Since I heard the news of his death, I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to gather my thoughts and come to terms with the fact that the person who I was in so awed with is no more. Even though there was no personal connection between us apart from me going crazy whenever I would see an insanely great Apple product, it’s hard not getting emotionally connected with him, his persona and his awseomeness factor. Before his Stanford 2005 commencement speech, I thought of him only as a cool, billionaire CEO. Of someone who made the right decisions, did the right thing at the right time.
But then you hear his speech and realize things weren’t always smooth sailing for him. It was that speech which made me a SUPER fan. What he said made sense to me in my personal life as well. There were a lot of times when dots weren’t connecting but I knew they eventually would and now looking back they do! That it was OK to make mistakes and fail. And that life would be fulfilling if you spend doing it what you love. Maybe these are things that all wise men say, but he was a living example of his preaching and it sure was going to leave an impression. I had saved that speech in my pc, email and would read/listen to it whenever life wouldn’t make sense. For me, it was the best piece of motivational, inspirational therapy that anyone could provide. Add to it, that many of my friends and acquaintances would quote from it was an example how his words had touched us and our lives.
It wasn’t just the Stanford speech but his simple take on life, work, loving what you do and think differently that had filled my life with inspirations. Truth be told, I may not be following my heart in all matters and living the way he prescribed but knowing that he did and was successful is such a motivational booster.
Skeptics can’t understand our emotional involvement with a billionaire who just made expensive products and was no in part involved in changing the world! Maybe their world didn’t get changed but anybody who uses a pc, mouse, smart phone, mp3 player their lives have been impacted by the change he has brought to the industry. And as he said, it was never about the money but knowing that you created something wonderful when you went to sleep. He has brought sleekness and class to our gadgets and has been the in the forefront of bringing innovations to our lives. He introduced the intuitive use of technology and it’s because of him that my niece knew how to use touch phone and iPad much better then the adults even before she started school! It’s because of him that now when we see a product we also see the detail that has been put into his manufacturing. In his limited time, he has brought major changes and made us want what he made because we know that what he made will surely be awesome.
Thank you Steve for all the wonderful, insanely great inspirations and creativity:) We’ll miss you! And hoping to learn something from your life 
