What Do Warren Buffett and Bruce Lee Have in Common? It Will Make You a High Performer | Inc.

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PRODUCTIVITY

What Do Warren Buffett and

Bruce Lee Have in Common?
It Will Make You a High
Performer
The habits of a billionaire businessman and a Kung
Fu master will tell you that true growth does not
consist of "just one thing."

By Gene Hammett Speaker, growth strategist, and host of the LeadersintheTrenches.com podcast

@genehammett

What Do Warren Buffett and Bruce Lee Have in Common? It Will …

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Always Spilling? These

Extreme Post-it Notes Can
At the surface level, Warren
HelpBuffett and Bruce Lee have very little
in common. One is a white older businessman and the other an
ultra-Nt Asian celebrity. Buffett is best known for his long-term
investment strategies that have made him one of the richest men
in the world. Lee was a movie star and founder of his own Kung
Fu style known as "Jeet Kune Do."

Both of these men are endeared by American culture for their

iconic inQuence. There is little overlap in how these men lived their
lives, but they are seen as high performers in their own ways.

I study the journey of leadership for hypergrowth companies. I got

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What Do Warren Buffett and Bruce Lee Have in Common? It Will Make You a High Performer | Inc.com 13/06/2018, 11*19 pm

curious about what made each of these self-made men high

performers in their Nelds -- and I found that it comes down to the
correlation of three fundamentals shared by two great individuals.

1. The ability to deeply focus.

Both Buffett and Lee credit much of their success to focus. In the
2017 documentary, Becoming Buffett, there is a scene between
Buffett and Bill Gates where each was asked to list the prime
reason for their success to the billionaire level. Both of them
separately wrote the word "focus."

The art of focus has been the cornerstone of Buffett's success --

he does not move in and out of the market as most investors do.
He invests for the long term and focuses his efforts on his
portfolio. "The difference between successful people and very
successful people is those very successful people so 'no' to
almost everything," Buffett said.

Lee has famously said, "The successful warrior is the average

man, with laser-like focus." Lee put his focus into his talent as a
martial artist. He trained and dedicated his life to being the best in
the world at it.

Both of these men understand the value of focus and have

demonstrated it in their areas to reach iconic levels in our hearts.

2. The importance of character.

Our character deNnes us. It takes years to establish integrity in the
eyes of the world -- but it takes only seconds to destroy character.
Buffett and Lee are two men who believe in character in life and
business. Character is deNned by living by a strict moral code.
Both are quoted about integrity of living by that moral code.

Lee said, "Knowledge will give you power, but character respect."
Lee lived this as he established himself in the world. He didn't
have to try to be a martial artist. He was authentic to it with his
journey.

One of my favorite quotes by Buffett is this one: "Somebody once

said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities:
integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don't have the Nrst,
the other two will kill you. You think about it; it's true. If you hire
somebody without [integrity], you want them to be dumb and lazy."

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3. The commitment to mastery.

Buffett and Lee believe that far too few people are committed to
mastery of the fundamentals. Buffett believes people are quick to
hop to new markets and new strategies before mastery has been
achieved. Buffett is famous for discipline in investing and
commitment to a company. Buffett's approach to business growth
is more like a ritual than a step-by-step plan. "Chains of habit are
too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken," he said.

Lee also said, "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks
once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
This strikes to the heart of mastery. Lee's approach to growth
could only come from dedication and commitment to mastery.

I wanted to Nnd someone who had a close connection to Lee and

could speak to the lessons learned that applies to today's
entrepreneurial journey. Dan Lok, a successful businessman, and
martial art practitioner, has had the privilege of training with Ted
Wong, who was Bruce Lee's last private student. Lok's success in
business comes from principles that he learned during his 14-year
journey in martial arts.

"You don't learn business in a weekend seminar," Lok said. "You

must commit to mastery to learn it." This relates to so many
leaders enamored with Nnding the "one thing to grow." It is not one
thing. It is a combination of things that make you the kind of
leader that inspires others and impacts a market.

Lok said, "You must live the journey in martial arts and in business
if you want lasting success."

As I looked over the careers of Buffett and Lee, they devoted

themselves to focus, character and mastery to become the high
performers in life and business that you know today.

PUBLISHED ON: JUN 12, 2018

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