On Wednesday, the world learned that Steve Jobs passed away from pancreatic cancer. Many received the news from their Apple computers or iPhones, devices that would not have been possible without his entrepreneurial spirit.

Steve Jobs’ story is an inspirational one. Instead of taking the path that was laid out for him, he made one on his own. As he explains in his commencement address to Stanford in 2005, his parents had always intended for him to go to college, but after 16 months he felt he was just wasting their money, “So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out ok.”

When I was in my senior year of high school, I found myself fed up with classes that I wasn’t interested in. Much to the dismay of my parents, I decided to dropout. People had a lot to say about my unconventional choice. They told me I was never going to make it if I didn’t go back to school and doomed me to be a high school dropout for life. Within months, I received my GED and was accepted to Webster.

By my sophomore year of college, I was getting tired of driving up to campus to do my homework in Adobe CS4. I was contemplating my first Apple purchase, so I could run the creative suite at home. I sat in my 1988 Volvo one night thinking about the choice I was about to make. I could have easily put that money into a new car (which I also needed), but the MacBook Pro was an investment in my future. I bought the MacBook Pro, and I’ve never looked back. It has awarded me more opportunities than I could have ever imagined.

Aside from his inventions, Steve Jobs seemed to be a man with inspiring and insightful views. The world will never forget his innovations, but don’t forget to remember his philosophy, “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

You’ll love and lose; and you’ll gain. Love what you do and live life to the fullest before it’s too late because death is a “destination we all share.”

Steve Jobs
1955-2011