Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Steve Jobs are three of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world. They happen to be very great motivational speakers as well, and they all share one common belief in life; learn to say No!
The Art of Saying No
The importance of saying no correlates with how everyone on earth is imprisoned by the invisible jail; time.
Each one of us, no matter where we live or what we do for a living, shares exactly the same amount of minutes, weeks, and years on a daily basis. And since we are all being limited with time, learning when to say no helps us maximize the allotted time that we have and use it wisely on things that matter the most.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet’s Friendship
This thinking applies not only to opportunities at work or promising project offers, but also to invitations in social gatherings, personal favors, and anything that might compromise other activities that you need to do.
That is one of the most important words of wisdom Bill Gates has learned from his fellow multi-billionaire and close friend, Warren Buffet.
The two successful businessmen commend each other from time to time for learning different business strategies and life lessons from each other.
They don’t see the other party as a competition, but instead an inspiration to strive harder and become smarter towards success. I guess it’s true that if you surround yourself with successful people, there’s a bigger chance that you’ll be successful too.
Steve Jobs Agrees
Unsurprisingly, the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs had the same mantra in life. Jobs had a reputation for being a very centered and focused person. His personality led him to discoveries of innovative inventions such as the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMac, and the Macbook.
When he decided to start Apple Company in his garage, diverting his focus to his main objective and saying no to other things that are less important helped him through the ladder of success.
When his company became one of the biggest and most successful firms in the world, he still values the same philosophy in life and influences his employees. He often asks around his crew on how many times they had to say no in a day.
He always reminded them that focusing practically means, there is a very promising offer, but you say no to it because your focal point is already on something else.
Although they also noted that saying no is very easy, being firm about your decision is the difficult part. For this mindset to work to your advantage, you have to be solid on your commitment to it.