15 Life-Changing Decisions Self-Made Billionaires Had to Make to Be Successful
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the 15 critical life decisions self-made billionaires make to build their fortunes. From viewing work as freedom to embracing audacious dreams, each choice shapes their path to success. The narrative emphasizes the importance of overcoming past adversities, setting clear goals, seizing opportunities, and maintaining a relentless drive for success. It highlights the sacrifices, risks, and the unwavering commitment to growth and excellence that define the billionaire mindset.
Takeaways
- π· Seeing Work as Freedom: Billionaires often began working from a young age, viewing their ability to work as a form of freedom rather than imprisonment.
- π Embracing Big Dreams: Successful individuals hold onto ambitious dreams, even when others may see them as delusional, and work tirelessly to make them a reality.
- π Allowing Past to Propel: Many billionaires have overcome difficult backgrounds, using their past as a driving force rather than allowing it to hold them back.
- πͺ Setting Sequential Goals: Billionaires approach their dreams with clear, step-by-step goals, treating each step as a rung on the ladder to success.
- πͺ Taking Opportunities: Recognizing and seizing opportunities is crucial; even when faced with doubt or rejection, they persist and walk through open doors.
- πΌ Tying Identity to Success: For many billionaires, their identity is intrinsically linked to their success, with every aspect of their life revolving around work and achievement.
- πͺ Sacrificing Relationships: Building a fortune often requires sacrifices, including time away from loved ones, with the understanding that success is the main priority.
- π€ Choosing Pride Over Shame: Billionaires are proud of their ambitions and desires for more, not ashamed, and embrace the pursuit of their goals without societal judgment.
- π Obsessing Over Winning: A relentless drive to win and be the best at what they do is a common trait among billionaires, which often precedes their accumulation of wealth and power.
- π― Driving with Tunnel Vision: To reach the pinnacle of success, billionaires often ignore external noise and maintain a singular focus on their goals and vision.
- π Risking It All: The willingness to risk everything, even in the face of potential failure, is a key decision that separates the billionaires from those who settle for mediocrity.
- π€« Embracing Madness Behind Closed Doors: Billionaires often entertain unconventional ideas and strategies in private, blurring the lines between genius and madness.
- π€ Delivering Beyond Expectations: Consistently going above and beyond expectations in all endeavors is a hallmark of those who achieve billionaire status.
- π€ Finding the Right Allies: Successful individuals often have a trusted ally who supports and challenges them, playing a crucial role in their journey to success.
- ποΈββοΈ Never Staying Still: Billionaires understand that complacency is their enemy and that continuous improvement and movement are essential for sustained success.
- π€ Avoiding Complaints: Complaining is seen as a sign of powerlessness; instead, billionaires focus on taking control and finding solutions to problems.
Q & A
What percentage of the world's billionaires are estimated to have built their fortunes through their own efforts?
-Approximately 65 to 70% of the world's billionaires are estimated to have built their fortunes through their own efforts.
How did Jeff Bezos view his early work experiences, according to the transcript?
-Jeff Bezos viewed his early work experiences, such as working the breakfast shift at McDonald's at the age of 16, as a blessing that gave him freedom and choice, rather than something that kept him imprisoned.
What is the significance of having an audacious dream according to the script?
-Having an audacious dream is significant because it creates incredibly ambitious people who have the ability to make those dreams a reality, as demonstrated by Richard Branson and Walt Disney.
How does the transcript suggest dealing with a difficult past?
-The transcript suggests allowing one's past to propel them forward rather than holding them back, regardless of the difficulties faced.
What is the importance of setting goals like rungs on a ladder, as mentioned in the script?
-Setting goals like rungs on a ladder is important because it allows for deliberate and sequential steps towards one's dreams, using every setback as a foundation for the next step.
What does the script say about the attitude towards opportunities when a door opens?
-The script emphasizes the importance of seeing every opportunity as one meant for you and walking through the open door without hesitation or doubt.
How does the transcript describe the relationship between a billionaire's identity and their success?
