As You Look to a New Year, Hear Two Words Warren Buffett Says Define Your Best Life
"Basically, when you get to my age, you'll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you." - Warren Buffett
In thirty years of working with leaders across industries, from Connecticut to California, we've guided thousands through exercises to identify their core values and personal purpose. What emerges is profoundly beautiful about our shared humanity - regardless of age, role, or background, people's deepest values consistently center around three interconnected themes: family (their core relationships), faith (their guiding belief system), and service to others.
Warren Buffett captured this universal truth perfectly when he noted that life's "ultimate test" isn't about wealth, achievements, or accolades - it's about love and impact. As he observed,
"If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don't care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster."
This resonates deeply with our experience helping leaders discover their authentic purpose. When we guide executives through our personal purpose development process, asking them to envision their legacy and ideal eulogy, very few mention professional accomplishments or financial success. Instead, they speak of meaningful relationships, lives touched, and positive change created.
A Real-World Example
When we met the leadership team of a finance company that funded small businesses, they initially defined success purely through financial returns to investors. Through our purpose work together, they had a collective epiphany - their true purpose wasn't about ROI and bottom lines, but about making the small businesses they serve financially viable, helping improve their credit ratings, and enabling them to grow to new levels of success. Once they had this realization, they went to work to cultivate this purpose in all their team members.
This shift in perspective transformed their organization. The businesses they helped were so grateful they provided countless referrals. Their reputation grew, client acquisition became easier, and ironically, they began making exceptional returns for their investors - all while creating more economic vitality in their region and generating jobs.
The Virtuous Cycle
The beauty of purpose-driven leadership is that it creates a virtuous cycle. When leaders operate from authentic purpose rather than ego, when they focus on serving rather than being served, and they develop their ability (with our help) to inspire others to commit to that purpose, the people that comprise the organization transform it. We've seen this ripple effect countless times - one transformed leader catalyzing positive change throughout their organization and beyond.
This aligns perfectly with Buffett's observation that "The more you give love away, the more you get." Leadership at its highest level isn't about accumulation - of wealth, power, or status. It's about contribution - using your unique gifts to serve others and make a meaningful difference.
As you reflect on your own leadership journey and purpose, consider:
Who are the people you most want to have think well of you?
How would you want them to describe your impact on their lives?
What legacy do you want to create through your leadership?
The answers to these questions point to your authentic purpose - your "true north" that can guide your decisions and actions. When you lead from this place of genuine purpose, focused on serving others rather than serving yourself, you create the kind of success that truly matters at the end of the day.
Your leadership purpose isn't just about you - it's about the lives you touch and the positive change you create. As Warren Buffett reminds us, that's the ultimate measure of a life well-lived.
As you look ahead to 2025, consider viewing your goals through this lens of service and impact. Rather than just setting traditional business targets, ask yourself: How can I serve more people? Whose lives can I positively impact? What meaningful difference can I create?
Remember, as Warren Buffett's wisdom suggests, when you're looking back on 2025 someday, you won't measure it by the numbers on a spreadsheet - you'll measure it by the lives you've touched and the love you've given away. That's not just feel-good philosophy - it's the ultimate metric of leadership success.