Woke this morning to hear the sad news that Steve Jobs has lost his battle with cancer. He was a truly great businessman but more than that he was an inspiration to young people, entrepreneurs, inventors, designers, early adopters, budding musicians, and people with disabilities who discovered with Apple’s devices a way to engage with the world.

So many people drew courage from Steve and related to his life story: adoptees, college drop-outs, struggling entrepreneurs, ousted business leaders figuring out how to make a difference in the world, and people fighting debilitating illness. We have all been there in some way and can see a bit of ourselves in his personal and professional successes and struggles.

He inspired with his direct message, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life…have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” And yet, despite all his success — he never forgot what was really important in life and was a much loved family man. My thoughts are with Laurene and his family. He will be sorely missed.

Here’s an earlier post from me on Steve Jobs: the entrepreneur I most admire.

This post first appeared on Richard’s Blog.