1. Your Starting Point Matters — But What You Do Next Matters More

Buffett begins with something we often forget: luck.

He’s candid about his advantaged upbringing and grateful for the environment that allowed him to thrive. But he didn’t coast. He used what he had — opportunities, relationships, teachers, mentors — and worked consistently over decades. Even at 95, he still goes into the office five days a week.

Take a moment and acknowledge the advantages and outside influences that helped you get here. Then remember: disadvantages don’t have to stop you. Progress comes from what you do with what you have.

Buffett puts it well:

“You will never be perfect, but you can always be better.”

Life won’t be fair, but it will teach you.

2. "Get the Right Heroes and Copy Them"

Buffett frequently mentioned the people who have shaped him — Charlie Munger, Don Keough, Tom Murphy, Stan Lipsey, and others.

Not one of them is known for flashiness or fame. They’re known for character, a quality that Buffett values.

Try this right now:

Write down three people you admire and the quality you admire most about each.
Then ask: How can I practice one of these qualities this week?

3. Don’t Let Past Mistakes Define You

Buffett opens his final thoughts with a reminder we all need:

“Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes – learn at least a little from them and move on.” 

Any time you mess up, take these two essential steps:

• Learn from it
• Move on

The key is remembering to do both quickly.

4. Know What You Want Your Obituary to Say

Buffett tells the story of Alfred Nobel accidentally reading his own obituary — and being horrified by what it said. That moment pushed him to reshape his life’s direction.

His challenge to us:

“Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.” 

A few questions worth sitting with:

• What would I want my obituary to say?

• Who would I want delivering my eulogy — and what would I want them to say?

• Are my daily actions moving me toward that version of myself?

If not, today is a good day to realign.

5. Be Kind and Compassionate (Especially When It’s Inconvenient)

Buffett reminds us that:

"Kindness is costless but also priceless."

It’s easy to be kind to people we like or people we care about impressing. But true compassion shows up when there’s nothing to gain.

A simple question to consider:

How can I be kind to someone I might normally overlook?

6. Buffett's Formula for Success

When Buffett looks back, the themes he highlights are surprisingly ordinary:

• Build long-term friendships.

• Work with people you admire and respect.

• Stay curious.

• Focus on substance, not image.

• Stick to your core competence.

• Help others quietly and consistently.

• Play the long game and let your efforts compound.

These elements are not sexy and won't go viral any time soon — but they work.

Final Takeaway: Life Is Long… Until It Isn’t

Buffett recognizes that:

“Father Time… is undefeated.”

We should too. Recognizing that truth isn’t depressing — it’s clarifying.
It reminds us to live the life we want now, not someday.

If you enjoyed these lessons, you might also appreciate this:

👉 30 Life Lessons from 1,000 People Who’ve Lived a Full Life

Wishing you a rewarding life!

The post Warren Buffett’s Final Letter: Lessons Learned from a Rewarding Life appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

I read on average 1-2 books a week (the silver lining to a long commute to work). Most of the books, I read once, glean the key ideas and never re-read again. This is why I take notice when a book deeply impacts my view of the world.

Below are 10 books I wish I read when I was younger because they've positively changed the way I live my life.

1. The LOL2A-Principle

This book recommended by my German colleague started me on the road to personal mastery. Your world is what you think of it. Change your thinking, change your world. LOL2A = Letting gO, (Love x2) and Action/Reaction.

2. The China Study

If you want independent, hard research on the best way to eat for good health, this is the book for you.

Spoiler alert: Eat plant-based, whole foods. Stay away from processed foods.

3. What Color is Your Parachute

This book set me in the right direction towards my dream job. Learn about yourself and find the job that fits you as opposed to fitting yourself to a job that you probably don't like. I've distilled the best exercises from this book and a few others in my Know What You Want course.

4. Atlas Shrugged

What if all the productive members of society decided to quit because lazier members kept condemning them for being rationally selfish and forcing them to share the wealth?