-The transcript describes that for billionaires, their identity is tied to success, with everything they do revolving around their work, money, and success.
What does the script suggest about the necessity of sacrificing relationships when building a fortune?
-The script suggests that building a fortune requires a commitment of time that may necessitate the sacrifice of relationships, with the hope that loved ones will understand and support the endeavor.
Why should one not be ashamed of wanting more, according to the script?
-According to the script, one should not be ashamed of wanting more because billionaires are not afraid to vocalize their desires for more recognition, victories, money, and power, even in the face of criticism.
What is the script's view on the importance of delivering more than what is expected in any job?
-The script views delivering more than what is expected as crucial, as it hones a strong work ethic and resilience, which are essential for achieving success.
How does the transcript define the role of the right allies in becoming a billionaire?
-The transcript defines the role of the right allies as indispensable, as they provide support, accountability, and the necessary push to achieve success beyond one's limits.
What is the final life-changing decision that self-made billionaires make, as mentioned in the script?
-The final life-changing decision that self-made billionaires make, as mentioned in the script, is to never stay still and to continuously seek improvement and growth.
Outlines
πΌ Embracing Work as a Path to Freedom
This paragraph discusses the early work experiences of self-made billionaires and how they viewed their ability to work as a form of freedom rather than imprisonment. It highlights the importance of recognizing the value of work in shaping one's future and the necessity to see it as an opportunity for growth and choice. Examples of Jeff Bezos and Mark Cuban's early work experiences are provided to illustrate this point.
π Holding onto Audacious Dreams
The second paragraph emphasizes the importance of having and pursuing big dreams, even if they seem delusional to others. It uses the examples of Richard Branson and Walt Disney to show that the most ambitious people are those who hold onto their dreams despite skepticism and ridicule. This paragraph underscores the idea that maintaining belief in one's dreams is crucial for achieving success.
π Allowing the Past to Propel, Not Hold Back
This section of the script talks about the difficult backgrounds of some billionaires and how they used their pasts to propel them forward rather than letting them hold them back. It mentions figures like Tyler Perry and Steve Jobs, who overcame challenging childhoods to achieve success. The paragraph encourages readers to let their past experiences fuel their drive for a better future.
π Setting Goals Like Ladder Rungs
The fourth paragraph focuses on the strategy of setting incremental goals, like rungs on a ladder, to reach one's ultimate dream. It explains that even though these billionaires had big dreams, they started from humble beginnings and took deliberate steps toward their objectives. The paragraph illustrates the importance of starting at the bottom and building a solid foundation for future success.
πͺ Walking Through Opportunities When They Arise
This paragraph discusses the importance of seizing opportunities when they present themselves, without hesitation or doubt. It uses the stories of Steve Jobs and Whitney Wolfe to exemplify how successful individuals act decisively when faced with opportunities, even if it means overcoming setbacks or rejections. The paragraph encourages readers to embrace opportunities as they come.
π€ Tying Identity to Success
The sixth paragraph explores how the lives of billionaires are deeply intertwined with their work, money, and success. It suggests that everything they do is connected to their drive for success, and they do not compartmentalize their lives into separate areas like work and personal life. The paragraph highlights the all-encompassing nature of their commitment to success.
π Choosing to Sacrifice Relationships for Success
This section delves into the sacrifices that come with the pursuit of building a fortune, including the potential impact on personal relationships and family life. It acknowledges that the time and commitment required for such endeavors can lead to missing out on important life events and the need to accept these sacrifices as part of the journey to success.
π Embracing the Desire for More
The seventh paragraph addresses the societal judgment towards those who openly express their desire for moreβbe it recognition, victories, money, or power. It encourages readers to be unashamed of their ambitions and to embrace the desire for more as a driving force towards success, despite criticism or judgment from others.
π Obsessing Over Winning
This paragraph highlights the initial goals of many billionaires, which were not necessarily to amass wealth but to be the best at what they did. It explains that the desire to win and be better than others often precedes the accumulation of wealth and power, and that success is a gradual process that starts with a competitive spirit.
