Last night, I became really sad \u2013 unexpectedly so \u2013 when I heard that Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, had passed away. Of course it is always sad when anyone passes away, but this was a bit deeper. Initially, I didn\u2019t \u201cget\u201d it. I never met the man. I don\u2019t even especially like Apple iPhones, iPads or Macs\u2026I\u2019m totally a PC and Android phone person. So why did I care so much?<\/p>\n
It all boils down to passion. For the last few weeks, I have been doing an online Path Finder course with the amazing Karen Walrond (Chookooloonks). Yesterday\u2019s prompt was \u201cwhat\u2019s important to you\u201d \u2013 to really think about what we admire and want to imitate in others. My top three were:<\/p>\n
1. Integrity:<\/strong> It\u2019s sorely lacking in this society so I\u2019m totally drawn to people who are honest and reliable.<\/p>\n 2. A sense of humor:<\/strong> I love people who take what they do seriously without taking themselves too seriously. Life is too short to be so serious about everything<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 3. Passion:<\/strong> I love being around passionate people. It doesn\u2019t even matter if I share their passion or not. That internal light that shines in people when they are enthusiastic about something (or even someone) is contagious!<\/p>\n As I mentioned, I don\u2019t know Steve Jobs personally. I can\u2019t comment on his personal integrity or sense of humor, because I don\u2019t know him like that. (Although from all accounts that I have read, he was<\/strong> rich in both traits.) However, I believe without a doubt that he was a man of passion.\u00a0 I think that it is impossible to play such an essential role in building such an amazing company as Apple without being a person of passion.\u00a0 Think about it\u2026when you do a google search of the term \u201capple\u201d, the fruit that has been around forever is outranked by the company that the 56 year old Jobs helped to build.\u00a0 That<\/strong> is impressive and I won\u2019t even delve into the creative genius that he exhibited with Pixar\u2026<\/p>\n I\u2019ll leave you with his Stanford University commencement speech. It is so inspiring\u2026and his passion shines through.<\/p>\n <\/p>