Edward Quince’s Wisdom Bites: Crafting a Joyful Life and Legacy [Buffett Birthday Celebration Edition]

Beyond the realm of finance, Warren Buffett shares profound wisdom on how to live a truly rich and fulfilling life. He encourages us to think about our legacy early: "Write your obituary and try to figure out how to live up to it". This challenge prompts self-reflection on what truly matters. He profoundly notes, "I've never known anybody who was kind that died without friends. But I've known plenty of people with money that died without friends", underscoring the enduring value of human connection over material wealth.

A significant part of personal well-being, according to Buffett, is happiness, which contributes to health. He observes, "I think I stay healthy partly by being happy. It really helps if your stomach isn't grinding all the time [because] you're doing things you don't want to do or you're working with people [you don't like]. I'll usually sleep 8 hours a night". This highlights the importance of aligning one's work and relationships with genuine enjoyment. He advises, "Go to work for whomever you admire the most. You can't get a bad result. You'll jump out of bed in the morning".

Buffett advocates for a life of integrity, both professionally and personally. He encourages being tactical in interactions, even when setting boundaries: "You can always tell someone to go to hell tomorrow", and "Praise by name, criticize by category". He also emphasizes the importance of sharing good fortune, stating, "If you're lucky in life, make sure that a bunch of other people are lucky, too". His personal financial advice is simple yet powerful: "You should spend a little bit less than you earn". He also offers advice to politicians, reminding them of the need to "maintain a stable currency" with "wisdom and vigilance".

Buffett believes that life rewards perseverance and an openness to seizing opportunities, noting that "a funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it". Ultimately, his wisdom on living well revolves around integrity, meaningful relationships, thoughtful choices that foster happiness, and a commitment to contributing positively to the world around us.

Edward Quince’s Wisdom Bites: The Enduring Value of Business Fundamentals and Risk Preparedness [Buffett Birthday Celebration Edition]

Warren Buffett's approach to investing is deeply rooted in understanding the intrinsic value of a business, rather than speculating on market movements. He succinctly states that "the most that owners in the aggregate can earn between now and Judgment Day is what their business in the aggregate earns". This fundamental truth steers his focus away from macroeconomic predictions, as he and Munger "pondered what the business was likely to do not what the Dow, the Fed, or the economy might do".

A key aspect of this philosophy is robust risk management, captured by his "Noah Rule": "Predicting rain doesn't count, building an ark does". This emphasizes preparedness over prognostication. Buffett stresses the importance of finding one's passion in investing, stating, "You have to be in love with the subject... You can't just be in love with the money." He advises finding what your "brain is best suited for — and then pound away at it".

Buffett also provides a crucial perspective on market cycles and human behavior: "What the wise man does in the beginning, the fool does in the end." He further illustrates this with the "three I's in every cycle: first the innovator, then the imitator, and finally the idiot". This serves as a potent reminder to avoid getting swept up in speculative manias. He also notes that "the truly big investment idea can usually be explained in a short paragraph" and that "big opportunities come infrequently. When it's raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble".

For Buffett, successful investing means choosing your battles wisely and ensuring you're "emotionally or psychologically fit to own stocks" by understanding you're buying a piece of a business, not just a ticker symbol. He affirms that "Berkshire will never prefer ownership of cash-equivalent assets over the ownership of good businesses," and will "forever deploy a substantial majority of their money in equities," even while holding significant cash as a "call option with no expiration date". He also warns that "paper money can see its value evaporate if fiscal folly prevails".

Ultimately, Buffett's wisdom centers on patiently identifying and owning wonderful businesses, protecting capital, and acting decisively when rare, clear opportunities arise.

Edward Quince’s Wisdom Bites: Cultivating Independent Thought and Tuning Out the Noise [Buffett Birthday Celebration Edition]

In today's information-saturated world, Warren Buffett's insights on filtering out noise and fostering independent thought are more relevant than ever. He wisely observed that his sensible sister "instinctively kn[ew] that pundits should always be ignored" because if they could reliably predict winners, they wouldn't share their insights, likening it to finding gold and "handing a map to the neighbors". Buffett believes that "people's investment would be more intelligent if stocks were quoted about once a year", highlighting how constant market updates often serve as a distraction rather than a benefit.

He strongly advocates for ignoring extraneous information, stating, "We will continue to ignore political and economic forecasts which are an expensive distraction for many investors and businessmen". In his experience, "nobody knows what the market is going to do tomorrow, next week, next month," and he has "never found anybody I wanted to listen to on the subject". He even famously quipped, "We think any company that has an economist, you know, certainly, has one employee too many".

Buffett encourages a deep sense of self-reliance and critical thinking: "You can't look around for people to agree with you... You have to think for yourself. An ability to detach yourself from the crowd is a quality you need". This detachment allows for clearer judgment, as he notes, "I'm not terribly affected by the fact that the crowds are agreeing with me or disagreeing with me. I'll do whatever my own sense tells me. The trick is simply to sit and think". He also warns against self-deception in leadership, asserting, "if you start fooling your shareholders, you will soon believe your own baloney and be fooling yourself as well".

Ultimately, Buffett teaches us that true wisdom in investing, and in life, comes from humility, intellectual independence, and the courage to disregard the clamor of external opinions.

Edward Quince's Wisdom Bites: The Exponential Power of Patience and Survival [Buffett Birthday Celebration Edition]

Today, as we celebrate Warren Buffett's 95th [belated] birthday, we reflect on a cornerstone of his philosophy: the profound importance of patience and the unwavering commitment to simply staying in the game. Buffett reminds us that "in order to succeed, you must first survive". This isn't just a mantra for financial markets; it's a fundamental truth for life itself. His ultimate investment rule has always been to "Never risk permanent loss of capital". He further emphasizes this by endorsing Benjamin Graham's "Margin of Safety" as "the right three words" to distil the secret of sound investment, a principle whose neglect has caused investors "staggering losses".

Buffett, and his long-time partner Charlie Munger, famously advised, "Never interrupt compounding unnecessarily". This underscores the idea that truly significant wealth and success are built not through constant activity, but through disciplined non-action over extended periods. As Buffett colorfully puts it, "You can't make a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant". The magic of compounding needs time, and any premature interruption can derail decades of potential growth. He highlights this by citing the example of his sister, Bertie, who became "very rich" by making no new trades for 43 years after 1980, simply by retaining a mutual fund and Berkshire. Her reasoning, drawn from common sense, proved far more effective than chasing short-term gains.

In a world filled with constant pressure to act, Buffett’s lesson stands as a powerful counter-narrative: true advantage often comes from doing less, but doing it with extreme prudence and a relentless focus on long-term survival.