Prioritize sustainable, long-term growth and value creation over immediate, expedient gains that could damage the business's future. This philosophy guides decisions from product development to strategic planning, ensuring the company builds a lasting competitive advantage instead of chasing fleeting wins.

Largely self-taught through voracious reading, Jonathan Tepper views investing as an extension of that process. Great investors are in a constant mode of self-education, digging deeply into new companies and industries. The ability to teach yourself is an ongoing, essential part of the job.

The intense, relentless drive seen in many successful entrepreneurs isn't normal ambition. It's often a corrosive fuel derived from significant personal trauma, like family financial ruin. This experience provides a level of motivation that those from more stable backgrounds may lack.

Success for a year or even five is common; success for decades is rare and contains unique lessons. Prioritize durability above all else by studying and speaking with people who have maintained high performance over extremely long periods. This provides a filter for timeless, compoundable wisdom.

The experience of moving frequently as a child in a military family instills an early tolerance for uncertainty and discomfort. This resilience becomes a valuable asset in an investment career, where sitting with discomfort is a constant requirement that many professionals struggle with.

Wealthy upbringings can be a disadvantage for aspiring investors by dulling the intense drive required to endure the profession's challenges. David Rubenstein argues that those from modest backgrounds often possess a 'hunger' and resilience that is critical for success, as they have more to prove and can better handle frequent setbacks.

Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy's journey from a penniless Hungarian immigrant to a billionaire reveals a core business ethos. This "outsider CEO" background fosters long-term, contrarian thinking that prioritizes building a differentiated business over appeasing short-term Wall Street demands, making it a key qualitative investment signal.

At age 10, Clayton chose more seeds to sell (reinvesting capital) over an instant toy car prize. This philosophy of deferring gratification for long-term growth defined his entrepreneurial journey, shaping a discipline of plowing profits back into his business.

David Rubenstein posits that individuals from wealthy families may lack the intense drive required for successful investing, as it involves a "tortuous" learning process. Those from more modest backgrounds often possess the necessary hunger and grit to endure the inevitable failures and learn from them.