Warren Buffett's Secret of Happiness

I have been watching a lot of Warren Buffett videos lately. He has so much wisdom that one can learn from each sentence he speaks. One of the many qualities that he emphasized a lot was about having no regrets. It is also he believes one of the reason he is so happy doing what he is doing. Often we waste too much time in regretting over the things we did or didn't do. While it is definitely wise to learn from one mistakes but the other bit is to move forward from there. He also talks about how the biggest mistake probably would be of the type omission rather than commission. He suggests that he knew Fannie Mae too well and had decided to invest in it. He just didn't invest in it. He could have made billions of dollars with that single investment ideas. Similarly there are many others. What keeps Warren Buffett happy is the fact that he truly believes that there is only rationality in looking forward, and searching for the other big ideas that he might miss while he wastes time regretting the old ones.

Success is getting what one wants and Happiness is wanting what one gets

A very powerful statement indeed. He attributes his wealth to the nature of his interest. He argues that it is only that his interest happens to be financially rewarding. However, he doesn't take much pleasure by spending the rewards at all. He still lives in the house he bought years ago for a mere USD 31,000. He often jokes with Bill Gates about betting his house for Bill's.

Born during the great depression in 1930, Mr. Buffett is more alive at 82 than most people are at their youth. He is also a big consumer of junk food and coca-cola. If the youth of today are pro-minimalist, Buffett surely seems to be the God of Minimalism. His extremely ordinary looking office floor in Ohama, Nebraska is a simple example of that. Surprisingly, he has no computer on his desk and still reads all the research on printed paper because that's the way he learned to do it.

One great element of Buffett's lifestyle is the fact that he doesn't get affected by other people's opinions. Whether it be a stock idea or the idea of fine dining. Mr. Buffett always insists on doing one's own research before investing into anything, and always have the rationale for making that investment before you actually put money into it. It doesn't matter what other people think. He never falls into doing things that would please others around him. He truly does what he himself is convinced needs to be done.

The most humbling quality that I found in Mr. Buffett was his sense of humor. He sure knows how to make people around him happy. In a session of taking pictures with some fans, he would pose near a lady's ear "whispering a stock idea". Perhaps what makes Warren Buffett the most lovable of the multi-billionaires is his simplicity.