10 Quotes by Warren Buffett That Will Help You Live a Better Life

The best version of you has very little to do with money

When Warren Buffett speaks, you can bet your bottom dollar that the finance world is tuning in to listen.

It goes without saying that his success has caught the eyes of many around the world. But what does ‘success’ mean to Mr Buffett?

It certainly doesn’t all come down to money, or keeping up with the latest advances in technology. If that were the case, do you really think he would have held on to his flip-phone until 2020?

What makes Warren Buffett so great is that he chooses his words as carefully as he picks his stocks.

And in the event that you come across someone in possession of this rare ability, it is entirely worth your while to study their thoughts on, well, just about everything.

That said, here are 10 quotes by the ‘Sage of Omaha’ that if applied, might just help you live a better life.

“If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster.”

There are 2 reasons why I started here.

The first is that it dispels the idea that money is what matters most in life. It definitely matters alright. It would be wrong of me to deny that. But money is not the be-all and end-all. It’s important to remember that.

The second reason why I started here is to highlight how it is not all about you.

To live a better life, treat other people better.

Surprising right?

If you practice kindness towards others, you will receive thoughtful gestures. If you choose to neglect others, well, guess what, you won’t be making it on to their friendship list.

No matter how well off you end up, or how successful you become, you will always find yourself in need of a helping hand at some point.

Keep that option available to you. You never know when it might come in handy.

Action #1:

Treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s as simple as that.

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

The way I read this quote is that your success in life will rarely be the sole function of your own doing.

There will always be certain events that unfold in precisely the right way to lead you onto precisely the right path.

To paraphrase Steve Jobs, the dots can only be connected looking backwards.

Spend the time reflecting on where you’ve come from — it’s the best way to get a better idea of where you are going.

I can’t stress this enough.

Action #2:

Take the time to remind yourself of your past. It will make your future definitively clearer.

“If you’re in the luckiest 1% of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99%.”

Ever since I can remember, my Dad would always repeat the phrase: “attitude is gratitude”.

Hearing this used to wind me up. It felt like he was just trying to sound clever with sentences that rhymed.

Over time, I began to realise that there was a very good reason why he chose to repeat this to me, again and again.

It’s because our minds are seldom trained to count our blessings.

Practicing the art of being grateful is hard work. It’s a habit that can take several years to form.

And it tends not to come naturally to us. Instead, it’s the last resort we turn towards when we realise that life isn’t going our way.

And while you might not always be in a position to help others, that’s okay. We can’t always do everything for everyone.

But as long as we take the time to remind ourselves how blessed we really are, we are still on the right path towards appreciating our fortunes.

Action #3:

Be grateful.

“The most important investment you can make is in yourself.”

Imagine a scenario where all your wealth and material possessions suddenly disappeared. I know this sounds morbid and I wouldn’t wish this upon anyone, but stick with me for a second.

How would you feel? What would you find yourself left with?

The answer is you.

Do you like this version of you?

If not, then the chances are that you’ve been spending too much time accumulating belongings, and not enough time focusing on how you can improve as an individual.

Make that investment in a better ‘you’. I guarantee it will pay dividends.

Action #4:

Ask yourself: “is this version of you good enough?” If not, you have more work to do.

“Honesty is a very expensive gift. Don’t expect it from cheap people.”

I love this quote. It’s to the point. It’s direct. And most importantly, it’s the truth.

Nobody likes dishonesty. And yet we’ve all been guilty of telling small fibs. We convince ourselves that there’s no harm from a teeny-tiny lie.

Except we are actually planting a seed that will someday grow into a tree of dishonesty, eventually spiralling out of control.

It’s simply not worth it.

Action #5:

Stay true to your word. You’ll sleep better at night.

“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.”

Knowledge is power.

That’s right, I didn’t say money is power. I said knowledge.

This goes back to my earlier point. Wealth can disappear overnight. But knowledge will stay loyal to you.

Take the time to educate yourself. Read more. Think more. You’ll be surprised how empowered your mind and body will feel.

Action #6:

Embrace knowledge. It’s the purest form of wealth.

“What we learn from history is that people don’t learn from history.”

Everybody makes mistakes.

You need to make mistakes if you want to develop your true potential.

But not everybody learns from them.

Very few people actually take the time to digest where they went wrong, what they could have done better.

Many a time, we blame nature or worse, others, for events that didn’t work out as planned. And we continue to do so. Every. Single. Time.

Really, we should be blaming ourselves.

Why? Because we couldn’t be bothered to learn from our past.

And the result?

We go around in circles when we should be marching ahead.

Action #7:

Learn from your past mistakes. Embrace them until you are ready to move forward.

“No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”

I’ll be first to admit that I rush into decisions.

I tell myself it’s because I’m determined. Really, it’s because I try to move at twice my natural speed.

It’s one of the biggest challenges I face as a writer. I constantly find myself in a hurry to put new ideas on to paper. I struggle with the fact that a good story takes time to produce.

It doesn’t happen overnight. I wish it did. But it doesn’t.

Writing teaches me that I can’t jump to publish in 60 seconds. That’s one of the reasons I continue to write: to break this habit of haste.

Action #8:

Slow down. Accept the fact that some things will take time.

“I measure success by how many people love me.”

I know what you are thinking.

This quote sounds ‘cheesy’. It certainly isn’t something you’d expect to hear from one of the world’s greatest investors.

But what makes this quote so great is that it adds perspective to what we do.

We all have our own definition of success. We might aim to reach a 6-figure salary. We might wish to become famous.

But these are all accomplishments.

True success lies in our ability to feel successful. And the best way to feel the power of success is to celebrate your small victories with others.

Just remember that the individual with the longest resume will always struggle to feel successful if they aren’t able to celebrate their achievements with the people that should matter most to them.

Action #9:

Stop worrying about your definition of success. Accomplishments will come and go. You’ll feel more successful if you have loved ones to celebrate your victories with.

“I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute.”

And finally, have a vision.

Telling yourself you’ve won is half the battle to winning. But most people lose because they find a reason not to suit up. They find ways to avoid a battlefield of obstacles even if means giving up on the hope of reaching their final destination.

Actually, let me correct myself.

Most people lose because they allow their minds to convince them that they aren’t good enough; that they can’t buy that dream car; that they aren’t worthy enough to be pitching their product to a gigantic corporation.

When you start to believe in yourself, the universe will always find a way to help you.

But first, you must give the universe a reason to do so.

Action #10:

Never doubt yourself.

Warren Buffett certainly didn’t. Why should you?

Quick Recap

1. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
2. Take the time to remind yourself where you’ve come from. It will make your future definitively clearer.
3. Be grateful.
4. Ask yourself: “is this version of you good enough?” If not, you have more work to do.
5. Stay true to your word. You’ll sleep better at night.
6. Embrace knowledge. It’s the purest form of wealth.
7. Learn from your past mistakes. Embrace them until you are ready to move forward.
8. Slow down. Accept the fact that some things will take time.
9. Stop worrying about your definition of success. Instead find loved ones to celebrate your victories with.
10. And finally, never doubt yourself.

Thank you for reading.