π― Driving with Tunnel Vision
The ninth paragraph discusses the importance of focusing solely on one's goals and ignoring external noise as a key to success. It suggests that as individuals reach high levels of success, they must be prepared to make tough decisions and ignore criticism in order to continue moving forward.
π Risking It All to Avoid Mediocrity
This section emphasizes the willingness of billionaires to take risks and leave behind their old lives in pursuit of their dreams. It suggests that the fear of mediocrity is greater than the fear of failure, and that taking risks is essential to achieving extraordinary success.
π€― Leaning into Madness Behind Closed Doors
The eleventh paragraph explores the idea that achieving billionaire status may require embracing ideas and strategies that seem mad or outlandish to others. It suggests that such madness is often kept behind closed doors and shared only with close allies, and that this approach can lead to bold and successful moves.
π Always Delivering More Than Expected
This paragraph stresses the importance of exceeding expectations in all work endeavors, regardless of the job's nature. It uses examples of successful individuals who started in humble positions but always aimed to deliver more, which contributed to their strong work ethic and eventual success.
π€ Finding and Keeping the Right Allies
The thirteenth paragraph discusses the significance of having the right allies in the journey to success. It suggests that billionaires often have one key person who supports and challenges them, helping them to grow and achieve their goals together.
π Never Staying Still, Constantly Moving Forward
The final paragraph of the script emphasizes the importance of continuous movement and improvement as a key to success. It argues against complacency and advocates for the creation of new goals even after achieving significant success, using examples of older billionaires who remain active and engaged in their work.
π« Avoiding Complaints as a Sign of Control
As a bonus life-changing decision, this paragraph suggests that self-made billionaires view complaining as a sign of powerlessness and choose to take control of their situations instead. It encourages readers to internalize their complaints and focus on finding solutions to problems rather than expressing discontent.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Billionaires
π‘Life-changing decisions
π‘Freedom
π‘Obsession
π‘Past
π‘Goals
π‘Opportunity
π‘Success
π‘Relationships
π‘Ambition
π‘Tunnel vision
π‘Risk
π‘Allies
π‘Complacency
π‘Control
Highlights
About 65% to 70% of the world's 2,640 billionaires built their fortunes through their own efforts.
Self-made billionaires often started working at a young age, viewing work as freedom, not imprisonment.
Jeff Bezos worked at McDonald's at 16, and Mark Cuban began buying and selling baseball cards as a teenager.
Billionaires like Richard Branson and Walt Disney held onto audacious dreams despite skepticism.
Many billionaires came from difficult backgrounds, using their past to propel them forward.
They set goals like rungs on a ladder, starting at the bottom and taking deliberate steps towards their dreams.
Oprah Winfrey and Jack Ma started in humble positions, emphasizing the importance of starting at the bottom.
Billionaires see every opportunity as meant for them, walking through doors without hesitation.
They tie their identity to success, with everything they do revolving around work, money, and success.
Billionaires often had to sacrifice relationships to focus on building their fortunes.
They are proud, not ashamed, of wanting more recognition, victories, money, and power.
Billionaires are obsessed with winning, then money, and then power, as they climb the success ladder.
They drive with tunnel vision, ignoring the noise and criticism that comes with high levels of success.
Risking it all is a common decision among billionaires, as mediocrity is worse than failure for them.
Behind closed doors, billionaires embrace madness in their ideas, strategies, and dreams.
Delivering more than what is expected is a trait that many billionaires have shown in their early careers.
Finding the right allies and holding onto them is crucial for billionaires in their journey to success.
Billionaires never stay still, always creating new goals and striving for continuous improvement.
Complaining is seen as a sign of powerlessness; billionaires focus on taking control and making things better.
