Did you know that Warren Buffett has created over 90% of his wealth since he turned 65?

He became a millionaire in 1962 when he was 32 years old. He became a billionaire in 1990 when he was 60. Last year he reached $20 Billion in net worth (after giving away much of his Berkshire Hathaway stock) at 91.

Through all that time, he’s learned a ton and gotten better at what he does, but he’s stayed steady in the same niche.

When Jeff Bezos asked him how he had achieved such wealth, he replied, “Because no one wants to get rich slowly.”

Mastery takes time

On Saturday, we talked about how the start of an exponential growth curve is agonizingly slow. It’s very hard to tell if you are growing at all.

But, with time, we learn things and improve at what we’re doing. The people we met early on take positions with more power and authority. We become better known in our niche.

We aren’t doing everything for the first time. We get better at hiring, better at selling, better at managing.

Those little advantages start to accumulate, and the growth accelerates.

Play the long game.

If it’s going to take us 15, 20, maybe even 30 years to achieve the growth and success we’ve envisioned, we need to work in a sustainable way now. It’s not about the next two weeks – it’s about the next two decades.

If you knew you would be in this business for the next 20 years, what would you do differently today?