CHAPTER 18
Time Secrets of 7 Billionaires
“Billionaire.” Just say the word and you capture people’s attention.
Seven billion
people on the planet, and only 1,645 billionaires (according to
Forbes).
Do
self-made billionaires work differently than the rest of us? Do you think
they know something about time and productivity
that helped them to become a
billionaire?
I reached out to 28 billionaires, and to my surprise, seven of them responded,
albeit with brief messages. This is the same response rate—one in four—that I
got from contacting 800 “regular old” millionaires and startup CEOs. Mark
Cuban actually responded to my email only 61 minutes after I sent it. (Yes, I
counted.)
Although
this cohort is small in number, it does seem remarkable that three
of the seven billionaires’ advice relates to meetings. Whether it’s keep your
mornings
clear of them, ban them from one day each week, or “never do
meetings unless someone is writing a check” (Cuban) these highly successful
people are mindful of the scourge of meetings.
Other advice tailored for entrepreneurs
included a warning against
multitasking, the need for self-care and not getting distracted by things that are
critical to your success.
The time and productivity advice in their own words appears below.
