In a CNBC interview a few years back, Warren Buffet relayed a story of a time shortly after he and Bill Gates first met. Gate's father asked a group of roughly 20 people to write down on a sheet of paper the one word that they thought accounted for their success. Without seeing what the other wrote, both Buffet and Gates chose the same word: Focus. With this in mind, I wondered: How they would advise someone to choose what they place their focus on? In search of this answer, I ran across an article by author Scott Dinsmore which describes Buffet's 5-step framework for narrowing your focus to what really matters: Your "Avoid At All Costs List." The story is framed as a conversation between Buffet and his pilot (no idea if this is actually what happened) but you'll get the point nonetheless. Here goes: Buffet jokingly said to his pilot: "The fact that you're still working for me, tells me I'm not doing my job. You should be out going after more of your goals and dreams." Warren then asked his pilot to take the following steps: (You should do the same) • List your top 25: Make a list of the Top 25 things you want to do over the next few years or in your lifetime. • Choose your top 5: Review your list and circle the Top 5 items that are most important to you. This is critical––you can only pick 5. • Make a plan: Now that you have your Top 5, it's time to make a plan. How will you start working on these? Who do you need to enlist help from? When can you start? Hint: the answer should be now! • Know your priorities: Now that you've made your Top 5 plan, let's talk about the other 20 items on your list: Buffet asked his pilot, "What is your plan for completing those?" The pilot stated that he word work on those intermittently, as he had time, since they were not part of the Top 5. To the pilot's surprise, Buffet said: "No, you've got it all wrong. Everything you didn't circle just became your 'Avoid At All Costs List.' No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you've succeded with your Top 5." •Be ruthless with your Top 5 list: I think most of us would have probably answered Buffet in a similar manner to his pilot. I mean, those other things are still important, right? Well, according to Buffet (and seemingly Gates as well), the ability to focus on the few things that are the most important to you––what you really want––is the key to outsized results. Letting yourself be distracted by the 20 (less important) things is why you never reach your potential on the 5 that matter the most. For someone like me (with more ideas than time) this exercise was extremely helpful. Take 20 minutes today and write out your own list and see what you come up with. You might be surprised at the results.

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If I hadn't been diagnosed with breast cancer, I wouldn’t have: Become an author Given a TedX Talk Discovered the joy of hedgehogs Realised there is more to life than work Don't wait for something bad to happen. Find a way to follow your heart today.

10 Habits for happiness: - Take action - Practice gratitude - Exercise regularly - Live in the present - Spend time outdoors - Prioritize your passions - Avoid the comparison trap - Spend time with loved ones - Stay committed to your vision - Step out of your comfort zone

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