I’m certainly someone who prefers negotiating with Mr. Market than with people across a table. It boils down to temperament. In my mind, I think of Jim Cramer when I think of Mr. Market. Call it a mental model!
Best part of that Warren Buffett story about the Dale Carnegie course is that he stopped his check several times and begged off. Finally he used a bit of psychology on himself and paid cash---then he could not back out!
That's such a great point. Even when he knew he needed to take some action to improve his life, it still took a psychological trick (and a few failed tries) to be able to follow through on it.
I had the good fortune of being given the name “Arthur”. It allows me to sit on my ass and be King Arthur.
I once said to Warren that we don’t have to be mathematical geniuses to succeed. We learn early that 2+2=4, easily. (Of course, some people go through life continually looking for 5—a kind of rare dragon, I suppose.) Our real challenge, I said, is being able to two and two together in the real world. To this he replied: And you only need a few fours to be successful. (Finding a great spouse might be our first four!) I have found being lazy and creative to be very useful: laziness encourages creative solutions. You just have to be patient to give creativeness time to gestate.
Absolutely. It amazes me how difficult people make it for themselves by looking for complex solutions or big scores. I always try to keep two words in mind when investing, writing, etc. -- simple and patient.
I’m certainly someone who prefers negotiating with Mr. Market than with people across a table. It boils down to temperament. In my mind, I think of Jim Cramer when I think of Mr. Market. Call it a mental model!
Haha, yes, Jim Cramer is the perfect embodiment of Mr. Market!
Best part of that Warren Buffett story about the Dale Carnegie course is that he stopped his check several times and begged off. Finally he used a bit of psychology on himself and paid cash---then he could not back out!
That's such a great point. Even when he knew he needed to take some action to improve his life, it still took a psychological trick (and a few failed tries) to be able to follow through on it.
Thanks for another fine piece, Kevin!
I had the good fortune of being given the name “Arthur”. It allows me to sit on my ass and be King Arthur.
I once said to Warren that we don’t have to be mathematical geniuses to succeed. We learn early that 2+2=4, easily. (Of course, some people go through life continually looking for 5—a kind of rare dragon, I suppose.) Our real challenge, I said, is being able to two and two together in the real world. To this he replied: And you only need a few fours to be successful. (Finding a great spouse might be our first four!) I have found being lazy and creative to be very useful: laziness encourages creative solutions. You just have to be patient to give creativeness time to gestate.
Absolutely. It amazes me how difficult people make it for themselves by looking for complex solutions or big scores. I always try to keep two words in mind when investing, writing, etc. -- simple and patient.
(And I always love your Warren Buffett stories!)