“True success’ in business and life has nothing to do with money.
In an interview, legendary investor Warren Buffett offered his definition for “true success.”
“Well, I’ve said many times that, if you get to be 65 or 70 and later, and the people that you want to have love you actually do love you, you’re a success,” Buffett said in the Yahoo Finance interview.
Buffett doesn’t believe money or power or social status makes a person successful. “I know people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners and they get hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them,” said Buffett. “If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster.”
Buffett offers three pieces of advice for people looking to succeed in business and life.
- Invest in yourself, and in particular, try to improve your communication skills. “If you can’t communicate to somebody, it’s like winking at a girl in the dark,” Buffett quipped.
- Take care of your mind and body. “You get exactly one mind and one body in this world. And you can’t start taking care of it when you’re 50,” he said.
- You should associate yourself with others who “are better than you are.” He added, “Basically, you’ll go in the direction of the people that you associate with. And you want to have the right heroes.”
Key takeaway — the amount you are loved — not your wealth or accomplishments — is the ultimate measure of success in life. “The problem with love is that it’s not for sale,” Buffett explains. “The only way to get love is to be lovable. It’s very irritating if you have a lot of money. You’d like to think you could write a check: I’ll buy a million dollars’ worth of love. But it doesn’t work that way. The more you give love away, the more you get.”
When you’re nearing your end of life, your only measure of success should be the number of “people you want to have love you actually do love you.” https://t.co/gwPCv0xqZd
— ELB (@ebrownl33) September 10, 2021
The most important lesson of a life well-lived, according to Buffett, has nothing to do with wealth and everything to do with the most powerful human emotion: love.
“Basically, when you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you.
I know many people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners and they get hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them.
That’s the ultimate test of how you have lived your life. The trouble with love is that you can’t buy it. You can buy sex. You can buy testimonial dinners. But the only way to get love is to be lovable.
It’s very irritating if you have a lot of money. You’d like to think you could write a check: I’ll buy a million dollars’ worth of love. But it doesn’t work that way. The more you give love away, the more you get.” Warren Buffett, The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
References:
- https://money.yahoo.com/warren-buffett-definition-success-174700744.html
- https://selfmadesuccess.com/warren-buffett-success-quotes/
- https://app.landit.com/articles/buffets-5-step-process-for-prioritizing-true-success
- https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/13/billionaire-warren-buffett-says-this-is-the-only-measure-of-success-that-matters.html
- https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/warren-buffett-says-it-doesnt-matter-how-rich-you-are-without-this-1-thing-your-life-is-a-disaster.html