Steve Jobs – How to Live Before You Die

R.I.P. Steve Jobs - Image via Wikipedia

Twitter and Facebook are on fire with Steve Jobs quotes, memorial messages and old speeches since yesterday’s news of his passing was announced.

Many people are inspired by Steve Jobs and admire him greatly.  Why wouldn’t they?  He was the founder of Apple, CEO of Pixar Animation and a true inspired inventor and innovator.  We have much today in the way of technology that we have Steve Jobs to thank for.

Steve Jobs battled pancreatic cancer for awhile.  After a surgery that removed the cancer, it returned and Jobs retired from Apple to focus on his health.  Shortly after, he lost his battle and passed away.

His life has ended, but his legacy will live on.   He leaves behind two thriving corporations that employ thousands of people creating wonderful technological products and fantastic animated films loved by children all over the world.  Steve Jobs has touched all of our lives in some way.

I never put much thought to Steve Jobs until I watched “Pixar Story” about a month ago, a documentary film about how Pixar became what it is today.  I marveled at the devotion, struggle and creativity of the people who made Pixar a success, including Steve Jobs and John Lasseter.   I was impressed and inspired beyond words.

Today, as the tweets and status updates pile up about Steve Jobs, the inspiration comes to the surface once again.  Here was a man who never graduated from college who became one of the most successful individuals of his generation…an entrepreneur, inventor, innovator, husband, father and friend.  We could all learn a lot from this man’s life, particularly from a speech he gave to Stanford graduates in 2005 in the video below, which I encourage you to watch, absorb and share with your friends.