The Go-Giver Secrets of Steve Jobs

My friends at ScanSource Latin America and I are reading and discussing Bob Burg and John David Mann's jewel of a book, The Go-Giver.

So far we've covered two very important laws of success:

The Law of Value:Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.

The Law of Compensation:
Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. 

It's interesting to note that in all our book club sessions we've often referenced Steve Jobs and Apple's amazing customer-centric products, which is more than fitting because Steve Jobs is living proof that Go-Giving works! 

But if you're still skeptical about whether these principles can truly work in the real world, here are two quotes from Steve Jobs that may prompt you to change your mind.

As you know, after releasing the "insanely great" Macintosh computer in 1984 Steve Jobs got really rich, really fast. In a 1985 Playboy interview, he was asked about his tremendous, newly-found wealth:

“You know, my main reaction to this money thing is that it’s humorous, all the attention to it, because it’s hardly the most insightful or valuable thing that’s happened to me.”

So, according to Steve Jobs, money is NOT the game-changer?

Then what is? 

What's his focus?

Giving.

Nearly a decade later, in 1993, he was asked by the Wall Street Journal about money and what drives him to succeed, to which he responded:

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful…that’s what matters to me.”

So acquiring wealth is nice, but doing something wonderful is what truly matters to Steve Jobs. Creating products that change millions of peoples' lives is the ultimate reward, not the money itself.

Wow!

You can check out lots of great Steve Jobs quotes from the Wall Street Journal. 

Read them and you'll sense his amazing devotion to giving through innovation, creativity, and creating a truly unique experience for customers—experiences that are worth more than customers could possibly pay for in simple monetary terms.

Not focusing on money and focusing on giving, helped Steve Jobs earn BILLIONS!! 

That's the power that Burg and Mann would like you to tap into.

Now that you know... what will you do differently?

P.S. I wrote another piece on Steve Jobs that's very apropos to this discussion on my Happy Monday Blog. It might be worth checking out.