Life Lessons from a Cheerful Billlionaire
I read Being Warren Buffett – Life Lessons From a Cheerful Billionaire by Nic Liberman and found some really valuable lessons that I would like to pass on to my kids
The main points I learnt from the book was as follows
Love– Warren loves making money so do things that you enjoy doing
Loyalty– he is loyal to people in his businesses which generates devoted partners and managers who work for him
Independent Thinking– Warren thinks independently and stands his ground and comes to his own conclusions and uses correct facts and sound reasoning
Confidence-Warren says he is no genius but says I am smart in spots but I stay around those spots
Optimism– Warren optimism gives him a solid quiet capacity to endure vicissitudes(a change of circumstances or fortune) of some business decisions without becoming jumpy or impulse ridden – this gives him a significant advantage over the rest who manage these tensions much less elegantly
Modesty and Humility in all he does – he believes he does not add much value to an acquired business – rather he is just a good investor
Cutting Your Coat – Warren is not an expert on every company – or even many – he is able to evaluate within his circle of competence – ie cut one’s coat according to one’s cloth – this lets you grapple with your own reality
Patience– they buy outstanding businesses at a sensible price not a mediocre business at a bargain price – they look at a period of 20 years to recognize how important it was to buy a good business
Deferring Gratification – Warren says investing is forgoing consumption now in order to have the ability to consume more at a later date
Frugality– Buffett quotes the following incident: ‘When we were due to close the purchase at Charlie’s office, Jack was late- finally arriving he explained that he was driving around looking for a parking meter with some unexpired time – that was a magic moment for me – I knew then that Jack was going to be my kind of manager- this observation is symbolic only
Conscience– Agonising over errors is a mistake, but acknowledging them and analysing them can be useful – Churchill once said that ” success is about going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm ”
Envy– Envy is the art of counting the other fellows blessing instead of your own (H Coffin) – Warren is well aware that his capacity to spot and harness the significant blessings of others is the source of much success
Narcissism – the lack of Warren’s narcissism is an active description of who he is and what makes him stand out from others
It would be so beneficial if I could build these qualities in my kids