4 Things Really Successful People Say ‘No’ To

 Warren Buffett normally gets up at 6:45 a.m. in his $652k Omaha home, where he has spent the majority of his life. On his way to work, he stops at Mcdonald's for a $3.17 bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit and a glass of Coke.

He simply reads in the workplace. Financial statements, news, magazines, business reports, and books – anything that could help him make better investments. He estimates that he spends roughly 80% of his work time reading. He once quipped, "I just sit in my office and read all day."

He's also famous for saying that

Successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.

To what is he alluding? Some things are self-evident, such as sleeping in or spending all of your money on fancy items.

Here are four less-obvious sacrifices made by truly successful people in order to achieve and maintain their success.

They refuse to be pity parties for themselves.

Failure is a necessary part of every worthwhile endeavor. It's tempting, however, to believe that each of your failures indicates that something is wrong with you. No, there could have been a slew of other reasons why you failed that time.

Each failure is viewed by successful people as a stepping stone toward discovering what works. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, is credited with saying,

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work, — Thomas Edison

Elon Musk went broke to salvage Tesla, despite receiving a $180 million salary check after selling his PayPal holdings. Failure, in the eyes of the great founder, looks like this:

    “If things are not failing, you are not innovating             enough.”

They refuse to participate in pointless networking.

I know folks who take enormous pride in the people with whom they associate. They'll brag about their contacts list and pitch their 'network"s accomplishments as partly their own. These are the people who would rather pass out business cards than make genuine personal connections.

The quality of their relationships is more important to successful people than the quantity. For example, Disney's renowned CEO, Bob Iger, recalls Steve Jobs showing him Apple goods before they were released or calling him on Saturday mornings just to chat.

Eventually, that bond was the sole thing that allowed Disney to buy Pixar, a business move that paid off handsomely.

They turn down the majority of possibilities, whether business or otherwise.

As soon as you achieve some success in your life, possibilities begin to pour in from all sides. Your pals are interested in forming a business deal with you. Old pals begin inviting you to spend the weekend with them or to participate in a charity event. Before you realize it, you've spread yourself so thin that you've forgotten who you are.

Saying no is a skill that successful individuals have mastered. According to Warren Buffet, who makes a phenomenally small number of investments, you should only swing at a few dozen pitches in your lifetime, and you should do your homework so that the few swings you do take are hits.

People who sap their energies are rejected.

There are 24 hours in a day for everyone, and everyone has roughly the same amount of energy. There's a reason why people like Elon Musk can work 100-hour weeks for years: they keep their social circle small and focused on people who energize them.

Alex Lieberman, the founder of the Morning Brew newsletter, is one of my favorite entrepreneurs. Since he was around 22, he has worked six days a week, published a daily newsletter, and spoken on local colleges. He's also had anxiety and OCD issues for as long as he can remember. Despite this, he was able to build a $13 million newsletter in just four years.

The key to success is to get rid of the things that hold you stuck.

Writing a good article is similar to becoming successful. It's usually about how many things you can take away rather than how many things you can add.

Successful people are experts at prioritizing and removing activities and people that do not align with their objectives. Successful entrepreneurs' lives are, in some respects, the most dull since they spend 90% of their time on the few things that provide 90% of the value in their life.

Most of us are aware of the activities we should forego in order to achieve greater success. The difference between individuals who succeed and those who fail is that the former are successful in their endeavors.