In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to?
Recorded Adam Peaty said elsewhere, not written here
I'm tired, I'm not myself and I'm not enjoying the sport as I have done for the last decade. Some might recognise it as burnout; I just know that over the last few years I haven't had the answers.

Public statement announcing his break from swimming, April 2023, The Independent, 1 July 2023 source ↗

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Warren Buffett Chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, 1970–2025
Yeah and we get calls all the time, and there's so many calls, but the like I said, it takes me five seconds to say no. It takes, Greg's a little more polite than I am, but I just as soon get the calls just to see what people are doing. But they aren't offering anything that's at an attractive price, and what they want is a trade.
Recorded Becky Quick, CNBC “Squawk Box”, recorded in Omaha; CNBC's own transcript of its own broadcast, 31 March 2026 source ↗
Ory Okolloh Co-founder of Ushahidi; lawyer and open-government activist
I am personally passionate and anal about non-negotiables. If those needs aren't met, I quit. Life is too short to play-act if you don't have to.
Recorded Quartz written questionnaire source ↗
Allyson Felix United States sprinter, 2003–2022
What I'm not willing to accept is the enduring status quo around maternity. I asked Nike to contractually guarantee that I wouldn't be punished if I didn't perform at my best in the months surrounding childbirth. I wanted to set a new standard. If I, one of Nike's most widely marketed athletes, couldn't secure these protections, who could?
Recorded Opinion piece, The New York Times, 22 May 2019 source ↗
Steve Jobs Co-founder and chief executive of Apple; co-founder of NeXT; chief executive of Pixar
We tend to focus much more. People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.
Recorded Betsy Morris, Fortune interview, Kona, Hawaii, March 2008 source ↗

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