What I Learned from Warren Buffett After Reading 43 Books and Watching 51 Videos on Him

Warren Buffett’s meaningful life gave my life a meaning

Three years back I hardly knew Warren Buffett. I just knew he was the richest man in the world. But I had no idea who he really was. True story!

And then life happened. I broke up with my girlfriend. It was the worst breakup in the history of the relationship, in the history of breakup, in the history of the universe.

I was a mess. I could not sleep nor eat. Heck, I even lost 45 lbs.

Nothing interested me at that time. Earlier I used to binge-watch Friends after coming back from work exhausted. It never failed to make me laugh. But nothing worked after my breakup.

I began to search for something that would keep me engaged no matter what. I tried watching movies, TV series and other hobby projects that I liked doing earlier. But nothing could hold my attention for longer. Memories haunted me whenever it got the chance.

I started reading books that would force me to concentrate. It did not work initially either. I started with fiction and found it too demanding for my emotions. So, I drifted toward non-fiction.

One book led to another and I started reading The Millionaire Next Door. It sparked my curiosity enough to read about Warren Buffett. I began reading The Warren Buffett Way by Robert G. Hagstrom afterward.

This book gave me an idea about Warren’s investing style. But I felt there’s something more to the story. So, I started reading the same author’s another book, The Warren Buffett Portfolio.

I was going through the lowest point of my life. My emotions were killing me. It felt like I was living moment by moment.

I had had it enough. So I thought about channeling my inner struggle to add value in my life.

Investing seemed perfect for me at that time. I knew almost nothing about investing. Reading about Warren’s success and investing style sparked interest in me. I wanted to use that spark to light a fire.

I consumed all the materials I could find on Warren. They left me wanting more. Warren’s personality, lifestyle, values, and teachings got me intrigued.

Here are some insightful takeaways from reading 43 books, and countless articles and watching 51 videos on Warren Buffett:

Read a Lot

Warren has been a steady reader since his childhood. He devoured every book on investing in the Omaha public library by the age of 10!

I just sit in my office and read all day.

He spends 80 percent of his day reading books, newspapers, daily publications, annual reports, quarterly reports, business magazines, etc.

Read 500 pages every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.

Become a Lifelong Learner

Try to learn something new every day. Learn about whatever-you-put-your-heart-into and practice a lot.

I love the treasure hunt. Learn as much as you can. Just jump right into the pool.

Enjoy the process of learning. Otherwise, you won’t get that far in life. If you don’t keep learning, other people will pass you by.

The world keeps changing, especially when you’re into something competitive. Go to bed a little wiser than when you woke up. It’s a sure-shot way to master anything.

Learn How to Value Businesses to Become a Better Investor

Understand how businesses work to get better in investing. Learn what makes a business profitable and how to value it. It will be a great starter for you as an investor.

Warren had a knack for memorizing large numbers. He developed good business sense at a young age. He collected bottle-caps from vending machines and counted them to see which one was more popular: Coke or Pepsi.

Warren made a significant amount of money from delivering papers, selling golf balls, and horse racing tip sheets, and off pinball machines. He bought his first stock at an age when many children, at that age, have no idea what stocks are.

I am a better investor because I am a businessman, and a better businessman because I am no investor.

Warren did a lot of work in his earlier years to get himself familiar with businesses. He would go out and talk to customers, suppliers, and competitors to gain knowledge about that business’s landscape.

Do What You Love

Take a job you love. Do something that makes you jump out of the bed in the morning. It’s something you will do even if you were wealthy.

Why do I come in at 7 every morning, can’t wait to get to work? It’s because I get to paint my own painting and I like applause.

Taking a job because it will look good on your resume is a mistake. If you do something you love doing, it will not feel like work.

I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don’t like. Isn’t that a little like saving up sex for your old age?

Money shouldn’t dictate your behavior. If you do things you love and keep doing it, in time, you will get better at it. And as you get better at your work, the money will follow.

Associate With People Who Are Better Than You

We pick up the behavior of the people we associate with. That’s why it’s important to associate with the right people.

I only work with people I like. If I could make $100 million with a guy who causes my stomach to churn, I would say no because in way that is very much like marrying for money which is probably not a very good idea in any circumstances, but if you are already rich, it is crazy.

