Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2015, and its figures for Michael Bloomberg, a net worth of $40.7 billion and 14th place among the world’s richest, are from 2015, as are his descriptions as former mayor and owner of Bloomberg.
Michael Bloomberg is not known for his tact when advising students or entrepreneurs on what it takes to succeed in their careers or businesses. The former mayor of New York and owner of Bloomberg, with an estimated fortune of $40.7 billion (14th on the list of the world’s richest people), is a staunch believer in hard work. In fact, one of his most famous pieces of advice is “if you want to succeed, stop going to the bathroom”, because, he says, while you’re in the bathroom your competitors are working to beat you.
Luck only favours those who work hard, so the harder you work, the luckier you’ll get. That was once again the message he opened with in his talk at a Goldman Sachs event in London. And if he isn’t usually very sensitive when giving advice, this time his tips were stripped of any sentimentality.
Michael Bloomberg’s advice for success
1. Keep things in perspective
“I’ve never had a bad job, and the only bad days I’ve had in my life were when my mother died and when my father died. Other than that…
So as long as you’re alive and your family is alive, there’s no reason to have bad days.”
2. Work hard
“There is only one key to success, and that’s hard work. I always give the hardest, most complicated task I have to the most overworked person in the company. There’s a reason that person doesn’t have time. Work is like markets: it’s governed by supply and demand. The fact that someone is always so busy means that person is good.
When I worked at Salomon Brothers, I was the first person through the door in the morning. The second was Barney Salomon, the managing partner. So if Barney wanted to know a football score or needed anything at all, he always came and talked to me.
And that brings us to a principle: if you like what you’re doing, it’s fun. If you don’t, it’s miserable.
Hard work takes you to the next level. Get in early, stay late, and go further than your competitors.”
3. Set realistic goals
“None of you is going to be Mark Zuckerberg. That is simply not going to happen,” Bloomberg told a room full of entrepreneurs. “In other words, manage your expectations and don’t dream about your first billion.”
4. Love what you do
“It must be miserable to wake up every day and hate what you do. If you hate it, do something else. How could it be worse? You’ll never get anywhere if you don’t like doing what you do.”
5. Thrive on adversity
“If you tell me, ‘Oh, last week I cured cancer, two weeks before that I wrote a great novel, and last month I brought peace to the Middle East,’ my eyes will glaze over.
But if you tell me, ‘Look, my father walked out on us, my mother had cancer, and I’m working five shifts at McDonald’s to get by,’ you’re the person I’m going to hire.”
Bloomberg is a self-made billionaire, so he always prefers people who work very hard over his employees’ academic achievements and what he calls “the nonsense”.
See also: The 6 areas of your life you need to master to control your own destiny
Featured image: ImagineCup, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}