Lessons from the world's most successful people

From Fortune


Lessons from the world's most successful people

by  Patricia Sellers  @pattiesellers  MAY 29, 2014

"It reassuring that one of the wealthiest men in the universe doesn’t equate success with money."


In 30 years at Fortune, I’ve interviewed CEOs and billionaires and other titans about what makes them succeed. Here are 10 things I’ve learned, plus wisdom from Warren Buffett.

The best career advice is universal. It applies to a CEO of a Fortune 500 company and to a kid aspiring to make it through college.

I tried to keep this in mind last week when I spoke at Allentown Central Catholic High School, which in 1978 sent me on my way from Pennsylvania to what has turned out to be a thrilling and very satisfying life and career. I told the CCHS students, who packed Rockne Hall for inductions of their new Student Council and class officers, that I’ve spent the past 30 years at Fortune “going to school on success.” That is, my job profiling some of the world’s most successful people–from Oprah Winfrey to Yahoo  YHOO 0.41%  CEO Marissa Mayer to Rupert Murdoch  NWS 0.80%  to Melinda Gates–is to learn and explain what makes these extraordinary people win and adapt to all sorts of challenges. I pared my message to 10 pieces of advice, which include a few obvious truths and, I hope, some enlightening points that are universal.

1. Don’t plan your career. Most of the really successful people I’ve met and interviewed these past 30 years at Fortune had no clue what they wanted to do when they were in high school or even in college. They stayed flexible and open to possibilities.

2. Forget the career ladder; climb the jungle gym. In a world that’s unpredictable and changing faster than ever, who knows what tomorrow’s ideal jobs will be? Think of your career as a jungle gym. Sharpen your peripheral vision and look for opportunities over here or over there, and swing to them. Facebook  FB 0.01%  COO Sheryl Sandberg kindly credits me in Chapter 3 of her best-seller, Lean In, for introducing the concept of the jungle gym.

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