Warren Buffett as known to many is the American business tycoon and investor who went through several depressions, stock market crashes and transition to computerization, whilst maintaining formidable ranking as top 3 man in Forbes list of billionaires.
Albeit the son of a Congressman, his story as a successful investor was mostly examples of pure determination, perseverance and sensible decisions. At a young age of eleven, he started his stock investment venture by buying three (3) preferred shares of stocks issued by Cities Services, an oil and gas company. He worked as a paper boy at the age of 13 and went on in his teenage years working on different odd jobs and venturing into small trading and selling ventures.
At age 19, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Nebraska. At that time, the young stock investor and entrepreneur had amassed savings of $9,800 all on his own. Not satisfied with a mere college diploma, the young man from Nebraska, continued acquiring knowledge by earning a Master of Science in Economics at Columbia University’s Business School.
The succeeding years saw Warren Buffett working as an investment salesman, as securities analyst, partner to different business ventures, and by 1962 became a millionaire. In 1966, he came to claim ownership of a textile company called Berkshire Hathaway, which he later developed into a multinational conglomerate company that owns large holdings in major business organizations such as Duracell, Dairy Queen, GEICO, Fruit of the Loom, and Heizberg Diamonds, just to name a few.
As the turns of Warren Buffett’s history have it, he now ranks as third in Forbes’ list of Richest Persons in the World, next to eCommerce giant Jeff Bezos and tech wizard Bill Gates,
Consider this, Warren Buffett now aged 88, is worth $82.5 billion by being an old school business tycoon who had spent nearly all his years in productive work and business ventures, whilst weathering all economic challenges.
Yet according to the multi-billionaire, his success was not purely business acumen. He firmly believes that success also came by adhering to iron-clad rules that he had set for himself and those who partnered with him, as well as those who worked for him.
Iron-Clad Warren Buffett Rules to Live By
- Do not allow yourself to be undisciplined even on small things, you’d probably let yourself be undisciplined on larger things as well.
- Do not lose money, big or small, which explains why Warren Buffett is not inclined to make or accept bets no matter how trivial.
- Buy stocks only on well-managed companies that yield recurring streams of revenue. More importantly, buy them when they are low and hold them for long term.
- Never be part of the herd, but be one who sticks to his buying and selling principles, especially if stock prices are climbing unreasonably high.
- Engage in work that you love and have a passion for, in order to increase your chances of succeeding or advancing in your career
- Remain calm even when under pressure to avoid making irrational and emotional decisions not only in business but life in general.
- Never compromise your integrity as a person.
- Never quit with the learning process; keep on reading and staying on top of current news. Education continues even after graduating from college and landing a job.
- Develop and polish your communication skills, as poor ability to communicate can pose as a roadblock to success.
- Be in the company of the right people; as much as possible surround yourself with people who you deem, are better than you.
- Stay focused on everything you do by learning how to drown out noise.
- Keep your spending impulses in check to avoid overspending.