Transcripts
there are
2,640 billionaires in the world that we
know of about 65 to 70% built their
Fortune through their own efforts and at
each pivotal point in their lives these
people had to make a decision that would
change their lives the road is far from
Easy the forks are wide and varied and
what they decided could make their
success but break their public
perception but their choices got them to
where they are now so let's have a look
at them here are 15 life changing
decisions self-made billionaires had to
make to build their
Fortune number one to see the ability to
work as Freedom not
imprisonment when you look at the life
stories of billionaires who built their
fortunes themselves you see that many of
them started working the moment they
were legally allowed to and some even
before then Jeff Bezos worked the
breakfast shift at McDonald's when he
was 16 he spent his child doing manual
labor at his grandparents Ranch for
spare change Mark cubin was barely a
teenager when he started buying and
reselling baseball cards and stamps you
have to make the decision to see your
ability to work as a blessing as
something that gives you freedom and
choice not something that's designed to
keep you imprisoned and following a
system well some of that may be true if
that's the only way you view work then
that's the only way you'll ever see
yourself as a prisoner are confined to
your desk never able to quit never able
to run out and start your own story from
scratch number two they become obsessed
with a dream others thought was
delusional imagine if in the 1980s you
heard a teenager say that his biggest
dream was to make Intergalactic space
travel accessible to everyone you'd
scoff right you'd laugh at them imagine
if in the 1930s when animated cartoons
were less than 5 minutes long you heard
some guy say he wanted to make a feature
film that was completely animated again
you would scoff you would laugh at them
and yet Richard Branson and Walt Disney
they have shown us that the most
audacious dreams create incredibly
ambitious people who have the ability to
make those dreams a reality they had
these audacious dreams and they had to
decide to hold on to those dreams no
matter how much they laughed doubted or
questioned
them number three allow their past to
propel them not hold them back some of
the most well-known billionaires didn't
come from families who had a lot of
money they came from abandoned abusive
households Tyler Perry the owner of one
of the largest Film Production Studios
in the world he ran away from his home
where his father terrorized him for
years Steve Jobs biological parents gave
him up for adoption mark 's parents were
immigrants from Russia and while they
were as supportive as they could be they
started off in a very new country with
next to nothing your childhood and your
past has a major effect on what you're
going to do with your life and your
future and if you keep focusing on the
past and what you missed out on if you
keep ruminating about the unfairness of
life you're never going to have the
mental emotional or physical energy you
need to focus on building your career or
Fortune at some point in your life you
have to decide to let your past push you
forward not hold you back no matter how
difficult it
was number four they set their moves and
goals like lad rungs now despite these
billionaires having one big daring dream
they set their goals and moves like
rungs on a ladder they started at the
bottom and they had no problem with how
low they had to start they took
deliberate sequential steps toward their
goals and every wrong became a solid
foundation for them to make the next
step they might have had Big Dreams of
traveling in space but they started off
with writing a magazine started as a
teacher or as a Salesman no position is
too low or too far from your ultimate
goal because no matter where you start
it'll always be the first rung on your
ladder if you keep that Fearless dream
in mind and build each step on the next
step you'll keep moving up not to be a
billionaire at first but to be the best
at what they do Oprah started as a
broadcaster she knew she had to start at
the bottom and work her way up no matter
how low that wrong was any opportunity
is an opportunity Jack ma he was a
teacher Rihanna's first job was selling
clothes with her father in a stall on
the streets of Barbados it doesn't
matter where you start just
start number five they decided when a
door opens they should immediately walk
in you have to decide to see every
opportunity that comes up as an
opportunity that was meant for you when
that door opens you have to walk in no
questions asked and no doubts in your
mind for these billionaires they knew
they couldn't hesitate and ask are you
sure should I even be here because even
if people made them feel unwelcome they
had to act like they belonged there in
fact even when they were kicked out like
when Steve Jobs was kicked out of apple
or co-founder of Tinder Whitney wolf
herd was kicked out of her position they
came barging right back in Whitney
Wilford went on to found Bumble Steve
Jobs went on to found next which would
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door that's opened for you my friend and
now it's up to you to decide to take
