The world lost an icon this week. He was a creative genius, a visionary, an inspirational innovator and an entrepreneur extraordinaire, . Yesterday’s CNN article compared him to the likes of Thomas Edison and Leonardo DaVinici.
When I reflect how much my own life has been impacted by his revolutionary contributions, I am astounded. From using the iPod to play our music at Jazzercise (believe it or not I started just when we were phasing out 45 records, we sure have come a long way baby!), to how I stay in touch with friends and family scattered across the country through the ease and convenience of my iPhone, to using my iPad daily allowing me to have a mobile office to make my life as an entrepreneur possible.
He said he wanted to “put a ding in the universe.” Ding? More like a ginormous cavity.
He created a legacy.
But legacies aren’t limited to revolutionizing the world with technology or creating a global phenomenon. Legacies are built by the small simple actions we take every day. They are designed by how we live our life in own communities.
So while we mourn the loss of Steve Jobs and celebrate his legacy, we should ask ourselves how we are creating our own.
The mother of my very dear friend Jura, Rosemary Strimavicius, received an award this week celebrating her own legacy. She has sewn thousands of pillows for woman in recovery from Breast Cancer surgery. She has lost most of her sight due to an aggressive eye disease, but she sews by memory and feel and a lot of love. According to Jura, “She stuffs more love than fluff into each pillow and finishes each one with a kiss every time!”
Granted Jobs certainly sold far more than ‘thousands’ of Apple products, but I bet the recipients of Rosemary’s pillows felt some pretty special love that can’t be conjured up by a phone or a laptop.
Rosemary is creating her own legacy, and SHE inspires me, just as Steve jobs will always be an inspiration to me.
What legacy are YOU creating?
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Rosemary receiving the “Volunteer of the Year” award from Necessities Bag founder Maureen Lutz ~ she is receiving a Baccarat necklace from a beautiful representative from Baccarat |