Warren Buffett on How to Pick Where You Work

Go to work, if possible, for an organization or an individual that you admire.  I mean I offered to go to work for Ben Graham because there was nobody I admired more in the business than him.  I didn't care what he paid me. 

But I knew I wanted to work for Ben Graham.  And I knew I would jump out of bed every morning and be excited about what I would do and I would go home at night smarter than I was in the morning. 

Agreed.

The question he was originally answering was "What should we do if we don't know what we want to do with our lives?", which was posed to both, him and Bill Gates. It's interesting how different their answers were. And Buffett's answer speaks volumes to me. I don't say money is insignificant -- I'd be the last person to say that today, given how important it is for me to make and save money at this point in time. But it is equally important to value the learning in an experience than just go where you get the most money. If you think long-term, that knowledge will earn you a lot more than you can imagine making elsewhere. This might be a simple, oft-repeated thought, but it is very powerful.

A selection of students from my MBA class at the Leeds School of Business had the opportunity to apply for a trip to Omaha for a personal meeting with Warren Buffett in January 2010. He's a finance guy and I'm not. I knew he's awesome and all but I have absolutely nothing to do with finance. So I figured the trip may not be completely worth my time and money and hence did not apply. Yes, BAD DECISION.

You Can't Do What You Want By Doing Something Else

One observation set me back. There are lots of people who wanted to do one thing but then got "practical" and did something else "first." The idea was that they'd be successful and sock away money doing the practical thing, and after that they could go back to the thing they loved. Bronson was sure that, among the hundreds of people that he interviewed, someone would actually have been successful with this strategy. It sounds so reasonable, after all.

But he encountered exactly zero people who pulled it off. Everyone who tried got sucked into the "practical" career and were never able to extract themselves from it. Too comfortable, too many expectations from friends and family, too easy just to keep doing what you're doing.

via artima.com found via @sivers

I cannot begin to explain how much I needed to read this. It’s like this article was written just for me. This changes perspectives for me. This article addresses the eternal question – “Should I really go for it?” This article is about building the gumption to leave what you’re doing and change your life. Make it what you want it to be. Because if you don’t make it change, it won’t change.

It’s hard. It’s hard to consciously bring yourself to a point where uncertainty rules your life. But you have to look at people around you who’ve done that and take inspiration. Then make that inspiration work for you. Despite all the resistance that will come along the way. That’s what I’m trying to do. This article goes on to say:

There's a quote that appears again and again in various forms: "close one door, another opens." It seems like magical thinking until you see it happen. And it only happens when you don't leave the door partially open, but instead firmly close it. For some reason, being certain that you're ready to move on does cause some kind of magic to happen, and I don't know why.

This doesn’t mean my life will magically change all of a sudden. It will be a long and hard battle – against my mind. And I will need to keep re-reading this article to remind me of my priorities.

I’ve been fortunate to be reading some really inspiring stuff lately, from people that I hugely admire. I intend to share them with you along with my thoughts on them. For now, do yourself a favor and read this amazing piece of text here.

Good luck.

Turn My Poem Into Song

My angel in the darkness
My yellow paper rose
Come into the flickering light
And turn my words to prose

My angel in the shadow
Don't shy away this time
I need to know you're somewhere near
So my prose can turn to rhyme

Oh angel o' my imagination
Don't make me wait so long
Come into my open arms
And turn my poem into song

On Destiny: the phenomenon called 'Right Place, Right Time'

"The great moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do, they'll also be the things that happen to you. Now I'm not saying you can't take action to affect the outcome of your life, you have to take action, and you will. But never forget that on any day, you can step out the front door and your whole life can change forever. You see the universe has a plan kids, and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings and it starts to rain. It's a scary thought but it's also kind of wonderful. All these little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you're supposed to be, exactly when you're supposed to be there. The right place at the right time."

This quote from How I Met Your Mother is especially meaningful to me. Why? This 'lesson' that future Ted teaches his kids is a philosophy that I have lived my entire life by. I just never could've put it in these words. The extent to which these words define my life surprises even me.

This belief tells me that everything in your life happens for a reason. Everything that happens anywhere in the world affects you in ways that you will never know. That doesn't mean you have to bother about all of it. You've still gotta do things as you see them right but the knowledge of this fact will keep you grounded. Well, it keeps me grounded. Awareness of the concept of destiny helps me remain positive at all times. Put in every effort that you can to achieve what you want, the results will come if and when they have to. Keep going forward. Stay forever optimistic. It's destiny that decides if you're in the right place at the right time.

Is it wrong?


Image from Flickr

Is it wrong to want to be happy?
Is it wrong to be carefree?
Is it wrong to not multi-task?
Is it wrong to not be employed?
Is it wrong to get away from pain?
Is it wrong to live in the moment?
Is it wrong to do what you want and not what you should?
Is it wrong to not be stressed?
Is it wrong to be confused?
Is it wrong to not enjoy pressure?
Is it wrong to take a few months off?
Is it wrong to do without being asked?
Is it wrong to not struggle?
Is it wrong to make your own choice?
Is it wrong to live for yourself?
Is it wrong to be at peace?
Is it wrong to *live* your life?

For some time. Only for some time...