By Lt. Col. Brian Renga Deputy Commander, 45th Launch Group PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- In poignant fashion, the loss of something we hold dear - life - often leads to reflection on the importance of the choices we make or will make. The recent passing of Steve Jobs, billionaire co-founder of Apple Computer and the innovator of some truly remarkable products such as the Macintosh computer, iPod and iPad, provides the perfect example of how choices become important with the realization that time can be severely constrained. While Steve Jobs had been fighting illness for years, his final weeks were spent making choices with full knowledge that he did not have much time left. Suddenly the demands of the world, which for a billionaire and CEO are considerable, were not at the forefront. He had to make tough choices on what he wanted to do and who he wanted to see during those final weeks, and had to tune out the desire of not only the masses, but also of acquaintances that in many cases simply wanted to say goodbye to him - there simply was not enough time for everyone. Imagine having to make a conscious choice of how to spend your final time and who to spend it with, as there would be no tomorrow, next week, next month! As you might expect, Steve Jobs chose to spend most of his time with his wife and four children. The time he did spend with others was a choice made purposefully to share time with those he wanted, and in the case of time spent with his biographer to leave something for his kids, so that they would know more about him and his life. Now we are not billionaires, nor hopefully in possession of the knowledge of our own passing, but we make choices every day on what we do, how we do it, and maybe, most importantly, with whom we spend our limited time. Sometimes it seems that we have no choice, or our choices are limited; after all, we have jobs, responsibilities, friends and families that all require our attention. Just remember, when making choices affecting one of your most valuable assets -- time-- ask yourself, if I knew time was running out, would I still make the same choices, or would I make a different choice?