Warren Buffett Motivational Quotes

Find yourself a way to mentally and internally motivate yourself.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently. - Warren Buffett

As Charlie Munger has said, “I think I’ve been in the top 5% of my age cohort almost my entire adult life in understanding the power of incentives, and yet I’ve always underestimated that power. Never a year passes but I get some surprise that pushes a little further my appreciation of incentive superpower.” An example from FedEx is one of his favorite cases in point. As he explains, the integrity of the FedEx system relies heavily on the ability to unload and then quickly reload packages at one central location within an allotted time. Years ago, the company was having a terrible problem getting its workers to get all the boxes off and then back on the planes in time. They tried numerous different things that didn’t work, until someone had the brilliant idea of paying the workers by the shift as opposed to by the hour. Poof, the problem was solved.2 FedEx’s old pay-by-the-hour system rewarded those who took longer to get the job done. They were incentivized to take longer. By switching to pay-by-the-shift, workers were motivated to work faster and without error so they could go home, yet still earn the wages of a full shift. For the workers, finishing early amounted to a higher effective hourly wage. By aligning the business’s interests with the worker’s incentives, FedEx got the outcome it and its workers both desired. The

The final, and most important, consideration concerns personal motivation. When I started the partnership I set the motor that regulated the treadmill at “ten points better than the DOW.” I was younger, poorer and probably more competitive. Even without the three previously discussed external factors making for poorer performance, I would still feel that changed personal conditions make it advisable to reduce the speed of the treadmill. I have observed many cases of habit patterns in all activities of life, particularly business, continuing (and becoming accentuated as years pass) long after they ceased making sense. Bertrand Russell has related the story of two Lithuanian girls who lived at his manor subsequent to World War I. Regularly each evening after the house was dark, they would sneak out and steal vegetables from the neighbors for hoarding in their rooms; this despite the fact that food was bountiful at the Russell table. Lord Russell explained to the girls that while such behavior may have made a great deal of sense in Lithuania during the war, it was somewhat out of place in the English countryside. He received assenting nods and continued stealing. He finally contented himself with the observation that their behavior, strange as it might seem to the neighbors, was really not so different from that of the elder Rockefeller. Elementary

Cooperages typically specialized in one or the other because they each had different customer bases and wood requirements. They were often located in major towns to be close to their customers. Slack cooperage demand was more fragmented than tight cooperage, and therefore had a more diverse customer base. While most of the industry was tight cooperage, Greif focused on slack, with the company having the most slack capacity of any player. The cooperage industry had grown increasingly concentrated over time, with the top four companies’ share of total production increasing from 26% in 1935 to 47% in 1947.66 John Raible acquired control of the company from the Greif brothers in 1913. Raible was a wealthy investor, not terribly interested in the cooperage business. But his leadership was valuable, helping the company grow revenue from $1 million when he took over to $10 million when he took Greif public in 1926. But Raible’s reign came to an end in 1947, undone by a fellow board member. John Dempsey, an accountant in his early 30s, had joined the firm as a director and company secretary in 1946. After Raible tried to buy shares held by Dempsey’s wife and mother-in-law at a price the young accountant thought too cheap, Dempsey accumulated enough voting shares to take control of the company. Dempsey, claiming to be motivated by Raible calling Greif ‘my wood company,’ purchased over 50% of the voting shares and made himself chairman.67

There is no King of Kings. We all answer to somebody. This includes the world's wealthiest and most powerful people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. All of us are Paupers to somebody. We are all somebody's bitch. In a sense, we are in the same boat.

The man who does not read has no advantage over a man who cannot read” – Mark Twain

you cannot possible succeed until you start!

This is the reason it is said that that people who read become instantly wiser not because they know what to do, but more because they know – what not to do!

I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. I read and think. So I do more reading and thinking, and make less impulse decisions than most people in business. I do it because I like this kind of life. -Warren Buffett (1930 -)

Would you rather be the world’s greatest lover, but have everyone think you’re the world’s worst lover? Or would you rather be worst lover but have everyone think you’re the world’s greatest lover?” Now, that’s an interesting question

In teaching your kids, I think the lesson they’re learning at a very, very early age is what their parents put the emphasis on. If all the emphasis is one what the world’s going to think about you, forgetting about how you really behave, you will wind up with an Outer Scorecard. Now, my dad: He was a hundred present Inner Scorecard guy

Now this idea of his resonates closely with Aristotle who said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it

equity investments are the riskiest and anyone should reconsider investing

Intelligent Investor

Lord Buddha, the enlightened one said, “To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear”.

Habit 1: Reading + Numbers Habit 2: The Principal of Compounding in Finance and Life Habit 3: The circle of competence Habit 4: Power of isolation, thinking and No Internet! Habit 5: Inner scorecard or outer scorecard? Habit 6: Do what you love – The Science of not getting bored and eventually succeed! Habit 7: Cash is King – Really? Habit 8: Invest in yourself - Pay yourself first! Habit 9: Time management: - 24 hours/1440 minutes a day

Essence of this habit is to follow what you love, irrespective of what others say and then stand your ground. The world will keep on saying a few things and then the same people would criticize you for not being original. Just do what you love and experiment. Have an inner scorecard.

The book read –“How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie. He learnt rule no. 1 of conversation, “Don’t criticize, condemn or complain

If a great person has experienced and amassed enormous knowledge, he will most probably write it through a book.

There is no solution outside, there is information but the solution is always inside of you.

doing a job that you don’t like is like saving up sex for your old age.

You would end up with the same day in your life tomorrow if you just enjoyed these habit hacks today and then forget them tomorrow.

Only 2 things matter to get any desired result. Willingness to do and action. The majority fail in executing the second.

Using guilt is not productive. Appealing to the greatness of others is what works for Warren, and it will work for you.

Only 2 things matter to get any desired result. Willingness to do and action.

Human beings have always been slaves of habits. You might argue that the reason it took millions of years for monkeys to walk as humans was slow genetic transformations and slow changing habits. Either you break a bad habit or the habit breaks you. Either of these two occurs at any given moment.

The ultimate trick is to understand and grasp the fact that whatever we decide in life, we have to be consistent in that and ignore any short term benefits from it. Over a period of time the benefits start compounding and you fetch results for sure. So make sure you use this eighth wonder of the world – its free!

The lesson from this habit is to take a break and find your own circle of competence! And then act! Everything falls in place and you would find yourself on the right path.

Focus of what you want, invest in yourself via a course and work towards monetizing it.

There is no solution outside, there is information but the solution is always inside of you. All you need is to take a break and think for yourself.