The decades-long friendship that Warren Buffett and Bill Gates share has been productive for either party. The two men are intelligent and hardworking, and complement each other in ways we hadn’t thought possible. No wonder they both feature in the top three of the world’s richest individuals, bested only by Jeff Bezos (Amazon).
Time is Invaluable
Of the many insights Mr. Gates learned from his friend, there’s this particular one that he loves reminding us every now and then – the value of your time.
The Berkshire Hathaway CEO has always been of the opinion that opportunities will always be in endless supply and people will always have causes they hold dear. However, he also thinks that we should learn how to prioritize, and most importantly master the art of saying no.
According to him, turning down certain requests leaves you free to focus all your concentration of objectives and goals that really matter. Coming from an 88-year-old multibillionaire, who would dare disagree with his wise words?
Bill Gates learned from Buffett, and both men are now in the same boat. No matter how much wealth they accumulate, they both agree that time limits them just as it does everyone else is.
As such, why waste even a single minute of it? We could learn a thing or two here, since saying no seems to propel one to insane wealth J
Preaching the Same Message
If you still haven’t bought into the idea of using no as a tool to your success, wait till you hear that Apple’s Steve Jobs also preached the same message. You wholesomely agree that Jobs led a successful life, no?
The man saved his company from an imminent collapse by reducing their products and instead focusing on perfecting a narrower range. If you’re reading this on your iPhone or MacBook, how about you thank the heavens for Steve Jobs?
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Jony Ive (former design chief at Apple) admitted that Jobs was the most focused individual he had ever come across. He went on to reveal that the Apple co-founder had this habit of regularly asking him how many times he’d said no in a day.
And by no, he didn’t mean using the word in casual conversation. He meant declining to get involved in a project that his very soul agreed could be the next big thing, simply because he was already working on something else just as big.
According to Ive, Jobs was always about staying true to a cause, avoiding all other distractions that you may face along the way.
In all honesty, however, mastering the art of saying no is easier said than done. The guilt that follows after one rejects a client, a meeting, or a job offer is what makes it all the more difficult.
But if Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett both agree that it is a clear path to success, we have no choice but to learn! It all starts with being firm in your decision, but also being polite when passing it across.
