Leading A Simple Life - The Warren Buffett Way (worth reading)

There was an one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. In the following are some very interesting aspects of his life.


#1: He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
Things were very cheap that time. Encourage your child to invest. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers. One could have bought many things with little savings.

#2: Encourage your children to start some kind of business.

#3: Don't buy more than what you "really need" and encourage your children to do and think the same. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a fence/wall.

#4: He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
#5: You are what you are.

#6: He never travels by private jet although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
Always think of how you can accomplish things economically.

#7: Assign the right people to do the right jobs.
His company, Berkshire Hathaway owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of this companies giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.

He has given his CEOs only two rules:
1. Do not lose any of your shareholder's money.
2. Do not forget Rule #1.

#8: Set goals and make sure people focus on them.

#9: He does not socialize with the high society crowd, His past time after he gets home is to make himself some popcorn and watch TV.

#10: Don't try to show off. Just be yourself and do what you enjoy doing.

#11: Warren Buffet does not carry a cellphone nor does he have a computer on his desk.
Bill Gates, the word's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet so he scheduled the meeting for only half an hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

His advice to young people:

1. Stay away from credit cards (bank loans) and invest in yourself. Remember:
2. Money doesn't create man but it is the man who creates money.
3. Live your life as simply as you are.
4. Don't do what others say. Just listen to them but do what you feel is good.
5. Don't go for brand names. Just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.
6. Don't waste your money on uneccesary things. Spend it on who is really in need rather.
7. After all, it's your life. Why give other's the chance to rule our life.

The HAPPIEST people DO NOT neccesarily have the BEST of all.
They simply APPRECIATE what they find on their way.