Inspired me to take responsibility and do great work - don't expect a handout or a hand up. Rise on your own.

5. Nonviolent Communication (my summary)

I'm not a fan of the title but the process itself is excellent for asserting your viewpoint and needs effectively. Don't make others feel guilty for how you feel. Take responsibility for your actions and intentions, not how others feel. Request, don't demand. Receive empathically.

6. How to Win Friends and Influence People

The best way to win an argument is to avoid it. Don't criticize, condemn or complain. Smile, be sincere, and genuinely take an interest in other people. Remember names and make the other person feel important. These practical tips along with many others are worth mastering.

7. Thinking Fast and Slow

We are biased. This book shares why and how our perspective is skewed and what we can do about it.

What you see is all there is - be careful of finding meaning when there is none. Self-control requires attention and effort. We have an unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.

Many books out there derive from concepts in this book. Save yourself time and read this one first.

8. On Writing Well

Great writing engages and moves the reader from one sentence to the next. Be genuine, crisp, and interesting. This essential guide from the late Bill Zinsser covers the core principles, methods, forms, and attitudes to writing effectively.

9. Sleep Smarter

Sleep has been a part of our lives since we've been born so it's easy to think we know how to sleep. This book shows you that both Quality and Quantity matters. If you're feeling too tired to read this book, here is my quick guide to get quality sleep.

10. High Output Management

Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, wrote this excellent reference for managing others. Whether you run a business or just run your family, you'll find simple yet powerful advice that works to improve productivity, enhance your decision-making skills and prioritize what's most important.

If you enjoyed this list and want more suggestions, go here for all of my book recommendations by topic. You can also see book summaries of my favorite books in the Long Story Short section.

The post 10 books I wish I read earlier in my life but glad I still read them eventually appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

This third interview of the Modeling Success Series reminds me why I love what I do and how much I enjoy meeting and learning from extraordinary people. I came away from this particular interview reinvigorated towards living my passion. The person who had such an energizing effect on me was Frances Hesselbein, President and CEO of the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute.

Ms. Hesselbein was also the former CEO of the Girls Scouts of the USA and recipient of countless awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. As I entered her office overlooking Park Avenue in New York, I couldn't help but notice her wall, covered in either books or honorary doctorates. She must have noticed because she started our journey together with this story:

After thanking her for allowing me to be a fellow traveler that morning, Ms. Hesselbein enlightened me with her personal definition of success. She knows she is successful when she lives by her main rule of conduct (which she jokes is tattooed on her shoulder with invisible ink):

To Serve is to Live

On that front, she's certainly been very successful.

She also lives by two of Peter Drucker's pearls of wisdom:

"Think first. Speak last."

"Ask. Don't tell."

- Peter Drucker

Simple instructions that lead to a life of success. I've added these 3 principles to my own rules of conduct and have seen great results both personally and professionally. Speaking last has been especially helpful.

Successful people rarely achieve success on their own. Behind every great person is a vast network of people willing to help. To be extraordinary, it is crucial to connect and collaborate with other extraordinary people. Listen to the next audio to find out good ways to connect with like-minded people and leaders.

Audio - Connecting with Leaders - 0:37

The last piece of advice in that audio is to "find great excitement in moving beyond the walls".

Walls protect.

They also limit.

To make an impact in the world, we have to step out of our "walls". We need to leave behind what is safe and familiar to create new paths for ourselves and others to follow. This is not easy and most people stay within their self-imposed boundaries or those set by society. Great people usually have the same boundaries as ordinary people. The difference is great people choose to step across it.

One question that I often ask successful people is:

What do you do when you're not making progress fast enough?

I enjoyed Ms. Hesselbein's answer very much. Listen for yourself in the audio below.

Audio - Progress Too Slow? - 1:26

When was the last time you compared your results with your activity to decide which tasks are truly important to do?

If it was a long time ago or you've never done it, take time to thoughtfully reflect on your results and tasks today. Which activities really matter and which are just nice to do?