Hang around with people whom you like, trust, and admire. It will make you a better person.

Charlie will not accept anything I say because I say it. It’s great to have a partner who will tell you when your thinking is wrong.

Do not associate with people who lack admirable qualities. The same applies to the business world. You will never succeed in making a good deal with a bad person.

Feel Lucky

You can only live your life forward. So don’t fret over missed opportunities or bad luck. Count your blessings instead. Cherish the gifts you have.

I am extremely lucky and I can say no to anything because there isn’t an entity that can use economic pressure to make me do something. I’m happy when I can spend every day doing the things that I like to do. That’s my luxury. Things could have gone differently, but I was lucky. I have everything I need. But that’s also the way I felt at 25, when I didn’t have that much money yet. I have a wonderful family. I have a job that I love and wonderful people who help me with it. It can’t get any better than that.

You can always learn something from your mistakes. But it’s a terrible way to live your life thinking only about your misfortunes or how you could have done things differently.

If there is a place that is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and you do what you love doing, you will do fine. You’re rich if you are working around people you like. You will make money if you are energetic and intelligent. This society lets smart people with drive earn a very good living. You will be no exception.

Never look back. Thinking about the things you don’t have will not make you any happier.

Express gratitude for what you have. But don’t settle for less with your personal goal.

Learn From Your Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes. You are no different. You’ll make mistakes as you go on with your life. So don’t worry about making mistakes.

There’s no way I’m going to make a lot of business and investment decisions without making some mistakes. I may try to minimize them. I don’t dwell on them at all. I don’t look back.

Accept your mistakes, learn from them and move on. Better yet, learn from someone else’s mistakes as you don’t want to make too many mistakes in life.

If you played golf and you hit a hole in one on every hole, nobody would play golf, it’s no fun. You’ve got to hit a few in the rough and then get out of the rough. That makes it interesting.

The only way to not make any mistake is by not trying. But you are not going to quit trying, are you?

Never Borrow Money

Never borrow money unless you really have to. Wait to buy something until you’ve accumulated enough money.

Borrow money, if you must, for your needs, not for your wants. If you decide to take a loan, then pay special attention to the interest rates.

Don’t get hooked on credit card debt. It’s a sure way to financial disaster.

I never borrowed money even when I had $10,000 basically, what difference did it make. I was having fun as I went along it didn’t matter whether I had $10,000 or $100,000 or $1,000,000 unless I had a medical emergency come along. I was going to do the same things when I had a little bit of money as when I had a lot of money. If you think of the difference between me and you, we wear the same clothes basically (SunTrust gives me mine), we eat similar food — we all go to McDonald’s or better yet, Dairy Queen, and we live in a house that is warm in winter and cool in summer. We watch the Nebraska (football) game on big screen TV. You see it the same way I see it. We do everything the same — our lives are not that different. The only thing we do is we travel differently. What can I do that you can’t do?

Never borrow money from your friends and family. It destroys relationships.

Strive for a Simple Life

A simple life will keep you sane. Though it’s way underrated. The bells and whistles in life create unnecessary distractions toward your goal.

If you’re happy the way are, then you should not care about what other people say. It doesn’t matter what your neighbor is doing. They are living their lives, and you are yours.

You don’t need the latest gadgets every other month. Material things will not make you any happier than you are now.

Of course, some things you will add value to your life by making it comfortable. But many things won’t. Most of the things will be a burden to your life and make it miserable instead.

If you can spend every day doing the things you love and buy everything you want to have, that’s the ultimate luxury.

Learn to Say No

You are more productive when you only do things you like to do best. Search within yourself and ask yourself what you want. Say no to things that do not add value to your life.

I am extremely lucky and I can say no to anything because there isn’t an entity that can use economic pressure to make me do something.

You cannot master something when you are doing everything that comes your way. Being a master requires sacrifice — you have to give your time and energy.

The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.

Saying no is enough, you don’t have to explain yourself. It may feel uncomfortable to say no at first. But this will be second nature once you set your priorities in-line.

Make Fun of Yourself

Self-deprecating humor is a rare trait. Not everyone has what it takes to make jokes at their own expense. It takes a lot of self-confidence to make fun of yourself.

Making fun of yourself shows that you have humor. Your critics will know that they can’t hurt you with words.

