Key Takeaways

• Bill Gates has discussed how he lives his life to achieve success.
• There are three key things he does and we’ll review them here.
• You can incorporate these practices into your own life on a daily basis.

Microsoft co-founder and entrepreneur Bill Gates has discussed things he does in his life that have helped him be successful. They’re things most anyone can incorporate into their daily lives and they are:

• Exercise curiosity
• Embody optimism
• Learn to delegate

Starting with the first one, exercising curiosity – this isn’t something that’s limited to kids, though we often find ourselves losing our curiosity as we age. But if we can be consciously curious about the world around us, it allows us to see things in a different light. Look at the curiosity children show, and you’ll see the excitement and joy it brings to their lives.

When it comes to embodying optimism, there’s a book by Matt Ridley called The Rational Optimist and it gives a great example of what this means. If you consider a glass half empty (pessimistic) versus glass half full (optimistic) way of viewing things, a rational optimist will look at the glass and say, “I have to look at it as half full, because I have to be able to see where I can gain some traction and move forward.”

It’s viewing what’s missing as an opportunity for growth. By starting from a positive mindset, your chances of achieving something are much greater than if you start with a negative mindset. But it’s also a rational way of being optimistic – you’re not looking at it with rose-colored glasses.

Finally, there’s learning to delegate. This is really big and it’s important. A recent book by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, Who Not How, advises that when you’re tasked with doing something, rather than asking yourself how you’ll do it, ask yourself, “Who can do this?”

Part of knowing how to delegate includes knowing how to say no. This is something that successful entrepreneurs and business owners are really good at doing. They know when to say no if they don’t want to do something – or to say that they’ll take it on only if they can delegate it to someone else…and if no one is available, then it’s a “no.”

Delegating and saying no allow you, and those around you, to do what you’re great at. You can focus on what you know, and so can those you’ve delegated to. The work goes to people who have expertise in those areas – they’re the “who’s.”

If these resonate with you, perhaps they’re things you can apply to your daily life, if you’re not already doing them. Until next time, enjoy.

Gary

If you’d like to read more on this topic, here is one of our past Coyle Blog posts that you might enjoy:

Who Not How

Gary Klaben serves as a Financial Advisor, and visionary for Coyle Financial Counsel. He has over 30 years of experience and is the author of Changing the Conversation, Wealth of Everything and co-author of The Business Battlefield.  Whether advising his clients, mentoring his team, or coaching entrepreneurs, he is always simplifying complexity and motivating others to take the next action that’s right for them.

Learn more about The Coyle Process, approach designed to get your arms around the big picture, so you can make informed financial decisions. Ask Gary about The Coyle Process and schedule a complimentary consultation and start living the Good Life Managed Well™.

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