that opportunity and walk in or wait on
the sidelines questioning yourself while
others walk in ahead of you and find
their own
success and speaking of success number
six they tie their identity to
success when you look at the lives of
billionaires now you'll see that
everything they do revolves around their
work money and success the friends they
have the dinners they go to their
vacations and their communication it's
always about their next move no matter
how old or young they are their identity
is success and it's always been this way
at some point they decided to make that
their lives they never had the thought
of work life balance it was about work
that is their balance most people
compartmentalize their lives it's broken
up into work family friends vacations
where you shut off from work and nights
out with people that have nothing to do
with their work you can't do that if you
want to be a billionaire though
everything you do is tied to your drive
for Success you don't have a minute to
waste all roads lead to work and you
know what they love it number seven they
chose a moment to sacrifice their
relationships now the commitment and
time it takes to build a fortune doesn't
leave very much room for anything else
not even and family you will have to
sacrifice your relationships and hope
that the people who love you love you
enough to stick by you even when you're
not physically there these billionaires
realize they won't be around for
birthdays and concerts and Sport days
because they'll be traveling working and
meeting up with people to make
million-dollar Deals they had to make
the decision to miss out on something
and then they had to decide to get over
feeling bad about it there was a moment
they realized that the main plot was
success
and friends and families were a part of
a side story but this often changes as
they get older and more successful we
often hear them say that it's important
to Value family friends and their time
but the reality is there's not much
space for that when you're still
building your billion dooll
Fortune number eight they also decide to
be proud not ashamed of wanting more
more recognition more victories more
money people more power our world looks
down on people who are vocal about
wanting more you might even try to hide
it not wanting everyone else to know how
hungry you are for more of everything
but you can't be ashamed or embarrassed
about it billionaires are not afraid to
talk about wanting more even when the
world criticizes them for it they're not
afraid of failing in front of everyone
and then trying again if that's what you
want then you have to make a decision
today to let go of any shame or
embarrassment around it because people
will question you and ask you if you're
happy they'll ask you if there's any
point in wanting more is that what life
is all about for you is it about feeling
that where you are now and what you have
isn't enough and if you're shooting for
billionaire status you should be able to
say yes and say it
proudly number nine first they are
obsessed with winning then money then
power for many billionaires despite
having Big Dreams their initial goals
weren't to be billionaires they wanted
to be the best at what they did no
matter what that was they started the
ladder on the lowest rung but they knew
they wouldn't be there forever they
wanted to be great at their first jobs
at first all they wanted to do was to
win to be better than everyone else but
once they got a taste of Victory they
wanted more and that brought in some
money when you start making money you
realize how much easier it becomes to
make more money to keep winning and to
get what you want and as they amag the
money they began to enjoy the power that
came with it there are stages to this
kind of success it doesn't start with
wanting power or with wanting to be a
billionaire it starts with wanting to
beat everybody else and from there you
build number 10 billionaires decide to
drive with tunnel vision and ignore the
noise now we're getting into the kind of
decisions that separate
multi-millionaires from billionaires as
they reach meteoric levels of success
there's going to be a lot of noise there
will be people who don't like them
simply because they have so much more
than everyone else and they're not
willing to give it all away they would
have to make hard decisions who to let
go how much to pay the people who work
for them to lobby for certain laws that
will help them on what they've built if
they always feel bad about what they did
or question their decisions they
wouldn't be able to keep moving they
have to decide that if they want to
reach the next level of success then
they have to shut out the noise of the
people who don't support them number 11
billionaires decide to risk it all
because mediocrity is worse than failure
at some point these billionaires had to
make a decision to risk it all and leave
their old life behind they decided to
drop out of college quit a good job sell
their business and build another one or
pour every ounce of their savings into a
dream sometimes they failed and they had
to start over again
sometimes the progress was slow and they
were broke and stressed for years and
sometimes they soared they had no idea
