“You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.” – John Maxwell
After the two-part love bomb we dropped on Tuesday and Wednesday, I thought we’d keep it a bit lighter today.
Enter a powerful little goal-setting method from Warren Buffett.
As the story goes, Warren was boarding his private jet one day when his pilot stopped him to ask:
(and I’m paraphrasing here)
“Warren, you’re worth 100 billion. You own ~65 world-class companies. You’ve been in the zone for six decades straight. What goal setting / productivity / success / life advice would you give someone like me?”
Here’s what Warren told him:
- Write down your top 25 goals.
- Choose the 5 that matter most to you.
- Cross off the other 20, and vow to never think about them again.
- Then, get to work on the 5 that matter.
And I concur.
If there is a master key to productivity and goal achievement, it’s this:
Ruthless, single-pointed focus on what really matters.
The good news is, very few things really matter.
The less-good news is, we can rarely tell what matters from what doesn’t.
So take Warren’s advice, and spend a little upfront time thinking about what you really want to accomplish in your life.
(my advice: actually sit down with a pen and paper and do it this weekend)
It might just save you a lifetime of wasted effort.
- T
P.S. My five:
- The Maui Retreat
- Successful, life-long romantic partnership
- Mastery of my craft in the healing arts
- Mastery of my craft in teaching inner development
- Awakening
Hit me back with yours.