Warren Buffett Says What Separates Successful People from Everyone Else Really Comes Down to a 2-Letter Word

That's a tall order. Most ambitious people are driven for results and doing more, not less. If you're an entrepreneur, for example, you are relentless in your pursuit of capitalizing on every opportunity presented to you if it means growing your business and income.

That means saying a lot more "yesses" than "no's."

But is it sustainable?

While it's true that many successful and high-profile entrepreneurs put in 60 to 80 hours per week, really successful people don't neglect their mental health and self-care or time with family, hobbies, or other interests. They recognize that if they can't take care of themselves, the business suffers.

As we near the end of the year, this is typically the time people start thinking about what goals to set for the new year. Here’s one suggestion to add to your list based on Buffett's advice:

Learn to manage yourself .

Why manage ourselves and not time?

Because we can't manage time. There's no such thing. We all wake up in the morning with the same exact number of hours, minutes, and seconds in a day. We can't control time. As it ticks away, it's gone -- in the past, never to be reclaimed again.

But here's what we can do, and is very much within our control: choose how to use that time by managing ourselves wisely.

1. Say no to opportunities and things that don't speak to your values, or further your personal or organizational mission
2. Say no to superficial networking. Really successful people don't network. They build relationships.
3. Say no to overworking by doing all the work yourself. Delegate instead and trust in others' abilities and skills to get the job done.
4. Say no to neglecting your deepest wishes and desires for what your want to accomplish in life. Stop accommodating and yielding to others' wishes and desires. It's your life, take control of it, and live your calling.