Times are always changing and what worked for you today will not work for you tomorrow. Be flexible by challenging yourself and your actions. Keep yourself accountable by being critical of your own performance.

Listen to the audio below to learn what that means.

Audio - Be Critical of Yourself in a Good Way - 1:22

We then switched gears and I asked Ms. Hesselbein a question I get asked all the time by my clients:

"Should I take this opportunity?"

Again, she answered it in such a nice way that I'll rather you hear it from her directly.

Audio - Courage to Take Opportunities - 0:53

What will you use to test whether an opportunity is right for you?

Is your current situation furthering your mission? If not, are you willing to close the door and open a new one?

One of the major takeaways from this interview revolves around Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote:

"Be ye an opener of doors ..."

We learn everyday and it is our responsibility to share that with others. Think of ways today to open doors for other people. If you can't think of anything, start literally and move on from there.

Audio - Opener of Doors - 0:31 

To get more of Frances Hesselbein and her great advice, I highly recommend viewing Frances Hesselbein's Global Webinars and checking out other useful resources on the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute website.

During the end of my interview with Ms. Hesselbein, I noticed the view from her window was a gloomy one. It was raining and everything was gray outside. When I asked her what she sees outside of the window, her answer was ...

... a bright future.

This was the perfect example of "looking out the window and seeing what is visible and not yet seen".

Listen below to hear why she is so positive (hint: it is not because of her blood type).

Audio - A Bright Future - 4:42

So What Will I Model?

1. Respect everyone - shown by BOTH my actions and my words
2. Actively open doors for other people by sharing with them what and who I know
3. Live by my own definition of success and continuously find and take on other more resourceful rules of conduct such as:
   • To serve is to live
   • Think first, speak last
   • Ask. Don't tell.
4. Be mission-focused., values-based and demographics-driven.
   • Why do I do what I do?
   • What are my beliefs and am I sticking to them?
   • Who am I serving and how can I serve them better?
5. Connect with others by moving beyond my comfort zone
6. Examine what I'm doing to make sure it is important relative to my mission
7. Learn to be more flexible so when what works for me today stops working for me tomorrow, I can shift gears quickly
8. Close the doors on opportunities that don't achieve my mission and open new ones
9. Stay positive and be optimistic
   

What will you model?

The post Modeling Success Series – Frances Hesselbein – #3 appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

I came across this commencement address while writing up a recent interview I had with Mr. Zinsser. He told me about this speech in our interview and how it inspired several professors attending the commencement to quit and pursue their own dream.

I was intrigued and after reading it, amazed. If you don't want to have a fire lit under you to pursue your own passion, don't read this speech because you won't be the same after. This speech will give you courage to live YOUR best life. A fair warning: If you value stability, you'll be offended. If you want the easy life, you'll be disgusted. If you've blamed bad luck for your situation, you'll be ashamed.

There are many great lessons and I'll let Mr. Zinsser teach them in his own words. (I've bolded and underlined some parts that really resonates with me.)

The sportswriter Red Smith was one of my heroes. Not long before his own death he gave the eulogy at the funeral of another writer, and he said, "dying is no big deal. Living is the trick." Living is the trick. That's what we're all given one chance to do well.

One reason I admire Red Smith was that he wrote about sports for 55 years, with elegance and humor, without ever succumbing to the pressure, which ruined many sportswriters, that he ought to be writing about something "serious." Red Smith found in sportswriting exactly what he wanted to do and what he deeply loved doing. And because it was right for him he said more important things about American values than many writers who wrote about serious subjects--so seriously that nobody could read them.

Another story.

When I was teaching at Yale, the poet Allen Ginsberg came to talk to my students, and one of them asked him: "was there a point at which you consciously decided to become a poet?" And Ginsberg said: 'It's wasn't quite a choice; it was a realization. I was 28 and I had a job as a market researcher. One day I told my psychiatrist that what I really wanted to do was to quit my job and just write poetry. And the psychiatrist said, "why not?" And I said, "Well, what would the American Psychoanalytic Association say?" And he said, "There's no party line." So I did. We'll never know how bit a loss that was for the field of market research. But it was a big moment for American poetry.

