The challenge of self-discovery
The key to Buffett’s success, Peter explains, is a career built on his core passion.
“For my father, and now me, the essence of a good work ethic starts with meeting a challenge of self-discovery, of finding something you love to do, so that work — even, or especially, when it’s very difficult and arduous — becomes joyful. Maybe even sacred,” he wrote in his book.
Buffett has previously mentioned how he was fascinated with investing in stocks at a relatively young age, picking up his first investment at just 11 years old. The legendary investor has also advised young people in the past to seek out work that they would do even if they were independently wealthy.
In other words, it’s easier to dedicate many hours every day for several decades to a project when you actually enjoy it.
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Focus, focus, focus
Buffett, along with other iconic business leaders like Bill Gates, has spoken about the value of focus. Buffett, for instance, dedicated all his attention to studying and buying companies, while Gates focused his attention on tech innovation.
“The concentration he brought to the process bordered on the mystical,” Peter wrote about his father.
Buffett’s work ethic is a testament to the idea that great success requires undivided attention.
The work matters more than the rewards
It’s perhaps easy to assume that the world’s richest people launched their career with the intention of accumulating as much capital as possible. But Peter believes his father’s immense wealth — now estimated to be over $140 billion by Forbes — is a byproduct of his work, not the primary target.
“If my father had been working mainly for the money, his efforts would have quickly dulled into a routine — a job,” he wrote.
Peter suggests that his father’s ability to detach his work from the potential rewards is key to his success.
Rewards — such as capital appreciation and income — are fickle and beyond your control. A bad economy could wipe away several years of hard work. That doesn’t make a passionate entrepreneur feel like a failure or compel them to give up.
“Why would people wager their self-respect on factors so far out of their control?” Peter asked in his book.
Instead, a passionate individual working on something they love may keep working regardless of the rewards. They might find fulfillment in completing their work, not in the potential for compensation.
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