Editor’s Note: Pete Cashmore is founder and CEO of Mashable, a popular blog about tech news and digital culture. He writes regular columns about social media and tech for CNN.com.
Story highlights
Steve Jobs lived by a set of values that shaped everything he did, Pete Cashmore writes
Jobs, despite his financial success, was frugal
Jobs questioned authority his entire life, even choosing to drive without license plates
He saw death as having positive aspects, referring to it as "nature's change agent"
Monday sees the eagerly awaited publication of “Steve Jobs,” the authorized biography of the late tech pioneer written by Walter Isaacson.
Remarkably – through leaks of the book’s details in the press and reflections from his friends – I’ve learned more about Jobs since his passing than I knew during his life.
What I’ve learned is that Jobs was guided by a very specific worldview – a set of values that shaped everything he did. And I’ve begun to think how we can all live more like Steve: The Tao of Steve, perhaps.
How to be rich
Steve, despite his financial success, was frugal. According to Isaacson, a former chairman of CNN, Steve said of money, “I did not want to live that nutso lavish lifestyle that so many people do when they get rich.” As a result, Steve’s home wasn’t particularly huge and he famously embraced minimalism.
“I saw a lot of other people at Apple, especially after we went public, how it changed them.”, Steve said in a recorded interview. “And a lot of people thought that they had to start being rich. I mean, a few people went out and bought Rolls Royces, and they bought homes, and their wives got plastic surgery. I saw these people who were really nice simple people turn into these bizarro people. And I made a promise to myself to myself, I said I’m not gonna let this money ruin my life.”
Steve wasn’t completely opposed to having expensive things, however: He drove a Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG.
How to dress
Steve’s frugality showed in his simple wardrobe, too: a pair of jeans and a black turtleneck. Jobs embraced this look for its simplicity – allowing him, perhaps, to focus on more important things. “He also came to like the idea of having a uniform for himself, both because of its daily c