Buffett talks about investment and life

Interview reports from Buffett and Bill at his alma mater in laoba: below are some of the content you are interested in.
Buffett: Find what turns you on. find what you have a passion. if somebody said to me when I was getting out of Columbia, you know, that Bill's business was going to be the one that wocould be exciting, you know, I don't think I 'd have done so well. [Laughter] But I knew what turned me on. I had a runner SOR, Ben Graham, I offered to go to work for him for nothing. he said, "You're overpriced. "Nonetheless, I went into the business. [Applause] I will guarantee, you will do well at whatever turns you on. there's no question about that. don't let anybody else tell you what to do. you figure out what you are doing. [Applause]
Buffett: Find the fields you are interested in and the fields you are passionate about. When I left Columbia University, someone told me that Bill's IT industry would have a bright future. I don't think I would have done well in this industry. [Smile] But I know what attracts me. I have a mentor, Ben Graham. I once proposed to work for him for free, but he said to me, "You overestimate yourself ". However, I am still engaged in the business world. [Applause] I promise that you will be successful in any field that interests you. This is beyond doubt. Don't let others tell you what to do. You should find it by yourself. [Applause]

Buffett: Becky, if you had a wonderful farm and you knew the next 50 years there wocould be five droughts but there wocould be 45 good years, I mean, you wocould not become paralyzed thinking about the five drought years. you wowould recognize that you 've got a system that works very well over time, and that's our American economy system.
Buffett: Becky, if you have a good farm, you know that there will be 5 years of drought and 45 years of good scenery in the next 50 years, I mean, you will not suffer from 5 years of drought. You will feel that we are in a well-functioning system. This is our US economic system.

Buffett: What's going to happen tomorrow, huh? [Applause] Let me give you an authentication. I bought my first stock in 1942. I was 11. I had been dillydallying up until then. I got serious. [Laughter] What do you think the best year for the market has been since 1942? Best calendar year from 1942 to the present time. Well, there's no reason for you to know the answer. The answer is 1954. in 1954, the Dow... Dividends was up 50%. now if you look at 1954, we were in a recession a good bit of that time. the recession started in July of '53. unemployment peaked in September of '54. so until November of '54 you HADN' t seen an uptick in the employee figure. and the unemployment figure more than doubled during that period. it was the best year there was for the market. so it's a terrible mistake to look at what's going on in the economy today and then decide whether to buy or too stocks based on it. you shoshould decide whether to buy or your stocks based on how much you're getting for your money, long-term value you're getting for your money at any given time. and next week doesn' t make any difference because next week, next week is going to be a week further away. and the important thing is to have the right long-term outlook, uate the businesses you are buying. and then a terrible market or a terrible economy is your friend. I don't care, in making a purchase of the burington Northern, I don't care whether next week, or next month or even next year there is a big revival in car loadings or any of that sort of thing. A period like this gives me a chance to do things. it's silly to wait. I wrote an article. if you wait until you see the robin, spring will be over.
Buffett: Who knows what will happen tomorrow, huh? [Applause] Let me give you an example. I bought my first stock in 1942. When I was 11 years old, I bought it only when I was grinding it. I started to take it seriously. [Smile] Do you think the stock market has been the best year since 1942? Which year is the best year from 1942 to the present? You probably cannot know the answer. The answer is 1954. In December 1954, the Dow Jones was 50%. Now, let's take a look at the period in which we were living in a recession that was a little better in 1954. The recession started in July 1953 and the unemployment rate peaked in September 1954. Therefore, you still did not see the rising employment figures until November 1954. Unemployment more than doubled during this period, which is the best year for the stock market. Therefore, it is a terrible mistake to decide whether to buy or sell stocks based on the current economic situation. The basis for deciding whether you want to buy or sell stocks is how much you want to earn with your own money. It is the long-term value of the stock you get for your money at any specific time, there is no difference between the situation of next week and the Present Situation. Next week is just today after a week. The most important thing is to evaluate the enterprise you have purchased from the correct long-term concept. So a terrible market or a terrible economic recession is your friend. I don't care about what will happen next week. I don't care about the next week or next month, or even next year, there will be a great revival or something in the automotive industry, rather, a period like this gave me a chance to trade. It was silly to wait. I wrote an article. If you wait, you will not take action until you see the bird, spring is over.

Question: Mr. buffett, mr. gates, thank you for being here tonight. I am Ibrahim Dolly, first year here at Columbia. I came from Portugal. I have a question for both of you. you both knew early in your careers what you wanted to do in your life. what advice do you have for those of us who are a little bit unclear?
Question: Buffett and Mr. Gates, thank you for coming tonight. My name is Ibrahim Dolly, a freshman from Columbia, from Portugal. I want to ask you two questions at the same time. You have long known about the job you want in your life. In this regard, for students like us, do you have any good suggestions?

