HBO’s new documentary Becoming Warren Buffett covers the billionaire’s journey from an entrepreneurial boy to one of the wealthiest people in the entire world (including, depending on the year, being the wealthiest person in the world).
The documentary also focuses on his friendship with another of the world’s wealthiest men, Bill Gates. There’s a scene where Buffett and Gates had met early on and were sitting at a table, when they were both asked to write down on a piece of paper the one thing that they each felt attributed most to their success.
Surely enough, Buffett and Gates had written the same word down on their respective papers: focus.
This shouldn’t come as a coincidence. Many of the most highly successful people in the world I have spoken to attribute a singular focus — a commitment to the pursuit of one main goal or arena — to their success.
In fact, it’s how we often determine success. Historically, renaissance men who were well-rounded in a number of pursuits were well-regarded for the breadth of their knowledge and endeavors. Now, we often equate success with being the best or amongst the best in a peer group.
I am the poster child for “do as I say, not as I do,” given my sheer number of current varied pursuits, but early in my career, I made my first million from very specific focus. Over the past two decades, I have been the most successful when I have been the most focused.
So, how can you stay focused in a world with so many distractions?
Set a concrete goal or focus. When I…