As earth turns clockwise, I ease into a counter move for the day as the promise of rain is close to returning to watering duty. The phone rings. I am pointed towards a program where I discover some useful lessons from an unlikely place - two of America's diehard capitalists.
Quotes, paraphrases and pieced together comments from the April 22, 2011 CNBC program, Keeping America Great, A Town Hall Event With Warren Buffet and Bill Gates facilitated by Becky Quick on the campus of Columbia Business School. [My comments are in brackets].
1. Marry the right person. Who you marry will change your aspirations. Who you marry will change all sorts of things. [Everyone you have relations with, affects you. Every person you interact with regularly will definitely have a significant impact on your life for better or worse. If you can't tell which it is, it's for the worse.]
2. Hold enough cash so no one can determine your future. [After that, invest the rest.]
3. Best place to learn ethics is in the home.
4. Do what turns you on. Do what you have a passion for. Figure this out as early as possible. You should choose your first few jobs that can expose you to the most to help figure this out, then pour yourself into your passion.
5. Try to live your life so nothing keeps you up at night.
6. From a long-term investing standpoint, a crisis can provide value opportunities.
7. It is a mistake to decide whether or not to buy or sell an investment based on what's happening today only. [Look for the long-term value potential.]
8. If you're a long-term investor, a terrible market is your friend. [This includes real estate and any other asset.]
9. K-12 education has not improved.
10. K-12 education is important to our economic strength. [To graduate a steady flow of workers to do the grunt work for capitalism.]
11. It is good for the world that some countries are not as dependent as they were on the U.S.[The U.S. has always been dependent on other countries.]
12. With great wealth comes great responsibility. [Remain aware of the true source of your wealth.]
13. His parents let him buy as many books as he wanted. [This is a good way to give your child a better life than you. Give them access to a means of learning so children can get their own better life.]
14. The most important thing to do everyday is to learn.
15. A mentor helped him gain confidence. People that believed in him provided a tailwind in life. [A mentor is anyone with your best interests at heart.]
16. He was lucky in terms of some of the people he met. [Meet, people.]
17. Every life is equal in value.
18. A group decision is to look in the mirror. [Look into yourself.]
19. Do what you would do without regards to money. [Money is just one of many resources. Most of us get money by trading one or more of our other resources to get money.]
20. Don't chase where the last dollar is being made. [Beware of making choices based on articles about the fastest growing careers or the best paying jobs. This leads you deeper into the neck of the capitalistic funnel. There is no light at the end of the funnel.]
21. [If you must work for someone,] work for someone or company you admire and that turns you on. [You agree with what they're about.]
22. Active investors, those willing to spend time learning, should look at as many things as possible to uncover opportunities and when value is found – act. [This applies to stocks, real estate, self-employment, someone else or any type of appreciating, life-freeing asset.]
23. You must find great investment deals yourself. The world is not going to tell you.
24. Don't pass up anything attractive today hoping there will be something more attractive tomorrow. [A bird in the hand...][Don't keep waiting for stocks and especially real estate to go lower. Don't keep waiting for next year, another election, political decisions or the unemployment rate to go down. Don't wait for those around you to agree with your decisions.]
25. If the reason for doing something is everybody else is doing it, you don't have a good reason.
26. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by what other people think. [Unless they are like-spirit driven.]
27. Have great people around you, think long-term and read a lot. [Read mostly what benefits you not simply entertains you.]
28. Seize the moments when you can. Doing so will significantly shift your life because not many of these moments come along.
29. Having sound principles takes you through everything.
30. He is able to make quick decisions now because of years of preparation. [Sooner or later we should be able to make quicker and better decisions due to experiences, continuous learning and greater reliance on the intuitive self. You can make better decisions by bettering yourself.]
A soft light rain nurtures the living. Some, long asleep, are being resurrected.
