I bought the first iPhone a few weeks after it’s release back in July of 2007. The phone was one of the best and most exciting purchases I ever bought. I quickly realized its positive effect on my business and my life. I couldn’t get enough of it. I would have friends, family, and strangers ask me how I liked the phone and I always responded, “It’s my best friend!” Nearly all of them soon after headed off to buy their own iPhones after letting them try out mine.

I’m on my third iPhone now but my feelings haven’t changed.  Anytime I need to be entertained, find my way on a map, connect with family, track the sun, check the news, take a quick photo, transfer funds, send an invoice, email a client. My iPhone is always there like a good friend. Not only is it a necessity for my photography business, it makes for a great lunch companion too.

© Matthew Worden

Since most everyone has a smartphone of some kind these days, I rarely tell people anymore that my iPhone is my best friend. The Droid and others are much the same, but no matter the brand, all of them have a little part of Steve Job’s genius built in.

I have been surprised by my reaction and sadness towards the loss of a man I have never met. I always admired and respected him from a far, but would never have guessed the way his death would affect me.

At some point today it all made sense to me. I realized that the best friend in my phone, was in a strange way, a little bit of Steve Jobs.

His leadership, passion, ideas, foresight, and vision transformed all of our lives, from playing us our favorite album, to tracking a person’s diabetes, to uniting countries in political revolutions. He changed me, he changed our society, and he changed the entire world.

Steve Jobs was the best we had.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” ~Steve Jobs