I bought a company in the mid-'90s called Dexter Shoe and paid $400 million for it. And it went to zero. And I gave about $400 million worth of Berkshire stock, which is probably now worth $400 billion. But I've made lots of dumb decisions. That's part of the game.
Interpretation
Success involves taking risks and making mistakes, but learning from them is crucial.
Warren Buffett's quote reflects the essence of entrepreneurship and investing, highlighting that even successful individuals like him can make poor choices. The acknowledgment of a significant loss emphasizes the inevitability of mistakes in the journey toward success and the importance of resilience and learning from failures.
In practice
At a business seminar discussing the importance of learning from mistakes, this quote can illustrate resilience in entrepreneurship.
I have no views as to where it will be, but the one thing I can tell you is it won't do anything between now and then except look at you. Whereas, you know, Coca-Cola (KO) will be making money, and I think Wells Fargo (WFC) will be making a lot of money and there will be a lot - and it's a lot - it's a lot better to have a goose that keeps laying eggs than a goose that just sits there and eats insurance and storage and a few things like that.
If the world couldn't see your results, would you rather be thought of as the world's greatest investor but in reality have the world's worst record? Or be thought of as the world's worst investor when you were actually the best?
Cash never makes us happy, but it's better to have the money burning a hole in Berkshire's pocket than resting comfortably in someone else's.
I think you should read everything you can. In my case, by the age of 10, I'd read every book in the Omaha public library about investing, some twice. _x000D_ You need to fill your mind with various competing thoughts and decide which make sense.
The most common cause of low prices is pessimism - some times pervasive, some times specific to a company or industry. We want to do business in such an environment, not because we like pessimism but because we like the prices it produces. It's optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer.
One’s objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out and get it over. Your problem won’t improve with age.
Everyone said, 'Emil, you are a fool!' _x000D_ But when I first won the European Championship, they said: 'Emil, you are a genius!'
What I have in common with the character in 'Truman' is this incredible need to please people. I feel like I want to take care of everyone and I also feel this terrible guilt if I am unable to. And I have felt this way ever since all this success started.
When I was a boxer, I wanted to be champion of the world, not the richest man in the world.
People all say that I've had a bad break. But today... today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.
The career of a great man remains an enduring monument of human energy. The man dies and disappears, but his thoughts and acts survive and leave an indelible stamp upon his race.
If fame is to come only after death, I am in no hurry for it.
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