But Jobs himself, as he told Stanford graduates during , lost his fear of failure. "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

I hope that Tim Cook can find wisdom and comfort in these words, and that Apple fans and the industry as a whole will give him the time and support he needs to feel out the wheel, get his bearings and continue on with the voyage that Jobs so wondrously began.