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Merrick, NY--Ever since the early '80s, when we learned to write our magazines on Macintosh computers with big floppy disks, I and legions of others have admired the work of Steve Jobs, who died yesterday at the age of 56. I am choosing to highlight one lesson from this great man's life that I believe bears the attention of better-level jewelers and designers: Life is really, really short and you must seize the moment.

A Facebook post last night from jewelry designer Arun Bohra quoted Jobs as saying at a commencement speech to Stanford University graduates (his only such speech): "Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new...Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life."

As an industry, we stand for celebrating life and cherishing one another; seizing those powerful and fleeting emotional moments and making them somehow permanent. This is a wonderful thing and more valuable than words can express.

So let's remember that when customers and potential customers who have the money continue to hem and haw and delay commemorating their life's moments with special mementoes and gifts of love, that they will realize now more than ever that the clock is ticking and that their moments are frighteningly finite and should be celebrated with heartfelt commitment and gusto.

If we would all live forever, there would be no time and no moments to celebrate and no urgency to make a difference. So Steve Jobs was as usual right on. Let's remember to seize the moments we have and help our customers to do the same!