15 Quotes That Take You Inside the Mind of Warren Buffett

3 minute read

Warren Buffett is one of the most successful investors in history. Today, he has an estimated net worth of over $70 billion, making him the third richest man in the world.

From drinking Coke for breakfast to carrying around an old-school flip phone, Buffett has always done things his way.

We compiled a few of his best quotes to take you inside his head:

Separate yourself from the noise

“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.”

Source: Wiley

Always know who you’re dealing with

“You can’t make a good deal with a bad person.”

Source: Forbes

Act with integrity

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

Source: Time

Keep it simple

“It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.”

Source: The Motley Fool

You don’t have to be a genius to invest well

“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ.”

Source: Warren Buffett Speaks, via msnbc.msn

Pick the right crowd

“It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.”

Source: The Motley Fool

If you want to be successful, make reading a habit

“I just sit in my office and read all day.”

Source: The Week

Go against the crowd

“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”

Source: Letter to shareholders, 2004

Give to those less fortunate

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

Source: Forbes

Some things take time

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

Source: Forbes

Bad things aren’t obvious when times are good

“After all, you only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”

Source: Letter to shareholders, 2001

Eat how you please

“If I eat 2,700 calories a day, a quarter of that is Coca-Cola. I drink at least five 12-ounce servings. I do it every day … I checked the actuarial tables, and the lowest death rate is among 6-year-olds. So I decided to eat like a 6-year-old.”

Source: Fortune, via Business Insider

Don’t forget business basics

“Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

Source: Letter to shareholders, 2008

Success is not defined by a price tag or number

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

Source: James Altucher

Be confident

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

Source: goodreads

This article originally appeared on Business Insider

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