Bill Gates ex-wife Melinda Gates shares the important advice she received from the world's most-successful investor

Bill Gates divorced Melinda French Gates recently revealed a pivotal piece of career advice she received from billionaire investor Warren Buffett. In a recent LinkedIn News interview, Melinda shared that Buffett advised her to focus on what she would “not do,” rather than trying to do everything.
“Warren Buffett once said to us ... ‘Find your bullseye of what you’re working on and let the other things fall away. You’ll feel better if you keep your talents in that bullseye and keep working on those issues, and you’ll feel less bad about letting other things go,’” French Gates said during the interview. “And I think that’s true,” she added.
Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, was a trustee and major donor to the Gates Foundation from 2006 to 2021. He played a key role in supporting the foundation's environmental, economic, and humanitarian initiatives. By 2022, Buffett had donated over $36 billion to the foundation, along with "the gift of time and advice," according to Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman on the organization's website.

French Gates views Warren Buffett’s advice as a crucial guideline for setting boundaries at work. She explained that without clear boundaries, you might end up overwhelmed with extra work, favors from colleagues, and other distractions, which can lead to stress or burnout.
French Gates emphasized the importance of saying "no" early when needed. "If you know it’s a no right away, don’t linger on it, just say no. The clarity helps you and it helps them," she said.
Buffett shares a similar perspective, famously stating, "The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything," as quoted in James Clear’s 2018 book Atomic Habits.
Gates highlighted the importance of women's empowerment, urging more women in leadership and advocating for systemic change to achieve gender equality.