There's no party line.

Good advice. 

You can be your own party line. If living is the trick, what's crucial for you is to do something that makes the best use of your own gifts and your own individuality. There's only one you. Don't ever let anyone persuade you that you're somebody else.

My father was a businessman. His name was William Zinsser, and he had a business called William Zinsser & Company that had been founded by his grandfather, also named William Zinsser, who came to New York from Germany in 1849 with a formula for making shellac. He built a little house and a little factory way uptown at what is now 59th Street and Eleventh Avenue. I have an old photograph of those two buildings, all alone in an open field full of rocks that slopes down to the Hudson River. That business stayed there until 15 years ago--a 125 years. It's very rare for a business to stay in the same family on the same block in mid-Manhattan for a century, and I can assure you that it builds a sense of family continuity. One of the most vivid memories of my boyhood is how much my father loved his business. He had a passion for quality; he hated anything second-rate.

Seeing how much he loved his work and how good he was at it, I learned very early what has been a guiding principle of my life: that what we want to do we will do well. The opposite, however, is also true: what we don't want to do we won't do well--and I had a different dream. I wanted to be a newspaperman.

Unfortunately, my father had three daughters before he had me. I was his only son. He named me William Zinsser and looked forward to the day when I'd join him in the business. (In those Dark Ages the idea that daughters could run a company just as well as sons, or better, was still 20 years off).

It was a ready-made career for me--lifelong security--and maybe I also owed it to my mother and my sisters to carry on that hundred-year-old family tradition. But when the time came to choose, I knew that that just wasn't the right thing for me to do, and I went looking for a newspaper job, and got one with the New York Herald Tribune, and I loved it from the start.

Of course, that was a moment of great pain for my father--and also for me. But my father never tried to change my mind. He saw that I was happy, and he wished me well in my chosen work. That was by far the best gift I ever received, beyond price or value--partly, of course, because it was an outright gift of love and confidence, but mainly because it freed me from having to fulfill somebody else's expectations, which were not the right ones for me.

The Herald Tribune at that time was the best written and best edited newspaper in America. The older editors on that paper were the people who gave me the values that I've tried to apply to my work ever since, whatever that work has been. They were custodians of the best. When they made us rewrite what we had written and rewritten, it wasn't only for our own good; it was for the honorableness of the craft.

But the paper began to lose money, and the owners gradually cheapened their standards in an effort to get new readers (which they therefore couldn't get), and suddenly it was no longer a paper that was fun to work for, because it was no longer the paper I had loved. So on that day I just quit. By then I was married and had a one-year-old daughter, and when I came home and told my wife that I had quit she said, "what are you going to do now?" which I thought was a fair question.

And I said, "I guess I'm a freelance writer." And that's what I was, for the next eleven years. It's a life full of risk: the checks don't arrive as often as the bills, or with any regularity. But those 11 years were the broadest kind of education; no other job could have exposed me to so many areas of knowledge.

Also: In those eleven years I never wrote anything that I didnt' want to write. I'd like you to remember that. You don't have to do unfulfilling work, or work that diminishes you. You don't have to work for people you don't respect. You're bright enough to figure out how to do work that you do want to do, and how to work for people you do want to work for. 

Near the end of the '60s my wife said she thought it might be interesting to live somewhere besides New York and see what that was like. Well, to suggest to a fourth-generation New Yorker that there's life outside New York is heresy. But I began to discuss the idea with friends, and one of them said, "you know, change is a tonic."

I didn't know that.

I was afraid of change; I think most people are.

But I seized on the phrase "change is a tonic" and it gave me the energy to go ahead. I had always wanted to teach writing: to try to give back some of the things I had learned. So I started sending letters to colleges all over the country--big colleges, small colleges, colleges nobody had ever heard of, experimental colleges tha I actually went and visited; one was in a redwood forest in California and one seemed to be in a swamp in Florida--asking if they had some kind of place for me.

