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The Investor's Goal
Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily-understandable business whose earnings are…
Buy a piece of an understandable business at a rational price, when its earnings are almost certain to be materially…
Investing · Wealth · Decision · Modern investor letters
A Journey of a Thousand Miles
合抱之木,生於毫末;九層之臺,起於累土;千里之行,始於足下。
Great things begin small: a tree from a sprout, a tower from a basket of earth, a long journey from the first step.
Growth · Action · Character · Philosophy · Chinese classics
To Learn and Practice
子曰:「學而時習之,不亦說乎?有朋自遠方來,不亦樂乎?人不知而不慍,不亦君子乎?」
Learning practiced over time, friends from afar, and equanimity when misunderstood — the opening of the Analects.
Learning · Growth · Character · Chinese classics
Learning and Thinking
子曰:「學而不思則罔,思而不學則殆。」
Learning without thought is confusion; thought without learning is peril.
Learning · Cognition · Decision · Chinese classics
Know the Enemy and Yourself
故曰:知彼知己,百戰不殆;不知彼而知己,一勝一負;不知彼不知己,每戰必殆。
Know the enemy and know yourself; the four combinations of knowledge and ignorance decide the outcome.
Decision · Leadership · History · Chinese classics
All for Profit
諺曰:「千金之子,不死於市。」此非空言也。故曰:「天下熙熙,皆為利來;天下壤壤,皆為利往。」
An old proverb on wealth and human nature: the crowd comes and goes for profit.
Wealth · History · Human nature · Chinese classics
The Obstacle Becomes the Way
For by these the mind doth turn and convert any impediment whatsoever, to be her aim and purpose. So that what before was the impediment, is now…
The mind can convert any impediment into its own aim; what was in the way becomes the readiest way.
Cognition · Action · Character · Philosophy · Western classics
Things and Views
Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things.
People are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them.
Cognition · Character · Decision · Philosophy · Western classics
Don't Mistake Your Vocation
The safest plan, and the one most sure of success for the young man starting in life, is to select the vocation which is most congenial to his tastes.
The safest path for a young person is to choose the vocation most congenial to their nature.
Wealth · Growth · Decision · Western classics
Thinking Stuff
There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the…
Wattles' metaphysical premise: a thinking substance permeates and fills the universe.
Wealth · Cognition · Growth · Western classics
You Attract What You Are
Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.
People do not attract what they want; they attract what they are.
Character · Cognition · Growth · Western classics
Sloth and Industry
Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy.
Sloth makes everything difficult; industry makes everything easy.
Wealth · Action · Growth · Western classics
Know the Enemy and Yourself (Giles)
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
Giles' translation of the classic formula: know both sides and a hundred battles hold no danger.
Decision · Leadership · History · Chinese classics (translation)
Feared or Loved
it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.
If one must choose, it is safer to be feared than loved.
Leadership · History · Human nature · Philosophy · Western classics
To Learn and Practice (Legge)
Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?
Legge's translation of the opening of the Analects.
Learning · Growth · Chinese classics (translation)
A Journey of a Thousand Miles (Legge)
The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout; the tower of nine storeys rose from a (small) heap of earth; the journey of a thousand li…
Legge's translation of Laozi on great things beginning with a single step.
Growth · Action · Chinese classics (translation)
The Institutional Imperative
Institutional dynamics, not venality or stupidity, set businesses on these courses, which are too often misguided.
Businesses go astray less from greed or stupidity than from the inertia of institutional dynamics.
Decision · Cognition · Leadership · Human nature · Learning · Modern investor letters
A Wonderful Company at a Fair Price
It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.
A wonderful business at a fair price beats a fair business at a bargain price.
Investing · Wealth · Decision · Modern investor letters
It's All About the Long Term
We believe that a fundamental measure of our success will be the shareholder value we create over the long term.
Bezos defines success by long-term shareholder value, not short-term earnings.
Investing · Decision · Leadership · Growth · Modern investor letters
Bold Rather Than Timid
We will make bold rather than timid investment decisions where we see a sufficient probability of gaining market leadership advantages. Some of these…
Make bold bets when the odds of market leadership justify them; learn from both wins and losses.
