If you're weighing job offers right now, here's some advice that might sound counterintuitive: forget the salary, at least for a minute. That's the message from author and motivational speaker Simon Sinek, who says the best career move he ever made was choosing bosses over paychecks.

Learning Over Earning

Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Sinek reflected on his early career choices. "If I got one thing right as a young person, it's that I always chose jobs based on who I would work for," he explained. "I didn't care how much money they're going to pay."

He remembers turning down higher-paying gigs to work somewhere the leadership actually inspired him. The result? "Yes, I made less money than all of my friends in the short term," he admitted. But the tradeoff was worth it: "I got an education and care from somebody who took me under their wing."

Warren Buffett and Oprah Agree

Sinek isn't alone in this thinking. Warren Buffett made similar comments at a shareholder meeting in May, telling attendees: "Don't worry too much about starting salaries, and be very careful who you work for because you will take on the habits of the people around you," according to Fortune.

Oprah Winfrey has also been vocal about the role mentorship played in her rise. She credited Maya Angelou as a guiding force, writing in 2024: "Anybody who's had any level of success in their life got to where they are because somebody, somewhere, was a guiding light."

But What About Obsession and Skills?

Not everyone buys into the mentorship-first narrative, though. Last month, "Shark Tank" investor Robert Herjavec shared advice he got from Mark Cuban: passion doesn't matter, obsession does. "Passion is easy, because passion is a wish, but obsession is an action," Herjavec said.

Investor Naval Ravikant echoed that intensity in August, noting that "If you're not 100% into it, somebody else who is 100% into it will outperform you."

Then there's entrepreneur Scott Galloway, who calls "follow your passion" misleading advice typically given by people who are already wealthy. He argues that skills, discipline, and adaptability are what actually move the needle. His own career path, from finance to founding data-focused firms Prophet and L2, proves the point: capability beats idealism.