We all make mistakes; that’s no big deal. Own your mistakes and make fun of yourself. But you may want to be selective about it though as people could see you as a low self-esteem person.

Warren makes fun of himself a lot. His self-deprecating humor and a quick wit make him look easygoing and approachable.

It must be noted that your Chairman, always a quick study, required only 20 years to recognize how important it was to buy good businesses.

Always Live Within Your Means

Financial success can mean many things. To me, it means having enough money to live your life comfortably. Living within your means is key to a financially successful life.

If you make a dollar, only spend 95 cents, not $1.05. You should be ahead of the game all the time rather than behind as it is harder to work your way out of a hole. You want to play the game from strength, and you have to think ahead. People don’t always want to hear advice when things are going well. People risked everything they had and needed for something they didn’t have or need.

Do not confuse the cost of living with the standard of living. You shouldn’t increase your cost of living without improving your standard of living. And don’t just increase your cost of living every time you get increment.

When I was young, I read The Richest Man in Babylon, which said to under-spend your income and invest the difference. Lo and behold, I did this and it worked.

Save a specific amount of money from your income. It’s better to calculate this amount in percent. That way, whenever your income increases, your savings will also increase.

There’s no hard-and-fast rule about how much you should save. It depends on you and your life choices. The percentage does not matter as long as you save.

You can save 5% or 10% of your income — the bigger, the better. Whatever the amount may be, it’s always better to save than overspending your income.

I got the idea to add a mental compound interest too, so I decided I would sell myself the best hour of the day to improving my own mind, and the world could buy the rest of the time. It sounds selfish, but it worked.

Use the Power of Compound Interest to Your Advantage

Learn the power of compound interest by-heart if you want to get rich. Compound interest means to leave the earnings invested you make from interest and thus earning interest on interest.

Compound interest is like a snowball. You can start with a small snowball, but the longer it rolls down the hill, the larger it gets.

Likewise, you may start with a small investment, but if you keep investing all the money you earn as interests, you will accumulate an unbelievable amount of money as you go.

Compounding your money is anything but a getting-rich-quick scheme. It takes time and patience to compound money. Warren made 99% of his wealth after he turned 50!

The longer your time horizon, the better benefit you will rip out of compound interest. That’s why the best time to start investing was a-long-time-ago and the second-best time is now.

Be Humble

People have a desire to reciprocate. If you do something good for them, they will try to reciprocate it. Good things come from good behavior.

Cultivate humility and have decency in your behavior. But don’t be a doormat either.

I measure success by how many people love me. And the best way to be loved is to be lovable.

Keeping score is terrible — be it in marriage or any relationship. So don’t keep score in life.

I know people who have a lot of money … but the truth is that nobody in the world loves them….that’s the ultimate test of how you have lived your life.

Trumpeting your success makes you look arrogant. No one likes an arrogant person. If your successes are that good, it will get noticed eventually. So, don’t blow your own trumpet.

You can’t buy health and you can’t buy love.

You may be a successful person, but you are a failure nonetheless if people don’t love and respect you.

The trouble with love is that you can’t buy it … The only way to get love is to be lovable … The more you give love away, the more you get.

Don’t Become a Slave to Technology

Smart uses of your smartphone will add value to your life. Use your smartphone or computers in a way that benefits you. Don’t waste your time using these devices that you could use otherwise in a more befitting manner.

Warren does not own any smartphone. He uses a flip-phone instead. He also has a landline in his office which he uses for talking long hours.

Bill Gates introduced Warren to the desktop computers for playing bridge. Warren spends eight hours a week playing bridge online with the nickname t-bone.

It’s the best exercise there is for the brain.

Warren does not use Facebook or any other social media sites except Twitter. He uses it sparingly though.

I just think there’s other things in life I want to do than tweet. I am not that desperate for somebody to hear my opinion.

Try to avoid social media if you can. If you must use social media, then use it to your advantage.

Choose Your Heroes Wisely

It’s said that you should choose your battle wisely. I would rather ask you to choose your heroes wisely.

Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you how you’ll turn out to be.

Your battle largely depends on the choice of your heroes. Choosing the wrong heroes will get you into trouble in life.

The best thing I did was to choose the right heroes.

Your heroes should have admirable character traits. Emulate your heroes. Follow their trails. With a little practice, you can make their admirable qualities your own.