Investing · Decision · Action · Growth · Learning · Modern investor letters
Day 2
Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death.
Day 2 is stasis, then irrelevance, then painful decline, then death.
Leadership · Decision · Growth · Cognition · Modern investor letters
Know Where You Are
We may never know where we're going, or when the tide will turn, but we had better have a good idea where we are.
Forecasting the future is unreliable; knowing the current position in the cycle is what you can control.
Investing · Cognition · Decision · Human nature · Modern investor letters
Pain + Reflection = Progress
Pain + Reflection = Progress. There is no avoiding pain, especially if you're going after ambitious goals.
Treat pain as a signal; reflect on it deliberately, and it becomes progress.
Cognition · Growth · Character · Decision · Learning · Modern investor letters
Wealth Earns While You Sleep
Wealth is assets that earn while you sleep.
Wealth is assets that earn while you sleep; money and status are different games.
Wealth · Investing · Character · Cognition · Modern investor letters
Do Things That Don't Scale
One of the most common types of advice we give at Y Combinator is to do things that don't scale.
Early startups should do unscalable things to get and keep users.
Growth · Action · Learning · Leadership · Modern investor letters
A Stock Is a Piece of a Company
买股票就是买公司。
Buying a stock is buying a piece of a company, not a ticker.
Investing · Wealth · Decision · Cognition · Modern investor letters
The Market Serves You
市场的存在是为了你来服务的,不是来指导你的。
The market exists to serve you, not to instruct you.
Investing · Cognition · Decision · Human nature · Modern investor letters
The Definition of Patience
耐心,就是正视现实,承认很多事情需要时间慢慢发展,不轻易消耗自身资源强推。
Patience means facing reality, accepting that many things take time, and not burning your resources to force them.
Growth · Character · Decision · Action · Modern investor letters
Exponential Returns Come Later
指数增长的好投资,最大的回报往往是在后面几年。
In a good exponential investment, most of the return arrives in the later years.
Investing · Wealth · Growth · Character · Modern investor letters
See the Worthy and Aspire
子曰:「見賢思齊焉,見不賢而內自省也。」
See the worthy and aspire to match them; see the unworthy and examine yourself.
Character · Learning · Growth · Human nature · Chinese classics
Knowing Yourself Is Clarity
知人者智,自知者明。勝人者有力,自勝者強。知足者富。強行者有志。不失其所者久。死而不亡者壽。
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is clarity. Mastering yourself is true strength.
Character · Philosophy · Cognition · Growth · Chinese classics
Know When to Stop
名與身孰親?身與貨孰多?得與亡孰病?是故甚愛必大費,多藏必厚亡,知足不辱,知止不殆,可以長久。
Fame and wealth cost life; knowing contentment and when to stop is how you last.
Wealth · Character · Philosophy · Decision · Chinese classics
First Make Yourself Invincible
孫子曰:昔之善戰者,先為不可勝,以待敵之可勝。不可勝在己,可勝在敵。故善戰者,能為不可勝,不能使敵之必可勝。故曰:勝可知,而不可為。
First make yourself unbeatable; then wait for the enemy to become beatable. Victory can be foreseen, not forced.
Decision · Leadership · History · Action · Chinese classics
Listen Widely, See Clearly
上問魏徵曰:「人主何為而明,何為而暗?」對曰:「兼聽則明,偏信則暗。」
Listen widely and you see clearly; trust only one voice and you go dark.
Leadership · Decision · History · Cognition · Chinese classics
Knowledge and Action Are One
知是行的主意,行是知的功夫;知是行之始,行是知之成。
Knowledge is the beginning of action; action is the completion of knowledge.
Learning · Action · Cognition · Character · Chinese classics
Life from Adversity, Death from Comfort
然後知生於憂患,而死於安樂也。
Adversity keeps a person alive; comfort lets them decay.