which way it was really going to go but
they still knew they had to take a risk
because if they didn't they would be
average and mediocre and that is
unacceptable to them they would rather
fail and fall a thousand times than stay
where they are
forever number 12 they decide to lean
into madness but they do it behind
closed doors with close people we get
Whispers of the craziness that happens
behind closed doors rising to the level
of billionaire requires you to embrace
ideas strategies and dreams that seem
mad or outlandish to others these are
the moments when the line between genius
and Madness starts to blur if they
behave the way everyone else did they
would be working for somebody else the
Bold moves work best when they're shared
with their closest allies they keep the
madness behind closed doors show
everyone else a clever kind enthusiastic
entrepreneur but that's just the pr spin
we only get glimpses of the personality
it truly takes to be a billionaire
thanks to a few louder more prominent
folks who like a little bit of extra
attention number 13 billionaires always
decide to deliver more than what
everyone else expected no matter what
they do whether they're working as a
janitor or a bartender they always
delivered more than what everyone else
expected Yan C founded WhatsApp but
before that he worked as a janitor in a
grocery store he said that the work
humbled him and gave him a strong work
ethic and resilience he put in the hours
no matter how boring and laborious the
work seemed Howard Schultz didn't found
Starbucks but he played a crucial role
in its success he worked as a bartender
in college and he said that it was this
job that gave him people skills the
ability to multitask and a sense of
determination to hit all the marks in
record time so whatever you're doing for
work right now ask yourself am I
delivering more than what everyone else
expects if you're not and you're happy
with coasting by on an easy life that's
totally okay all right but if you want
more for yourself then you have to start
with delivering more for others deliver
beyond what they expect from you number
14 find the right allies and hold on to
them for dear life billionaires don't
get to be billionaires all on their own
they have one Ally one person who sticks
with them through it all that person
will become a billionaire too they'll
hold them accountable and pull them back
in when they need to they'll push them
to places where they're uncomfortable if
they have to they're just as smart maybe
smarter but slightly more sane they're
just as charismatic ambitious and
focused if you want to be successful you
have to look for the right Ally for
someone who's just as good or even
better than you someone who's just as
driven and just as loyal you may betray
or be betrayed by everyone else in your
life but you can never betray each other
for Warren Buffett it's Charlie Munger
Steve Jobs and Steve wnc Mark Zuckerberg
and Cheryl Sandberg Oprah Winfrey and
Gail King you can't do it alone you need
a partner in
crime and number 15 billionaires decide
that no matter what they do they don't
ever stay still ever at a young age
these billionaires have learned that
their greatest failure would be to stay
still and get complacent because there
is no one ultimate decision to success
the excitement lies in constantly moving
and enjoying that movement everything
can be improved everything can be better
your money can always grow you can
always have a better time you can make a
better deal than your best deal ever and
age doesn't warrant Stillness on either
you could be 93-year-old Warren Buffett
who still handles and trades billions of
dollars of other people's money George
Joseph the 103-year-old founder of
mercury General is still chairman
emeritus which allows him to give
guidance and oversight you don't stop
once you reach your goal you just create
another one and since you stuck with us
through these 15 life-changing decisions
we had to save a bonus for you our last
life changing decision that self-made
billionaires have had to make they
decide that complaining is for those
without control because they see
complaining as a sign of powerlessness
it's a way of giving up control rather
than taking decisive action to be
successful you have to believe that you
have control in everything especially
yourself it doesn't matter if the market
is plummeting if a product launch failed
or if you lost millions in a bad Venture
complaining is not going to change the
situation and if you complain then
you're letting other people know that
you don't have control and you can never
have people believing that they need to
believe in your abilities fully so
whatever complaints you have you keep
them to yourself until that habit
disappears from your mind completely and
the only thought popping into your head
is how can I make this better all right
Alexa that's all for today my friend you
can see that these decisions aren't just
about financial moves no Financial
achievements happen as a result of these
life decisions they're not easy
decisions they're certainly not all
Roses and Rainbows they're tough to make
and even tougher to follow through on so
the question remains what will you
decide
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