20 Habits for Success
I Learned Working
for Two Billionaires
by Paul C. Brunson
I have spent decades “being educated” —
in college, graduate school, numerous
professional certifications, and now a
Ph.D. program. All of that schooling and
training helped shape the person I am
today, but at no point in my life has there
been a more profound education than my
time working for Enver Yucel and Oprah
Winfrey.
Enver and Oprah are two extraordinary
people. And on top of that, they’re both
billionaires. On the surface, they appear to
be totally different people. They are in
different industries, have different family
structures, practice different religions, and
speak different languages. However, once
you get past their written biographies and
dig deeper, you will notice they possess
many of the same successful habits.
I had the opportunity to work with both
Oprah and Enver for six years collectively
and those were, hands down, the best
professional experiences of my life. I
worked my ass off for them and in doing
so absorbed everything I could.
It’s my honor to share with you what I
learned from them. Here are the 20
successful habits I learned working for
two billionaires:
1) Invest in Yourself
This is a very simple concept, but
something you would think someone
who has “made it” would stop doing. Not
at all for these two. I saw them both
spend a significant amount of time
dedicating their resources to self-
development (whether it be a new
language, exercise, social media classes,
etc.). The moment you stop investing in
yourself is the moment you have written
off future dividends in life.
2) Be Curious… About Everything
What the average person sees as
mundane or overly complicated is not
viewed the same way with a billionaire
mindset. I once had a 30 minute
conversation with Enver about the height
of the curbs in Washington DC versus
Istanbul, Turkey. Billionaires are incredibly
curious; what the rest of the world thinks
is a problem and complains about —
that’s what these people go and work on.
3) Surround Yourself With “Better” People
I hope this is why they kept me around.
Seriously, I never knew my bosses to
keep anyone less-than-stell ar in their inner
circle. There were many times I thought
to myself, “Damn, they have dream-
teams built around them.” Jim Rohn had it
right, “You are the average of the 5 people
you spend the most time with.”
4) Never Eat Alone
The last time I had dinner with Enver, as
well as the last time I ate dinner with
Oprah, there were easily 15 people at our
tables, respectively. Coincidence? While
most of us derive our key information
from blogs or the newspaper, power
players get their information from the
source (other power players), directly.
However, just because you can’t call up
the Obamas and break bread with them
doesn’t mean eating with others in your
circle doesn’t carry value. In one of my
favorite reads of the last few years called
Never Eat Alone, author Keith Ferrazzi
breaks down how you can identify
“information brokers” to dine with you.
I’ve seen first hand how enormous the
benefits are of this strategy.
5) Take Responsibility for Your Losses
I was working for Oprah during the time
she was taking heat from the media about
poor network ratings. I was also working
for Enver during the closing of one of his
prized divisions. What I witnessed them
both do in response was powerful.
Opposed to covering the losses up with
fancy PR tactics, both stepped to the stage
and said in essence “I own it and I’m
going to fix it” and dropped the mic.
Guess what? They sure did fix things (It’s
widely noted Oprah’s network is realizing
ratings gold and Enver’s assets have
probably doubled since the division
closing).
6) Understand The Power Of “Leverage”
This is something that was quite a shock
to me. From afar, a billionaire appears to
be someone who is a master at
everything. But, in truth, they’re
specialists in one or a few areas and
average or subpar at everything else. So,
how do they get so much done?
Leverage! They do what they do best and
get others to do the rest. Here’s a great
article on leverage. Keep in mind I see this
done with wealthy people and their
money all of the time — they use OPM
(other people’s money) for most or all of
their projects.
7) Take No Days Off (Completely)
I recall going on vacation with Enver
several times, yachting up and down the
southwestern coast of Turkey (also
known as the blue voyage). Sounds
ballerific, right? No doubt we had a great
time, but mixed in with all that swimming
and backgammon was discussion of
business, discussion of strategy, planning
and plotting. The best way I can describe
this habit is thinking about your business
or your idea like your literal baby. No
matter your distance, you don’t stop
thinking of him/her (and after just having
a second son, I can attest to this).
Focus On Experiences vs. Material
Possessions
When you have money, your toys are
big. However, the vast majority of
money I saw spent on their “leisure” was
on actual experiences versus the typical
car, jewelry, and clothes we’re familiar
with seeing in music videos and gossip
blogs. I recall one time at dinner with
Oprah, I spotted a table of about 20 girls
off to the side. I later found out Ms.
Winfrey was treating some of her
graduating girls from her school in South
Africa to dinner in NYC. Experiences create
memories, and memories are priceless.
9) Take Enormous Risks
This is another one of those successful
habits every entrepreneur can attest to. A
matter of fact, Entreprenuer.co m created
a great infographic outlining
commonalities of the world’s billionaires
and one of the most prominent was this
characteristic: billionaires are not adverse
to risk. What intrigues me even more
about Enver and Oprah was that even at
their high financial status and success
level, they still possessed a willingness to
risk their most precious asset (their name
and legacy) on new and bolder projects.
If you’re not taking risks, you’re not
making moves!
10) Don’t Go At It Alone
Nothing great in life is achieved alone.
Especially in business, success isn’t a solo
act. This character trait is akin to
“surrounding yourself with better people.”
It takes teamwork to make the dream
work.
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