The crucial career advice Warren Buffett gave Bill Gates' ex-wife: “It helped me learn to set boundaries”
Melinda Gates recently shared during a LinkedIn interview her personal advice to grow, lead and succeed along with advice she received from Warren Buffet.
Getting started in or shifting to a new career can be daunting. Not to mention figuring out how to navigate your own self-doubts. Fortunately, as these are well-tread paths, there are many that can share the wisdom learned from their own experiences.
Recently, Melinda French Gates shared her advice on how to “grow, lead and succeed” during a LinkedIn interview. As well, some advice that she and her ex-husband Bill Gates received from Warren Buffet shortly after they established the Gates Foundation in 2000.
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Warren Buffett told Bill and Melinda Gates to “find your bullseye”
“Warren Buffett once said to us, ‘Find your bullseye of what you’re working on and let the other things fall away,‘” recalled Melinda during the LinkedIn interview. “‘You’ll feel better if you keep your talents in that bullseye and keep working on those issues, and you’ll feel less bad about letting other things go.’” She added: “And I think that’s true.”
The words of wisdom from Buffet have stayed with French Gates to this day and helped her set boundaries. “I have learned that saying ‘no’ early is important. If you know it’s a ‘no’ right away, don’t linger on it, just say ‘no’. The clarity helps you and it helps them,” she explained.
Setting up boundaries helps her to keep focused on the work at hand and avoid getting numerous requests to take on extra work that will end up being distractions.
I’m so excited to announce that I’m going on tour for my new book, The Next Day!
— Melinda French Gates (@melindagates) March 5, 2025
I’ll be making stops in New York City, Nashville, Washington D.C., Austin, Chicago, and Seattle, where I’ll be in conversation with some truly remarkable women. I can’t wait to share more details… pic.twitter.com/EmmvoON427
Melinda Gates says to “trust yourself” and surround yourself with trusted people who believe in you
Melinda had her own personal advice to share during the LinkedIn interview from some of the lessons she learned the hard way. She stressed that it is important to surround yourself with “trusted” people who believe in you and will be there when making major career decisions.
“I have surrounded myself over time with people who believed in me,” she said. “And I tried to push away the people who didn’t believe in me.”
“Trust yourself, that you know why you’re making this career shift and why you’re moving to this role, but keep a set of trusted advisors around you,” she added.
“They don’t have to be in your current job or your new job,” she explained. “But even trusted advisors outside who know you and can see ... your talents, and remind you ... you’re gonna be okay on the other side, even when you doubt.”
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