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People have all kinds of roll models and heroes. From movie stars and athletes to rock stars, we all find inspiration from others. For me, the person at the tip top of that list is Steve Jobs.

Steve was the ultimate visionary and had a knack for coming up with products that you didn’t even know you wanted. Even if he had asked you what you wanted, you wouldn’t have come up with what he knew you wanted. At a time when creativity sometimes seemed nonexistent, Steve would look at a product from a totally different angle and question every aspect of it until he had reinvented it.

He was an amazing leader, creating Apple from nothing and then after a 10 year absence coming back to rescue a failing company and send it to the stars with new products and record profits. For Steve it was never about selling the most or the largest market share, it was about making the best product possible.

Steve is a perfect example of somebody who did not let fear make decisions for him. He went full speed ahead, tried, and sometimes failed, but learned from those failures and kept moving. He had passion for what he did, and lived and breathed it like no other.

So many people and companies do as little as possible to get by, to maximize profits at the expense of making a product that they can be proud of. But not Steve, and not Apple. It truly was in the details of every product they put out, and while you generally pay for it – you do get what you pay for. A superior product and even more so, a superior experience.

While we all knew Steve was not long for this world once he stepped down from Apple, it was still a shock today when I found out by visiting the Apple.com home page. I’m deeply saddened and wish I had made a effort to see him speak in person at least once before his passing. I feel that even though I never knew Steve, I have lost somebody close. Somebody that I truly admired, looked up to and tried to model. He was in a very real way, a hero to me. Those that know me well will not be surprise by that one bit.

I’ll miss you Steve Jobs, but I feel blessed to have lived at a time when I could experience first hand your influence on the world.

“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.”

– Steve Jobs