I’ve never cried for a celebrity who passes away. Sure – celebrity deaths (Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse) have taken me by shock or surprise – but I’ve never cried.
Today I did. And I cannot stop.
There was just something about Steve Jobs passing away that hit home. He lived his life – every moment of it – but he went beyond. He lived it in a way that left an impact on those who didn’t even know him. He inspired people to achieve, he inspired people to dream, he taught a company how to fly. Today – especially realized through the Facebook Feeds spanning generations – I know that a true visionary has left the planet. And the World is short one excellent human being. Our lives are a little less brighter. 
Why did it hit home so strongly? Perhaps it is because I strive living my life the way he did – I aspire to grow not just personally, living every minute, but to also leave an impact on the people and lives I touch.
Perhaps it struck a chord because he was only 56 – 3 years older than my father. Currently, starting my summer internship search at Kellogg, life has become all about career achievements. Mr. Jobs achieved this and a whole lot more. He also balanced an interesting, but ultimately strong, personal life. And yet, the clock ran out. Think about all that he could have done – think how richer our World would be had he been in it for 20-30 years more. So, you wonder about this futile Rat Race that we are all running; these goals that we are all setting and you cannot help but sometimes pause and ask, “To What End?”
Steve Jobs provides the answer through his living: To the end that when your star diffuses, you leave an imprint on Earth that can be remembered through the years. And through that itself – you live on. Your Legacy continues. And you achieve Greatness.
I will miss you Mr.Jobs. I didn’t know it until this moment just how deeply you had enriched and touched my life.
~ Stay hungry, Stay Foolish ~
Tags: apple, carpe diem, heath ledger, inspire, life, living, steve jobs
Good thinking!
RIP Steve!
-K
You have just captured everything I was feeling!
Thank you both – this entry seemed to have just flown out from me without a pause.
I felt a little empty when I heard the news. Like everything else didn’t matter. Something you would feel when you hear deeply personal bad news. The moment was fleeting. But its very existence surprised me. You could not have said this better
The bolded line, “Our lives are a little less brighter,” is off. “less bright.”
Loved the article though.