Author: John Tan

Warren Buffett is one of the world’s greatest investors and business leaders. Over the years the man who famously made today’s equivalent of over $50,000 as a teenager has uttered some pretty prophetic statements.

1. “It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.”
Buffett suggests that the best successes in the workplace can come from those who are consistent. Flashy ideas and grandiose plans only take you so far. In the end, the results speak for themselves.

2. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Here, Buffett says that anyone’s reputation can quickly take a hit and to always act with integrity. Otherwise, a whole career can be ruined easily no matter the effort over the years.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

In 2006, Warren Buffett pledged to give away almost his entire fortune to charities. He is adamant about not funding monuments to himself – no Warren Buffett buildings or halls.

He says, “I know people who have a lot of money. And they get testimonial dinners and hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them. When you get to my age, you’ll measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. That’s the ultimate test of how you’ve lived your life.”

Isn’t that interesting how a multi-BILLIONAIRE says NOTHING about money in his definition of success?

And yet, how much time do most of us spend obsessing about making more money and all the things we want to do with that money when we make it?

In 2006, the two stood before business students at the University of Washington to share their personal philosophies about success.
(The following conversation is an excerpt of SkyQuestCom’s Master Channel January Highlight)

How do you define success personally?

WARREN: Well, I can certainly define happiness. Because that’s what I am. (Audience laugh) I get to do what I like to do every single day of the year and I get to do it with the people I like. I don’t have to associate with someone who causes my stomach to churn. (Audience laugh) And the only thing in my job I don’t like, and it only happens in about 3 or 4 years, is that occasionally I have to fire somebody. I don’t like that. It is the only thing, other than that, I tap dance to work.

A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next
door.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College,
girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved
clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the
rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past
and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on
his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night.
The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an
old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”