I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. Warren Buffett More Quotes by Warren Buffett More Quotes From Warren Buffett OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched. Warren Buffett sacrifice pain leader Don't pass up something that's attractive today because you think you will find something way more attractive tomorrow. Warren Buffett today way thinking Investors, of course, can, by their own behavior make stock ownership highly risky. And many do. Active trading, attempts to "time" market movements, inadequate diversification, the payment of high and unnecessary fees to managers and advisors, and the use of borrowed money can destroy the decent returns that a life-long owner of equities would otherwise enjoy. Indeed, borrowed money has no place in the investor's tool kit. Warren Buffett tools use long A low-cost index fund is the most sensible equity investment for the great majority of investors. My mentor, Ben Graham, took this position many years ago, and everything I have seen since convinces me of its truth. Warren Buffett mentor majority years Our favorite holding period is forever. Warren Buffett funny-inspirational business war The thing to do is to keep your mind when the world around you is losing theirs. Warren Buffett relax mind world You will be right, over the course of many transactions, if your hypotheses are correct, your facts are correct, and your reasoning is correct. True conservatism is only possible through knowledge and reason. Warren Buffett hypothesis reason facts A CEO's behavior has a huge impact on managers down the line. Warren Buffett impact lines behavior You can lose leverage, and it's the only way a smart guy can go broke. Warren Buffett smart guy way It irritates the hell out of me but you can't buy love. Warren Buffett hell When Berkshire Hathaway laid out three billion dollars for GE today, we didn't spend it, we invested it. When the Federal government buys the mortgages, they're not spending it, they're investing it. Now, they're investing it in distress type assets but they're buying them at distress prices if they buy them at market. It's the kind of stuff I love to do. I just don't have 700 million. Maybe we could go in it together. Warren Buffett three government together I checked the actuarial tables, and the lowest death rate is among six-year-olds. So I decided to eat like a six-year-old. Warren Buffett six tables years I knew a lot about what I did when I was 20. I had read a lot, and I aspired to learn everything I could about the subject. Warren Buffett investing subjects Bull markets and Bear markets can obscure mathematical laws, they cannot repeal them. Warren Buffett bulls law bears A diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor a person perfected without trials. Someone is enjoying shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. Warren Buffett shade tree long The commission of the investment sins listed above is not limited to 'the little guy.' Huge institutional investors, viewed as a group, have long underperformed the unsophisticated index-fund investor who simply sits tight for decades. A major reason has been fees: Many institutions pay substantial sums to consultants who, in turn, recommend high-fee managers. And that is a fool's game. Warren Buffett guy games long The Noah rule: Predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does. Warren Buffett ark doe rain Investment ideas, like women are often more exciting than punctual. Warren Buffett investment exciting ideas If you own a wonderful business...the best thing to do is keep it. All you're going to do is trade your wonderful business for a whole bunch of cash, which isn't as good as the business, and you got the problem of investing in other businesses, and you probably paid a tax in between. So my advice to anybody who owns a wonderful business is keep it. Warren Buffett investing cash advice Gold is a way of going long on fear, and it has been a pretty good way of going long on fear from time to time. But you really have to hope people become more afraid in a year or two years than they are now. And if they become more afraid you make money, if they become less afraid you lose money, but the gold itself doesn’t produce anything. Warren Buffett two long years