It is easier to rationalize than it is to be rational. Warren Buffett More Quotes by Warren Buffett More Quotes From Warren Buffett Stop trying to predict the direction of the stock market, the economy or elections. Warren Buffett buffets investing trying It's a lot easier to buy things than it is to sell them. Warren Buffett sells easier When somebody makes it very easy for you to do it by saying you don't really have to put up my money, you can lie about your income a little, or we'll give you 100 percent mortgage, you're going to do it, because everybody that's done it has been proven right. You have social tools, and you're going to feel like an idiot if you didn't do it, because the house cost more. Warren Buffett house giving lying The three most important words in investing...Margin of Safety. Warren Buffett safety three important Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn't. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Warren Buffett cash long people Be fearful when the markets get greedy, be greedy when the markets get fearful. Warren Buffett fearful greedy Cash combined with courage in a time of crisis is priceless. Warren Buffett investing cash intelligent I really like my life. I've arranged my life so that I can do what I want. Warren Buffett buffets investing want Making money isn't the backbone of our guiding purpose; making money is the by-product of our guiding purpose. If you're doing something you love, you're more likely to put your all into it, and that generally equates to making money Warren Buffett purpose business love-you I just don't see anything available that gives any reasonable hope of delivering such a good year and I have no desire to grope around, hoping to 'get lucky' with other people's money. I am not attuned to this market environment, and I don't want to spoil a decent record by trying to play a game I don't understand just so I can go out a hero. Warren Buffett hero games years Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it. Warren Buffett investment-success looks enemy Market prices for stocks fluctuate at great amplitudes around intrinsic value but, over the long term, intrinsic value is virtually always reflected at some point in market price. Warren Buffett intrinsic-value term long The extraordinary business does not require good management. Warren Buffett good-man management doe It is madness to risk losing what you need in pursuing what you simply desire. Warren Buffett risk desire needs Activity is the enemy of investment returns. Warren Buffett investing return enemy If you have a great manager, you want to pay him very well. Warren Buffett great-men want pay There are all kinds of businesses that Charlie and I don't understand, but that doesn't cause us to stay up at night. It just means we go on to the next one, and that's what the individual investor should do. Warren Buffett business night mean I think the worst mistake you can make in stocks is to buy or sell based on current headlines. Warren Buffett currents mistake thinking While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Warren Buffett fighting struggle class The gross profits in many workouts appear quite small. It's a little like looking for parking meters with some time left on them. However, the predictability coupled with a short holding period produces quite decent average annual rates of return after allowance for the occasional substantial loss. Warren Buffett parking-meters workout loss