Buffett: First of all, I 'd say marry the right person. [laughter] And I'm serious about that. [Applause] it will make more difference in your life. it will change your aspiration, all kind of things. it's enormously important who you marry. beyond that, I wocould say that Do What You wocould do if you were in my position, where the money means nothing to you. at 79 ,... I work every day. and it's what I want to do more than anything else in the world. the closer you can come to that early on in your life, you know the more fun you're going to have in life and really the better you're re going to do. so don't be driven where you think the last dollar is presently or anything of that sort. and then also go to work, if possible, for an organization or an individual that you admire. I mean I offered to go to work for Ben Graham because there was nobody I admired more in the business than him. I didn't care what he paid me. when he finally did hire me in 1954, I moved from Omaha to New York and I didn't know what I was getting paid until I got my first paycheck. but I knew I wanted to work for Ben Graham. and I knew I wowould jump out of bed every morning and be excited about what I wowould do and I wowould go home at night smarter than I was in the morning. go to work at a job that turns you on and a person that turns you on and institution. [Applause]
Buffett: First of all, I want to talk about finding a suitable person to marry. [Laugh] This is not a joke. [Applause] it will make your life very different. It will change your dream and everything. Remember, it is extremely important to marry someone. In addition to this, I will ask, if you are in my position, what will you do, that is, when money is meaningless to you. Now, I am 79 years old, working every day, and this is what I want to do most in the world. In your early life, the closer you are to this state, the more fun and happy you will know, so do not be driven by immediate interests, and then go to work. If possible, you 'd better work for an organization or individual you admire. I mean, I mentioned that I should work for Ben Graham, because at that time I was so admired by no one except him in the business field. I don't care how much he paid me. When he finally hired me in 1954, I went straight from Omaha to New York until I got my first salary, I don't know how much I will be treated. But I know that I want to work for Ben Graham, and I know that I will get up every morning, and I am always looking forward to what I do every day, and when I go home at night, I will become smarter than the morning. Find a job that will make you excited and work for someone or an organization that inspires you. [Applause]

Question: Hi, I'm Brian seedabalker. i'm a second-year student. mr. buffett, it's great to see you again. I was on the trip to Omaha last month. thank you for hosting us. my question is, How wocould you recommend an individual investors or who follows the Graham and Dodd philosophy to allocate their capital today?
Q: Hello, my name is Brian Seeda balker, a sophomore. Mr. Buffett, we are honored to meet you again. Thank you for your hospitality for your visit to Omaha last month. My question is, do you have any suggestions for individual investors who invest in the same philosophy as Graham and Dowd?

Buffett: Well, it depends whether they are going to be an active investor. graham distinguished between the defensive and the specified Ising and that. so if you are going to spend a lot of time on investment, you know I just advise looking at as same things as possible and you will find some bargains. and when you find them, you have to act. it doesn' t -- It hasn' t changed at all since I was here in 1950,195 1. and it won't change the rest of my life. you start turning pages. when I got out of school, I turned every page in Moody's 10,000-some pages twice, looking for companies. and you have to find them yourself. the world isn' t going to tell you about great deals. you have to find them yourself. and that takes a fair amount of time. so if you are not going to do that, if you are just going to be a passive investor, then I just advise an index fund more consistently over a long period of time. the one thing I will tell you is the worst investment you can have is cash. everybody is talking about cash being king and all that sort of thing. most of you don't look like you are overburdened with cash anyway. [Laughter] Cash is going to become worth less over time. but good businesses are going to become worth more over time. and you don't have want to pay too much for them so you have to have some discipline about what you pay. but the thing to do is find a good business and stick with it.
Buffett: Okay. It depends on whether they are a positive investor? Graham divided investors into two types: defensive and aggressive. So if you want to spend a lot of time as an aggressive investor, you know, I suggest you read as much information as possible, and you will find a good investment target. Once you find it, act now. This method has not changed-since 1950 and 1951, it has not changed and will not change in my future life. When I leave school, I want to find a suitable company to view every page of the Moody's manual on more than 10 thousand pages from the beginning, after reading them twice, you must search for them by yourself. The world won't tell you about great transactions. You must find them by yourself, and it takes quite a while. So, if you don't want to do this, if you just want to be a defensive investor, then I suggest you invest in the index fund for a long term. One more thing I want to tell you is that holding cash is the worst investment. Although everyone is talking about cash, most of you don't look like a cash surplus. [Smile] As time passes, cash will depreciate, but good companies will increase their value over time. If you don't want to pay too much for them, you must observe certain discipline, but what you need to do is to find such a good enterprise and keep this in mind.

