The majority of our “Social Media Marketing News” posts focus on discussing the latest trends and tips from the world of social media and internet marketing. In today’s post, given the recent untimely death of one of America’s greatest innovators and visionaries, Steve Jobs, I want to spend some time considering the part of his core personal philosophy that made him great and if modeled can certainly make all of us, if not great, immeasurably better.

For many, Steve Jobs will always be synonymous with Apple products. The iphone, itunes, the ipad, among other cutting edge technology releases are credited to him. For others, Steve Jobs is associated with bringing the “cool factor” to business. He was the first to popularize the idea of dressing down, or maybe better said , not dressing up at public functions. His “cool” jeans, t-shirt and tennis shoe look set the foundation for many a casual day. Beyond dress, Jobs made technology cool through his passionate presentations and his emphasis on designing devices and applications that the general public would be drawn to and want to use.

What often times gets lost in the focus on everything that Jobs accomplished, is the context around his life and the professional career decisions he made that put him into a position to execute and be successful. Jobs and a partner started Apple out of a garage. After growing the company to record revenue, he was fired by the Board of Directors. Think about that for a moment, being fired from a company he co-founded. Jobs went on to start and build several other companies, eventually returning to Apple and leading it the prominent position it holds today. Over all of that time and collective experience, Jobs was quick to point out that he let one motto guide his decision making process, “Don’t settle and do what you love.” He was fond of saying that every day when he woke up he would look at himself in the mirror and ask the question, “If today was my last day, could I say that I would enjoy doing what I’m about to do today? If the answer was “no” for too many days, I knew it was time to move on and do something else.”

Think about the power and personal control Jobs exhibited in those previous statements. Steve Jobs viewed himself as the driving force in his life. He was not a victim of circumstance or of any corporate culture. My challenge to you is to take the Steve Jobs “man in the mirror” test and see how you do. Falling into the trap of doing work simply because you’re good at it or because you are comfortable with your co-workers, your leader and your surroundings is very easy to do. I know a lot of people who do the work that they do for those aforementioned reasons, or worse, because the circumstances they’ve created in life don’t allow them the freedom to pursue what they love.

As you work on your MacBook or make a call on your iphone, take a minute to reflect on the advice of the man who made those devices possible – find and do work that you love.