The book, which was edited by the former daughter-in-law of investor Warren Buffett together with a co-author, includes a total of 125 sayings by Buffet, each of which is explained and interpreted by the authors. Buffett has mastered not just the art of investing, but also the craft of rhetoric, because he often wraps profound insights into humorous sentences and highly evocative images. Here are some highlights I find particularly well done in a book that is equally instructive and amusing:
- “The smartest side to take in a bidding war is the losing side.” (No. 108)
- “Wall Street makes its money on activity. You make your money on inactivity.” (No. 65)
- “I want to be able to explain my mistakes. This means I do only the things I completely understand.” (No. 93)
- “You can’t make a good deal with a bad person.” (No. 4)
- “If we can’t find things within our circle of competence, we don’t expand the circle. We’ll wait.” (No. 99)
The subjects covered by the book, rather than being limited to investing and making money, also include some general guidance by Warren Buffett that I appreciated just as much. Here is an example:
- “There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don’t like because you think that it will look good on your résumé. Isn’t that a little like saving up sex for your old age?” (No. 55)
- “The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” (No. 14)
- “Imagine that you had a car and that was the only car you’d have for your entire lifetime. Of course, you’d care for it well, changing the oil more fre-quently than necessary, driving carefully, etc. Now, consider that you only have one mind and one body. Prepare them for life, care for them. You can enhance your mind over time. A person’s main asset is themselves, so preserve and enhance yourself.” (No. 73)
- “There is nothing like writing to force you to think and get your thoughts straight.” (No. 70)
- “If you let yourself be undisciplined on the small things, you will probably be undisciplined on the large things as well.” (No. 69)
- “If you understand an idea, you can express it so others can understand it.” (No. 96)
I personally read the book not just once but keep going back to it, because it pays to ponder Buffet’s observations, and to wonder in what ways you can benefit from them in your own life, in your work, and in your investments. Some of these epithets contain more food for thought than many long-winded tomes. R.Z.
