The 8 Lessons Every Successful Man Knows

Some of the most successful men and women you know were once considered failures.

Warren Buffett was rejected from Harvard.

Graydon Carter lived in a boxcar. John Paul Dejoria, the founder of Patron, lived out of his car.

Hell, Ian Schrager went to jail for tax evasion.

How, then, the change of fortune?

Luckily, someone asked them.

Their answers can be found in Getting There: A Book of Mentors, out today, a collection of interviews with 30 major influencers from the worlds of finance, media, art, retail and beyond.

Photographed and edited by Gillian Zoe Segal, the book touches on their low points as often as their high ones.

To get you started, we distilled eight basic lessons from the likes of Warren Buffett, Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, Anderson Cooper, Michael Bloomberg and Frank Gehry (who, funny story, was once a truck driver for a breakfast-nook-furniture company, an airplane washer and a clerk at his cousin’s jewelry store).

To wit:

• Setbacks often end up being good things

• Mentally prepare for rejection

• Do things that frighten you

• Be open to a meandering career path

• Fear of failure is a great motivator

• Take risks but make them calculated

• Teamwork is important; reward employees

• Find your passion

Our favorite advice? Courtesy of Warren Buffett:

“You can always tell someone to go to hell tomorrow.”