“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

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Thank you, Mr Jobs, for these words of inspiration.  You never met me, you know nothing about me and our paths probably would have never crossed, but today, in your death, your words have given me strength and the motivation to keep fighting.  I always believe that things happen for a reason and I know I was meant to read those words from you.

It’s amazing how someone that essentially means nothing to me and that I do not know nor he of I but yet can say something that pierces right through to my soul.

People that know me well enough know that I am one of the very rare weird-out-of-touch-not-really-moving-with-the-times people that is not completely Apple-obsessed.  Sure, I have an iPhone and an iPod but both I didn’t buy for myself personally; one was sort of “inherited” and the other was a gift.  I do think the Mac Air is SEXY AS HELL but I’ll probably never be able to afford it, and I want an iPad just to say that I have one!!  I do think Apple products look sleek and are pretty awesome but don’t see them as superior as many do so I can happily live without them.

Having said that though, you cannot deny that Apple products have been revolutionary in that it has changed many lives through changing the face of technology, specifically how we communicate with one another and engage with different forms of mass and social media.  Reading about his journey, you can’t help but be completely in awe of Steve Jobs’ life story.

When I found out today that Steve Jobs had passed away I was hit with an immense sadness.  It was a very strange almost surreal reaction, I thought.  I wasn’t expecting it at all.  In recent years I have become very sensitive to issues surrounding death.  I have lost a dear friend and some family in the last few years which has been hard to swallow.  And even people who I don’t know – the “Hollywood stars” – surprisingly affect me somewhat.  I may not shed a tear for them because I don’t know them personally but it is still sad nonetheless and more importantly, a wake up call that life really is too damn short.

The world lost a great man today.  Death is always a sad thing but even moreso when it came far too soon and to someone that has contributed so much and had so much more to give.

Rest in peace, Steve Jobs.  Your legacy will live forever.