the end of an era

Everybody's talkin' about it.  The death of Steve Jobs. 

Steve jobs has done plenty of great things in his life, but I think the most amazing thing he has done is inspire people.  Steve gave the commencement speech for the 2005 graduating class of Stanford University, and if you haven't read it or listened to it you must, I promise it will inspire you.

It's hard to pull out the best quotes from his speech, it's concise, well spoken, empassioned. A few highlights;

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. 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.

...

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

...

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

It's worth the watch..

I am inspired, I am hungry and clearly I am foolish.

One last thing about Steve Jobs, when I downloaded the picture of Steve Jobs off the front page of the Apple website I noticed the file was saved by apple as "hero".