And they didn't, because I was not an academic--I only had a BA degree, like the one you'll have in about five minutes--and it was very discouraging. But finally one thing led to another. It always does. If you talk to enough people about your hopes and your dreams, if you poke down enough roads and keep believing in yourself, sooner or later a circle will connect. You make your own luck.

Well, one thing led to another, and one day I got a call from a professor at Yale who said he would take a chance and let me teach an experimental writing course for one term (by the way, that was almost two years after I had started sending all those letters). And on that slender thread we sold our apartment in New York and moved to New Haven, a city we had never seen before, and started a new life.

Yale was totally generous to me, though I was a layman from out of nowhere--a journalist, god forbid. I was allowed to initiate a nonfiction writing course, which the Yale English department later adopted, and I was also allowed to be master of one of Yale's residential colleges. So those were rich years for me--years of both teaching and learning--because they were unlike anything I had done before.

Now the fact that Yale let me do all this is the reason I'm telling you the story. I didn't fit any academic pattern. But finally, being different was not a handicap. Never be afraid to be different. Don't assume that people you'd like to work for have defined their needs as narrowly as you think they have--that they know exactly who they want. What any good executive is looking for is general intelligence, breadth, originality, imagination, audacity, a sense of history, a sense of cultural context, a sense of wonder, a sense of humor, far more than he or she is looking for a precise fit.

America has more than enough college graduates every year who are willing to go through life being someone else's precise fit. What we need are men and women who will dare to break the mold of tired thinking--who just won't buy somebody saying, "we've always done it this way. This way is good enough." 

Well, obviously it's not good enough or the country wouldn't be in the mess it's in. I don't have to tell you all the areas where this wonderful country is not living up to its best dreams: Poverty. Inequality. Injustice. Debt. Illiteracy. Health care. Day care. Homelessness. Pollution. Arms-spending that milks us of the money that should be going into life-affirming work. There's no corner of American life that doesn't need radically fresh thinking.

Don't shape yourself to a dumb job; shape the job to your strengths and your curiosity and your ideals. I've told you this story of my life for whatever pieces of it you may have wanted to grab as it went by... If I had to sum up why my work has been interesting it's because I changed the direction of my life every eight or nine years and never did--or continued to do--what was expected.

I didn't go into the family business; I didn't stay at the Herald Tribune; I didn't stay in New York. And I didn't stay at Yale. In 1979 I made a resume, like every Yale senior (they showed me how to do it--how to make it look nice), and went job-hunting in New York, and got a job with the Book-of-the-Month Club, which was still another new field for me, and in many ways those eight years were the most interesting years of all. So don't become a prisoner of any plans and dreams except your own best plans and dreams.

Don't assume that if you don't do what some people seem to be insisting that you do, in this goal-obsessed and money-obsessed and security-obsessed nation, it's the end of the world. It's not the end of the world. As my experience with my father proves, something very nourishing can happen--a blessing, a form of grace. Be ready to be surprised by grace.

And be very wary of security as a goal. It may often look like life's best prize. Usually it's not....For you, I hope today will be the first of many separations that will mean the putting behind you of something you've done well and the beginning of something you'll do just as well, or better. Keep separating yourself from any project that's not up to your highest standards of what's right for you--and for the broader community where you can affect the quality of life: your home, your town, your children's schools, your state, your country, your world.

If living is the trick, live usefully; nothing in your life will be as satisfying as making a difference in somebody else's life. Separate yourself from cynics and from peddlers of despair. Don't let anyone tell you it won't work. Men and women, women and me, of the Wesleyan Class of 1988:

There's no party line.

You make your own luck.

Change is a tonic.

One thing leads to another.

Living is the trick.

Thank you.

What are you going to do now? Is it time for you to make your own luck?

