5 Lessons I Learned From One Hour With A Billionaire

Last weekend I had the privilege of meeting a billionaire. I’m choosing not to share who it was to maintain his privacy, but our conversation left a life-changing impression on me. In particular there were 5 takeaway lessons that I want you to know too.

Money Is Fake. Coming from someone who has amassed so much wealth, it was a perspective I didn’t expect to hear. Money is just a mutual understanding we all have that society has been built around, and there’s nothing permanent about that system.

Exceptional Reward Requires Exceptional Risk. He told the story about how he made his fortune, and the massive chance he took that enabled it. Essentially a new, risky opportunity came up and he put everything on the line for it. Fortunately for him, it turned out to be the the right bet to make.

Challenge The Way Things Are Done. If you want to do something really significant and meaningful, it needs to be disruptive. Things are done a certain way because people are choosing to solve the same problems with the same ideas, and working within the same constraints. He shared a famous Buckminster Fuller quote that says it perfectly: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

Success Is About Everyone Else. Any time he reflected on his wins and successes, he gave credit to the other people around him that made it possible. And it’s not just humility, it’s a real example that we can achieve more and when we work together.

Give More To Get More. He shared a quick line that has been stuck in my head: “Have 5, give 6, get back 12. Don’t try to do the math.” When you come from a place of looking to contribute, and giving more than you take, all of that goodness seems to come back around in multiplied ways. It’s something that he’s lived by.

But honestly, what’s most inspiring about this opportunity to meet a billionaire is hearing more about what he’s choosing to do with his life now. This man can go anywhere, do anything, and meet anybody he wants... Yet he’s dedicating his life to helping others. He thinks that it’s unfair for a few people to keep everything to themselves, and he’s got a bigger vision for how he can use his resources, platform, and connections to change the world.

Outside of meeting him in his $40 million house, nothing about this man would have indicated the level of wealth he has amassed. He was present, passionate, humble, curious, and kind, and it was a gift to have met him.