Warren Buffett is arguably the greatest investor of all-time. He’s created so much wealth it’s almost hard to comprehend.

Outside of his unbelievable track record of investing. he’s also a machine when it comes to his daily routine. He reads for five hours every day, hits the drive-thru at McDonald’s every morning, and drinks Coca-Cola.

While I’m not recommending his diet program, his reading is a great one. There’s a method behind his madness and when you look at most of his habits, it’s no surprise he is the massive success he is today.

He has an unbelievable tool to help you set goals so you can achieve massive success as well. It’s known as the two list rule.

Warren Buffett’s ‘2 List Rule’

This “2 list rule” started when Mike Flint, Warren’s personal pilot of 10 years, went through a goal-setting process when talking with Warren. Like many of us, Mike had a lot of goals and looked to a mentor to help him achieve them.

Step One

Mike wrote down his top 25 goals for his career. By the way, I also recommend you doing the same while you’re reading this post. Start by writing out 25 goals you want to accomplish this month, this upcoming quarter or your entire career.

Step Two

Buffett asked Flint to check his list and find the five that were the most important to him. After much deliberation, he chose the top five from his list. If you’re following along, make sure you circle your top five here as well.

Step Three

Flint now had two lists after step two. The first list had his big five goals and the other list was his other 20, less important goals.

Flint said he committed to start with the top goals first. Buffett asked him about the second list and if he’d do those as well. Mike said they were important but he’d focus on the big five and do the other ones when he had time.

Buffett replied, “No. You’ve got it wrong, Mike. Everything you didn’t circle just became your Avoid-At-All-Cost list. No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you’ve succeeded with your top five.”

How to Use the 2 List Rule In Your Life

If you’re an overachiever or even someone who wants to set and achieve goals, I’m sure you’ve had this problem before. You have too many goals and not enough time or people to help you make it happen.

It’s a good problem to have considering most people don’t even set goals. But too much ambition might lead to not getting anything done which is the same as not setting goals.  

This 2 list rule is great because it forces you to pick out your top big five goals. Often times, one of those big five goals will make such a massive impact in your business or life it will help take care or eliminate the rest of them.

I challenge you t to do this exercise and get really caller on your goals. Do the 25 goals for the next 30 days or even for the rest of the year.

Goal Setting Tips

• Eliminate distraction, narrow your focus and make the top five come together by your given deadline 
• Get an accountability partner to help you ensure you have the necessary support
• Add strong reasons or “why’s” to each goal
• Review your goal regularly so it stays top of mind
• Speak your goals to your trusted inner circle
• Do at least one thing each day to move you to closer to one or several of your goals

I’m confident if you use Warren’s 2-List rule you will amaze yourself. Develop laser-like focus, stay disciplined, and start climbing the ladder to massive success.