Becky: Does that mean you think we are through the roughest times? You had always kept the cash word around, too.
Becky: Does this mean that you think we 've had the worst time? And you always hold a lot of cash.

Buffett: We always keep enough cash around so I feel very comfortable and don't worry about sleeping at night. but it's not because I like cash as an investment. cash is a bad investment over time. but you always want to have enough so that nobody else can determine your future essential. the worst -- the financial panic is behind us. the economical spillout which came to some extent from that financial panic is still with us. it will end. I don't know if it will end tomorrow or next week or next month. or maybe a year. but it won't go on forever. and to sit around and try and pick the bottom, people were trying to do that last March and the bottom hadn't come in unemployment and the bottom hadn't come in business but the bottom had come in stocks. don't pass up something that's attractive today because you think you will find something way more attractive tomorrow.
Buffett: We always have enough cash in our hands. I feel very comfortable and don't have to worry about sleeping at night. But this is not because I like to hold cash and holding cash over time is a bad investment. But what's important is that you always have enough cash to prevent others from deciding on your future. Worst-financial panic is over. To some extent, the economic downturn caused by financial panic is still around us, but it will always end. I don't know if it will end tomorrow or next week or next month, maybe one year, but this will not last forever. Instead of sitting down at the bottom of the prediction, as in August, the bottom of Unemployment did not come, and the bottom of the economy did not come, but the bottom of the stock came, it is better to act now, don't miss out on what is attractive today because tomorrow you will discover more attractive things.

Buffett: It's always interesting when Bill and I appear together, they don't figure they can do what Bill does, but they know they can do what I do. [laughter] [applause] We did both have a passion. we were doing what we did because we loved it. we weren't doing it to get rich. we probably felt if we did it well, We wowould get rich. but we 'd have done it, you know, if somebody was slipping bread in under the door, you know, to keep us going. and so I think that passion for it is enormously important. I was lucky enough to have a couple of great teachers, fig one great teacher. I had a great teacher in life in my father. but I had another great teacher in terms of sion in terms of Ben Graham. I was lucky enough to get the right foundation very early on. and then basically I didn't listen to anybody else. I just look in the mirror every morning and the mirror always agrees with me. and I go out and do what I believe I shoshould be doing. and I'm not influenced by what other people think.
Buffett: I found that Bill and I were always very interesting when they appeared together. They always thought Bill could not do what they did, but they thought they could do what I did. [Laugh] [applaud] We are all very passionate. We do not do this for the sake of wealth. Maybe we feel that if we do well, we will make a fortune. But we have done it. You know, if someone is stuffing the bread to the back of the door, you know, we will continue. So I think passion is very important. I am very lucky. I have two great mentors, especially great mentors. My father is my great mentor of life, and another great mentor is Graham, my professional mentor. Fortunately, I have had a good foundation for a long time, and I can basically do things without listening to anyone's instructions. I just look in the mirror every morning, and it always agrees with me, after entering the Community, I only need to do what I think I should do, and what others think will not affect me.

Question: Hi, I'm Josh Austin. i'm a second-year MBA student. my question is for you, mr. buffett. value investors, such as yourself, believe that fundamental analysis, deep fundamental analysis is critical to intelligent investing. however, you have said several times in the past that you have made very rapid capital allocation decisions, sometimes in less than five minutes. I was wondering exactly which data gave you confidence in your demo.
Q: Hello, I'm Josh Austin, a second-year MBA student. I would like to ask Mr. Buffett that valuable investors like you believe in fundamental analysis, and in-depth fundamental analysis is crucial to smart investment. However, you have said many times in the past that you have made investment decisions for a short period of time, sometimes even less than five minutes. I want to know which data gives you the confidence to make quick decisions?

Buffett: Well, that's 50 years of preparation and five (minutes) of demo-making. [Applause]
Buffett: Yes, that is.50-year preparation and 5-minute decision-making. [Applause]

Becky: Can you just look at the spreadsheet? Can you look at an annual report and make a demo-like that?
Becky: are you just looking at the data table? Can you make that decision by reading an annual report?

Buffett: Yeah. sometimes I can. just take Coca-Cola, for example. I sampled the product for 60 years and then I saw a couple of key ingredients, you know, that essential tially tipped the scale in terms of buying it back in 1988. but the good big decisions, they don't take any time at all. if they take time, you're in trouble.
Buffett: yes, sometimes I can. For example, Coca-Cola is. I have tasted its product for 60 years, and then I checked several key indicators of it. You know, the most important thing is that it played a decisive role in buying its own shares in 1988. However, a large decision may not take much time. If the decision-making process is time consuming, you will be in a bad situation.