Character · Growth · History · Philosophy · Chinese classics
Life Is Not Short
We do not have a very short time assigned to us, but we lose a great deal of it: life is long enough to carry out the most important projects
Life is not short; we waste much of it. It is long enough for the most important work.
Character · Philosophy · Cognition · Action · Western classics
The Best Revenge
The best kind of revenge is, not to become like unto them.
The best revenge is refusing to become like the person who wronged you.
Character · Philosophy · Human nature · Cognition · Western classics
The Butcher, the Brewer, and the Baker
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
Exchange works through mutual self-interest, not benevolence.
Wealth · Human nature · Decision · Philosophy · Western classics
Live Deliberately
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to…
Live deliberately, face the essential facts, and do not discover at death that you never lived.
Character · Philosophy · Growth · Learning · Western classics
Reading, Conference, Writing
Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.
Reading fills, discussion sharpens, and writing makes exact.
Learning · Cognition · Growth · Action · Western classics
Trust Thyself
Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.
Trust your own judgment; every heart responds to that iron string.
Character · Philosophy · Decision · Growth · Western classics
Berkshire 1977 Letter, Excerpt 1
Operating earnings in 1977 of $21,904,000, or $22.54 per share, were moderately better than anticipated a year ago. Of these earnings, $1.43 per…
Direct reading
Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1977 Letter, Excerpt 2
Most companies define “record” earnings as a new high in earnings per share. Since businesses customarily add from year to year to their equity base,…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1977 Letter, Excerpt 3
Except for special cases (for example, companies with unusual debt-equity ratios or those with important assets carried at unrealistic balance…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1977 Letter, Excerpt 4
We expect difficulty in matching our 1977 rate of return during the forthcoming year. Beginning equity capital is up 23% from a year ago, and we…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1978 Letter, Excerpt 1
This full consolidation of sales, expenses, receivables, inventories, debt, etc. produces an aggregation of figures from many diverse businesses -…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1978 Letter, Excerpt 2
With that preamble it can be stated that, with or without restated figures, 1978 was a good year. Operating earnings, exclusive of capital gains,…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1978 Letter, Excerpt 3
For example, over the last three years - generally a bonanza period for the insurance industry, our largest profit producer - Berkshire’s per share…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1978 Letter, Excerpt 4
In contrast to this cautious view about near term return from operations, we are optimistic about prospects for long term return from major equity…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1979 Letter, Excerpt 1
Again, we must lead off with a few words about accounting. Since our last annual report, the accounting profession has decided that equity securities…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1979 Letter, Excerpt 2
As you know, Blue Chip Stamps, our 60% owned subsidiary, is fully consolidated in Berkshire Hathaway’s financial statements. However, Blue Chip still…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1979 Letter, Excerpt 3
We continue to feel that the ratio of operating earnings (before securities gains or losses) to shareholders’ equity with all securities valued at…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1979 Letter, Excerpt 4
Measuring such results against shareholders’ equity with securities valued at market could significantly distort the operating performance percentage…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1980 Letter, Excerpt 1
Operating earnings improved to $41.9 million in 1980 from $36.0 million in 1979, but return on beginning equity capital (with securities valued at…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1980 Letter, Excerpt 2
Generally accepted accounting principles require (subject to exceptions, naturally, as with our former bank subsidiary) full consolidation of sales,…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1980 Letter, Excerpt 3
Full inclusion of underlying earnings from another class of holdings, companies owned 20% to 50% (usually called “investees”), also normally occurs.…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1980 Letter, Excerpt 4
Finally come holdings representing less than 20% ownership of another corporation’s voting securities. In these cases, accounting rules dictate…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1981 Letter, Excerpt 1
Operating earnings of $39.7 million in 1981 amounted to 15.2% of beginning equity capital (valuing securities at cost) compared to 17.8% in 1980. Our…
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Investing · Modern investor letters
Berkshire 1981 Letter, Excerpt 2
In the 1980 annual report we discussed extensively the concept of non-controlled ownership earnings, i.e., Berkshire’s share of the undistributed…
Direct reading
Investing · Modern investor letters