Warren Buffett turned 90 recently. To celebrate, Bill Gates offered lessons he’d learned from Warren during their years as friends. They fit with what I’ve learned, so I thought I’d share – from my own perspective –  some of them.

1. The first is to be and grow with people who inspire you in some way, and who you also like as people. My husband, Andy, inspires me in how even-tempered he is most of the time, and how open-hearted he is. Certain teachers I have had and still have inspire me for many different reasons. One thing they all have in common is their demand for personal growth, and their expectation that this will happen. My continued connection with people I admire and who inspire me has been especially important when things got tough, as things inevitably do at times.
2. Intentionally end the day with more awareness or knowledge than what you begin the day with. It might be a new way of cooking lentils, or awareness of how better to attract birds; it might be a successful experience in dealing with a particularly difficult challenge, or the discovery of a new author or book. It really doesn’t matter what new thing it is; big or small, each new discovery leads to a day well lived.
3. Communicate and connect. It’s my job, in a way, to communicate and connect with my clients, because that is the only way to build a meaningful relationship with them. It’s true with anyone I connect with. To do that requires that I spend most of my time with a person listening to what they communicate to me, verbally and non-verbally.
4. Clean up your own boundaries. This is probably the most difficult thing for someone like me to do – to learn to know my limitations and remain within them. It’s far too easy for me to take on everything, and when I do, I not only disappoint others – ultimately – I also disappoint myself. Learning to say ‘no’ was hard, and it gave me my energy back.

These 4 life learnings, along with others, give me the power and ability to choose my own path for living the life I desire.

What makes a good life