My five and twenty-five
Y’all know Warren Buffet, right?
If you don’t, he’s one of the most successful investors of all time. And a pretty smart guy, too.
There’s a story attached to Buffet — whether it’s true or not is up for debate — called The Five and Twenty-Five.
It goes like so:
Years ago, Buffet was on his personal airplane, speaking to the pilot who had worked for him for over a decade.
During the conversation, Buffet said:
“The fact that you’re still working for me after ten years tells me I’m not doing my job properly. You should be going after more of your goals and dreams.”
So, Buffet sat with the pilot and asked him to write down the 25 things he wanted to achieve in the next few years and beyond. Then, the pilot was asked to review his list and circle the five things he most — above all else — wanted to achieve.
“Okay. Everything you didn’t circle just became your ‘Avoid-At-All-Cost-List’. No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you’ve fully succeeded with your top 5.”
The story — fiction or non-fiction — is a lesson in focus and the value of time. We all have things we want to achieve, but by spreading ourselves out across 25 goals, we’ll struggle to achieve anything at all.
So, in Chapter 191, I’m writing down my Five and Twenty-Five. I’m getting my top goals out of my head and making them available for all to see.
That’s how you make progress.
(Top five in bold)
- Write a book
- Speak at TED (or TEDx)
- Commit to a full ketogenic diet
- Write every day (even if it isn’t always made public)
- Live in New York
- Live in Bali
- Buy parents a holiday home somewhere
- Be worth more than £1 million
- Start my own business
- Visit at least 20 countries
- Have kids
- Get married
- Own a house
- Buy Barrow AFC
- Start a weekly podcast and run it for at least 6 months
- Have James Altucher as a guest on my podcast
- Exercise at least three times a week and meditate or perform a mindfulness exercise every day
- Make a feature-length documentary
- Direct a film
- Write a film
- Post at least one video a week on YouTube
- Read at least 12 books in 2017
- Have my own office
- Spend at least three weeks of my year in Barrow with family and friends
- Spend two weeks of the year away from all forms of social media
The top five goals I’m working on right now:
Write every day (even if it isn’t always made public)
Live in Bali
Start my own business
Exercise at least three times a week and meditate or perform a mindfulness exercise every day
Read at least 12 books in 2017
Thanks for reading Chapter 191!
