Bill Gates: The World's Hardest Working Man?

Bill Gates has been the richest man in the world for longer and more times than any other person. The success of Microsoft is something entrepreneurs only dream of, and he keeps going.  Last I checked he was worth almost 60 BILLION dollars. Not so bad ha? Question is,

How does he do it? And what do you and I have to do to have similar success?

Work very, very hard?

That’s how most business people try to do it. Sure Bill Gates works hard, so does every other truly wealthy or successful person – but is that their secret?

Ask Richard Branson

In a recent interview he shocked some people with this statement, “I don’t work any harder than any good manager or professional”. Of course, like Bill Gates, and unlike most good managers or professionals, Richard is a billionaire! Big difference.

If that’s the truth, then there’s a good many people who work much harder than Richard Branson, Bill Gates and the gang – and yet, don’t get anything close to those results.

So if it’s not hard work… what is it?

• Rich parents?
• Natural Talent?
• The right industry?
• Brilliant ideas?
• Amazing qualifications?
• Born in the first world?
• A prosperity preaching pastor?

Each of these help, but none of them guarantee success by any means. You probably know dozens of people who have had these benefits and got nowhere.

In Zimbabwe, Nigel Chanakira, Phillip Chiyangwa, Strive Masiyiwa, Shingi Munyezi – all from different backgrounds, all in different industries, different natural talents and even different value systems – yet all successful (at least financially).

Here’s the secret…

The one thing every single one of them has in common, the one thing that EVERY single one of these guys has, does and uses is a simple word…

Leverage.

Leverage is the ability to do more with less. It’s a tool that multiplies your strength. It comes from the word ‘lever’. You’ve seen one of those right? A lever enables you to lift a much greater weight than you’re able with much less effort. With a good lever, I can lift heavier weights than Arnold Schwarzenegger at the height of his body building career.

In business leverage works the same way.

Here are a few examples

Other People’s Money (OPM). Non Government Organisations (NGOs) use this a lot. They may not have a lot of their own money, however by telling a compelling story to people who care and are willing to donate, they can gather the finances they need to get big things done. Entrepreneurs do the same. They leverage investors and all sorts of financial institutions to get the money they need to start or grow their businesses.

Other People’s Skills (OPS). You may already have the money you need, you just don’t have the key skill set on your team. By partnering or hiring those skill sets, you’re able to leverage skills that others have developed. Skills that would take you years to develop if you did it yourself. You just don’t have the time, talent or aptitude to develop excellent skills in absolutely everything and you could waste a lot o time trying.

Other people’s Time (OPT). Even if you have the money and the skill to do certain tasks, doesn’t mean it’s the best use of your time. Often it’s a lot smarter to get someone else to do the lower level tasks for you, so that your time goes to the most important tasks. As a general rule, if someone else can do it as well or better…then THEY should be doing it. As an entrepreneur or leader of a vision, you’ve got to focus on the stuff only you can do, only you should do.

Leveraging Technology. It used to be that businesses had to do everything manually. The industrial revolution changed all that. All of a sudden machines were replacing men in factories. They were more reliable, faster, cheaper. They never take time off, never take sick leave and never get tired.It makes sense in most businesses.

In the last 10 years or so, the internet has become the number way to leverage technology for greater results – especially in marketing, research and communications. Computers, the internet and all kinds of machines enable entrepreneurs to automate, speed up and lessen the cost of most repetitive and complicated tasks.

Extreme leverage and a right mind set are probably the only things all highly successful people have in common. If you’re not intentionally pursuing leverage strategies, then you’re destined to be a hard-working no body.

Now of course, it takes a lot more than simply wanting it to develop or gain leverage. You’ve got to know the four secrets of leverage. I covered them all in detail in my book Cash Baron Secrets. Download a free copy here

Yours for smarter business