Master Self-Discipline

We don’t have to be smarter than the rest. We have to be more disciplined than the rest.

Discipline is a must to succeed in any endeavor. If you have your goal clearly set, then the rest needed is discipline. Without discipline, you are certain to fail.

If you’re not disciplined in the little things, you won’t be disciplined in the big things.

Maintain discipline in your day-to-day job no matter what. It’s easy to get derailed from your goal if you’re not disciplined enough.

Marry the Right Person

It’s vital to choose the right life partner. Your choice of a spouse may make or break your career. A good spouse brings out the best in you.

Marry the right person. I’m serious about that. It will make more difference in your life. It will change your aspirations, all kinds of things.

Your spouse will have the most impact on your life. So choose a spouse better than you. You will have someone to emulate.

Be Focused

Success comes rather easily when you are focused. Being focused means saying no to things that do not add value to your life.

Your time and energy are limited. The more widely you spread your energies, the less you can spend on any one activity.

Focus is the vital ingredient of the recipe for success. Put all your energy into the pursuit of your goal. Your single-minded efforts will help you to hit a home run.

Never Argue

Arguing does not help. You lose either way when you argue. If you win, you risk losing the respect of the other person. And if you lose, well, you lose.

I have a partner, Charlie Munger; we have been pals for forty years — never had an argument. We disagree on things a lot but we don’t have arguments about it.

You don’t have to agree on everything everyone says. If you don’t agree on something someone does, then say so with a smile on your face.

Use Opportunity Cost in Your Decision-Making

Opportunity cost is what you have to give up to buy something you want in terms of other goods or services. It could play a major role in your decision-making process.

The concept of opportunity cost is simple. If you’re going to make a new investment, your opportunity cost of the new investment is whatever the next best choice you have available.

Say, you have 1000 bucks to spare. And you decided to buy an iPhone 10. Do you know what else you could do with this money? You could save that money or invest it.

When your current smartphone is doing okay, there’s no logical reason to buy the latest iPhone. If you save and invest that money instead, it’ll grow.

This is opportunity cost.

Keep Your Emotions in Check

Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. Think rationally. You should be the one to drive your emotions, not the other way around.

We are not influenced by other people. Charlie would say we are successful because we are rational and do our own work. We don’t read other people’s opinions. We want to get the facts, and then think.

We all have emotions. That’s normal. Just don’t let your emotions cloud your judgments, ever.

Be Patient

Most people worry too much. They can’t just sit still and wait. They hate inactivity.

Good things come to those who wait. So practice the art of patience. It is the key to success.

When you can’t find an investment that meets your criteria, don’t invest at all.

In this world, everyone craves instant gratification. You’re ahead of the game if you have patience. You can’t just get everything the moment you need it. Have patience, work with persistence and success will be yours.

Guard Your Reputation

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

People judge you by your reputation. Reputation is an impression of past behavior to predict future behavior.

We can afford to lose money — even a lot of money. But we can’t afford to lose reputation — even a shred of reputation.

Conduct yourself with integrity. Be extra careful about your self-image. You should not do anything that takes a toll on your reputation.

Give It Away

Generosity should not only come from guilt. Show your gratitude through generosity.

The most powerful force in the world is unconditional love. To horde it is a terrible mistake in life. The more you try to give it away, the more you get it back.

Warren committed to giving all his Berkshire Hathaway stock to philanthropic foundations. More than 99% of his wealth will go to philanthropy during his lifetime or at death.

I’m giving away excess, not necessity.

Some material things may make our lives comfortable but many will not. You only need enough to live your life comfortably. Give the rest away for the betterment of society.

In Conclusion

I was searching for a beacon of hope in the toughest time of my life and found the life lessons of Warren Buffett. His lifestyle and values gave meaning to my life.

My retirement is presently scheduled for five years after my death — a date subject, however, to extension.

Warren is the embodiment of a life well-lived. He is 89 and going strong. With his great thirst for lifelong learning and a passion for investing, I’m sure he’ll hit a few more home runs.

I can’t buy time, I can’t buy love but I can do anything else with money, pretty much. And why do I get up every day and jump out of bed and I’m excited at 88? It’s because I love what I do and love the people I do it with. I’ve got 25 people out here. We go to baseball games together. They try and make my life good, I try and make their life good.