PERSONAL GROWTH STRATEGIES & STORIES
The Ultimate Regrets of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Elon Musk
Even Billionaires have regrets — How we can avoid them
Steve Jobs' Biggest Regret
“I wanted my kids to know me. I wasn’t always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did.”
Steve Jobs was the ultimate achiever and visionary. He created industries — multiple times. Even after that, he was forced to leave his company. He faced losses and pain. And every time, Jobs bounced back.
Thanks to him and his team, the world entered the era of personal computers and smartphones. Apple has increased the speed and efficiency of the world through its innovations.
Steve Jobs died in 2011. He had a liver transplant and was suffering from Pancreatic Cancer. In his last days, he had regret about not treating his cancer sooner. In his autobiography, he mentioned both of these two regrets —
- Not treating his cancer sooner: He regretted ignoring his health
- Not being there for his kids: He regretted his family dynamics
What we can learn from Jobs’ regrets
When we are younger, we go for success in academics, sports, and careers. With time, we start realizing the most important matters of life — Family & Health.
Our guardians start leaving us. Our closest people change and move away. We realize that other achievements don’t mean that much. People we love trump almost everything.
The other treasure is health. I lost close relatives who had everything. But they passed away at an early age due to chronic diseases. They, unfortunately, couldn’t maintain their health. Many of us may experience what Jobs did. Illnesses are unpredictable. We can do our best to stay up to date with our illnesses and manage them.
Bill Gates’ Biggest Regret
“You know, thanking Melinda.”
When asked about what his biggest regret would be if he died today, Bill Gates mentioned not thanking Melinda enough. The couple recently divorced after two and a half decades of marriage. But that didn’t happen before they helped each other grow.
Gates understood how much impact Melinda created in his life. They achieved so much together! He realized that Melinda deserved more attention and appreciation from him.
What we can learn from Gates’ regret
We often make the mistake of underestimating what we have. We fail to show our gratitude. Only when they leave our lives, we understand their true value.
This happens to us all the time. We make the same mistake with friends, family, jobs, and literally everything. We take things for granted.
We must take a pause every day — to express our gratitude for everything we have.
Warren Buffet’s Biggest Regret
Warren Buffet is one of the most prolific investors of all time.
He is well-known for playing long investment games. In his investment decisions, he usually takes calculated steps. Emotion doesn’t have a place in his playbook.
Or so we thought.
Warren Buffett first invested in Berkshire Hathaway in 1962. He saw an opportunity to make some profit in the dying industry.
But a few years later when received a buyback offer from the manager, he became angry with the low offer. Angered by the offer, Buffet fired the manager and bought up more shares of the company.
That move cost him an estimated $200 billion over the four subsequent decades.
What we can learn from Buffet’s regret
We are defined and driven by our identity. We stand by some beliefs and principles. When we violate these principles due to emotional lapses, we are bound to have regrets.
Buffet went against his principles in this decision. Similarly, if we do something that goes against what we believe, that will not sit well with us.
Also, do not make financial decisions when you are emotional!
Elon Musk’s Biggest Regret
In the early 2000-s, Musk was only devoting 20% of his time to Tesla. He was occupied with SpaceX. He considers this the biggest mistake of his career.
Tesla faced production delays and cost overruns for its Roadster. He took over as CEO during the financial crisis in 2008. The company was then nearing bankruptcy. From there, he turned that into the giant it is today.
What we can learn from Musk’s Regret
Musk’s regret is more along the lines of inaction. He took the steps later than he would have liked.
Often in our lives, we delay decisions and actions. That piles up and leaves a huge bowl of regret.
Most of the regrets stem from not doing something. Every day, we are presented with several choices. These choices decide how our lives would be.
In my career, I took decisions that were not the best ones. I sided with taking an action. Due to that, I hated my work for a period. However, I don’t regret that action. I know that bad experiences make us stronger. Those have turned me into a better professional and individual.
What Jeff Bezos said about regrets
“I wanted not to have regrets. I knew for a fact, I have this idea, and if I don’t try, I’m going to regret having never tried,” he said. “And I know also, if I try and fail, I’ll never regret having tried and failed.
Bezos didn’t want to have regret — by not doing something. We may make bad decisions but we need to keep taking them. Otherwise, we will not move forward. We will keep on asking — “What if?”
Top 5 regrets of the dying
Bronnie Ware recorded the most common regrets of the dying. Let’s have a look at the top 5 regrets —
- I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
- I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
- I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
- I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
- I wish that I had let myself be happier.
If we look at numbers 1 and 5, they are about not taking care of themselves. It is essential to pay ourselves first — others can wait!
Number 3 and 4 are about inactions. Number 2 is about sticking with a priority that was relevant at a younger age.
Final Thoughts
It’s about priorities and how we handle them. If we can manage our priorities well, we will not have regrets.
Our priorities change over time. When I was younger, my priority was my education. After I started working, my work became my priority. Now, I know that my family is taking that seat.
If I don’t adapt accordingly, I’ll be struggling. Instead of prioritizing time for family, if I spend large portions of my time studying as I did 15 years ago, I’ll eventually have regrets.
That is because my activities should change with priorities. My identity changes with time as well. I have to stay true to who I am, no matter what.
For Jeff Bezos, building Amazon was his priority and he followed through. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had similar ambitions. But with time, their families became more important to them. But they couldn’t adjust their lifestyle accordingly. For Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, the source of regret would be inaction. Warren Buffet hated when he did something out of character.
If we set our priorities right, take actions accordingly, and stay true to who we are, maybe we will be on a path without regret.
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