It’s high time for a bit of sunshine, don’t you think? The weather has been grey and good news seems rare. Take heart! The Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris team would like to share some uplifting inspiration from their beloved leader, Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire-Hathaway Home Services. Known as one of the most successful leaders and business investors of all time, Buffett’s words, are a bright ray of sunshine breaking through a cloudy sky.
“The big question about how people behave is whether they’ve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard.” – Warren Buffett
Today, many of our leaders take as much as they can and live as extravagantly as possible. Not Warren Buffet. As CEO of Berkshire-Hathaway, his annual salary for the past 25 years has been $100,000 – a fraction of what his counterparts make. Further, Buffett meticulously tracks expenses he incurs to the company that were for his private use, be it postage or travel. In 2017 alone Buffett personally reimbursed Berkshire-Hathaway Home Services $50,000 for expenses he deemed as personal.
“If you’re in the luckiest 1 percent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 percent.” – W.B.
Over his career, Warren Buffett has donated over $30 billion to charity, making him one of the world’s most generous philanthropists. He practices the wisdom of his years, knowing that living a long life with a big bank account is not the end game of a life well lived. “If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster,” says Buffett.
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” W.B.
A.K.A. – don’t be that guy. Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed many of our national leaders fall from high regard to permanently ruined legacies. Buffett reminds us to take time to consider outcomes before you act, and don’t let your emotions make decisions critical thinking should have a major role in. Recall Benedict Arnold – a bad reputation lasts for centuries, often until you’re altogether forgotten.
“Hang out with people better than yourself and you’ll drift in that direction” – W.B.
If you surround yourself with better people, they’ll inspire you to do better yourself. It’s been said that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Some people can suck out your happiness and energy. You can put spending time with them in the same category as eating nachos on the couch. “Of the billionaires I have known,” said Buffett, “money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.” The people you want to spend your time with are those who are positive, happy, and enrich your life. They are people who will inspire you to be a better person, provide you with motivation to achieve your goals, and empower you to make the changes you need to succeed.
“Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” – W.B.
No successful person is mistake-free, and that’s a good thing. Each mishap is a chance to learn and a warning when you’re tempted to do something similar in the future. Don’t be pig-headed and know when it’s time to call it quits. Not every project is worth saving, and you have better things that deserve your attention.
We at Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris are grateful to work for Warren Buffett. His lifetime of integrity, hard work, and humility has made him an inspirational leader worthy of emulating. Let his words warm your heart while we wait for warmer weather!
