Life’s like a game in many ways: as you level up and gain more experience the challenges get more difficult, but unlike a video game, life doesn’t always offer second chances when you mess up. But when a second chance does come knocking at your door, it’s always useful to have a plan for how you will utilize it.
MJTH/Shutterstock | Life becomes more challenging as you gain more experiences
If you aren’t sure what you should do, here are some words of wisdom from a man who knows what it takes to be successful and his net worth of a whopping $82 billion is a testament to that.
Warren Buffett has been imparting his wisdom to his admirers for more than two decades now, but one of the most important pieces of advice he has ever shared is that about trust in a partnership.
A Billion-Dollar Question
In 1998, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO gave a lecture to the MBA students of the University of Florida, where he addressed several concerns related to business and investments.
During the Q&A, one of the students asked the business magnate an interesting question that he had probably never encountered before: what would the billionaire do differently to achieve happiness if he was given a second chance at life?
Kent Sievers/Shutterstock | Buffett says the key to success is doing something you love and doing it with people you actually enjoy working with
The billionaire paused before answering, but the response shed some crucial insight on how relationships determine the fate of a business. He said that if he had to start all over again, he would have taken less time to figure out that the key to success is doing something you love and doing it with people you actually enjoy working with.
A Long-Term Commitment
To supplement his point, he assumed that if someone were to give him an opportunity to make a hundred million dollars, but he didn’t quite trust the man, he would turn down the offer completely because a business partnership is much like a marriage and you have to choose your spouse wisely to save yourself from a lifetime of regret.
While you probably won’t get the chance to earn $100 million in the near future, this advice is very applicable in our careers, whether it be a partnership with a client or your relationship with your current boss and colleagues.
Ladders | Oftentimes we stick to our job even if we hate it just because we think we can’t do any better
Oftentimes we stick to our job even if we hate it just because we think we can’t do any better. But the truth is that a toxic work relationship could actually be holding you back.
If you want to take yourself in a specific direction or towards a certain goal, it is important to surround yourself with people who are already paving the way. After all, you are who you surround yourself with.