The post William Zinsser’s Commencement Speech at Wesleyan University 1988 appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

Most people would apply for the victim card at this point and blame anything negative they were doing or how their pitiful lives turned out on their childhood. Not Chuck Close.

He rose above these challenges through his passion for art and became one of America's most celebrated artists.

Chuck's story up until this point is inspiring enough and I wish I could end Chuck's story here with "and then he lived happily ever after" but I can't.

On December 7, 1988, Chuck had a spinal artery collapse while delivering a speech in New York that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He referred to this as "the event". Here was an artist who lost the physical ability to pursue his passion for art...

Would we blame him for giving up?

No, we wouldn't. It's hard enough to overcome one tragic event but two is too much. This sounds like the perfect time to rest on his laurels. At least he experienced success before this happened.

Did he give up?

No, he didn't.

He became resourceful. He didn't wallow in his unfortunate situation and reflect on why this was happening to him. He didn't tell himself that he has already accomplished more than enough with everything that has happened to him. He focused on how he can continue to pursue his passion.

This persistence fueled his creativity and led him to discover that he can make small paintings while holding the paintbrush with his teeth. After some intensive physical therapy, he regained some movement in his arms and strapping a paintbrush to his wrist with tape, he created large mosaic-form paintings that were just as popular as his work before "the event".

Check out some of Chuck Close's artwork by clicking here.

This is a great example to never give up. No matter what happens or what setbacks you have, continue to find ways to pursue your passion because there is always a way (Albert Einstein didn't give up either). It may not be the way you intended but as long you are pursuing your passion, it won't matter.

What roadblocks do you have in your life that is stopping you from pursuing your passion? Are you focusing on your bad luck or are you being resourceful and thinking about how to pursue your passion despite these roadblocks?

If Chuck can do it, so can you.

If you want to hear more about Chuck Close's story from Chuck himself, check out Chronicles of Courage: Very Special Artists where Chuck Close speaks candidly about how his disability impacted his life and work.

The post Fueled by Passion – Chuck Close appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

One of my biggest struggles is finishing something that I started.

I would always be excited and have all this energy in the beginning, but like a child with a new toy, the excitement fades away and the goal doesn't seem worth doing anymore so I would just give it up and move on to the next exciting thing.

Although there is nothing wrong with having a lot of ideas, I wasn't accomplishing the things I wanted to achieve by starting so many new projects and goals. I was actually diluting my efforts and wasting  my time because I would never reach my desired outcome.

I have now learned a great way to stick to my goals. It came to me after I heard this classic story:

It's the middle ages and there were 3 stone masons hard at work when a visitor stopped and asks each of them "What are you doing?"

The first stone mason said in a harsh voice, "Can't you see? I'm carrying rocks!"

The second stone mason replied in a more resigned voice, "I'm building a wall."

The last stone mason responded with enthusiasm, "I am building a beautiful cathedral that will glorify God for centuries to come."

Who do you think felt the most fulfilled? Who would you bet on to achieve their goal?

Now every time I set or evaluate a goal, I ask myself the question "What are you doing?" and I listen to my answer. I have discovered personally that when I see the bigger purpose behind my goals, it is much easier to do what it takes to achieve it even if I don't feel like doing it. If the goal doesn't have a bigger purpose, then it is not worth doing because I've come to learn that time is my most precious resource.

So ... what are you doing?

The post How to Stick to Your Goals Even If You Never Could appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

Who says?

This is one of the many limiting beliefs we place upon ourselves that stops us from living the life we want. We all experience setbacks not within our control but what we can control is our reaction.

If we were born without fingers on one hand, we could choose to complain and whine about being a victim of nature and never attempting to play the piano OR we can learn to play the piano with what we have like this girl in the video:

[youtube VbhW_K3NvmQ 420 315]

Let this video inspire you to explore the opportunities that you thought would never be possible. Tell us your inspirational story in the comments section.

The post “I Can’t Play Piano Without Fingers!” appeared first on Embrace Possibility.