How has WEB changed your life?

[oldschoolvalue]

Cliche of a quote, but

 

“I am a better investor because I am a businessman, and a better businessman because I am an investor.”

 

I see many fellow business owners continually make bad decisions because they don't know the basics. Amazing how much it translates to real-world skills.

[kiwing100]

FYI, the story of Ndamukong Suh. 

 

 

 

[woodstove]

For sure, WEB knows all about how/when to use leverage !

[finetrader]

So many advices from WB. The one that hit me lately is this one. I know it's from Tom Murphy, but got aware of it because he gave this advice to WB.

“You can always tell the guy to ‘go to hell’ tomorrow”

 

Edited July 11, 2021 by finetrader

[Parsad]

The only person who has had more influence on me than Warren and Prem was my father...no teacher has had more impact than those two.  How has Buffett changed my life:

 

- He changed everything for me from when I turned 29...the first time I read the 1998 BRK Letter to Shareholders, literally a light went on inside of me.  I had been extremely depressed since my father had died when I was 21 and I was helping my mother raise my brother who was only 9...I was a functioning depressed person wondering what I was going to make of my life.

- That letter and reading subsequent letters and books changed my whole investing framework and how I thought about money, life, happiness and integrity.

- It lead me to Fairfax Financial and Prem Watsa who became a mentor and very good friend.

- It lead to the creation of the initial version of this website and now COBF and all of the wonderful friends and posters on here...especially lotsofcoke and Ericopoly...two that played a significant role in my life and learning.

- After meeting Buffett, I came home and quit my job and began my journey in the financial world.

- That lead to finding other more accessible mentors and friends who were equally influenced by Buffett and others like Tim McElvaine, Francis Chou, Mohnish Pabrai, Larry Sarbit, Jeff Stacey, Wayne Peters, Andy Kilpatrick, Guy Spier, etc.

- It lead to me starting my own fund company with my cousin who was like a brother to me.

- Which led me to build PDH...for better or worse!

- All of this lead to the wonderful experiences I've enjoyed and my family has enjoyed...trips to Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, China and especially the Fairfax India trip...also meeting Wayne Gretzky, who was a childhood hero for me and my brother.

- It lead to raising nearly $300,000 for Crohn's & Colitis Canada, roughly another $2M that I've helped raise working for Cystic Fibrosis, The Center for Child Development and other charities.

- Finally, Buffett was the seed that allowed me to learn and also influence so many others...via coffees, lunches, dinners, our Toronto dinner, the funds, PDH, COBF, charitable work.

 

I turned 52 a week ago...Buffett has influenced me now for 23 years, 2 years longer than my father did!  I owe my father and Buffett everything...everything!  Cheers!

 

[Dynamic]

Great post, Sanjeev. Very inspiring, and huge thanks again for creating what became this great community which is of huge value to all of us.

[villainx]

15 hours ago, Parsad said:

 

 

I turned 52 a week ago...Buffett has influenced me now for 23 years, 2 years longer than my father did!  I owe my father and Buffett everything...everything!  Cheers!

 

 

 

Happy belated!

[calonego]

Sanjeev - that’s deep buddy.
Pretty amazing… 

 

My WEB story is shockingly similar to yours in some ways.

 

My father was my boss, mentor, idol and best friend. He passed a couple weeks after my 16th birthday. 
I had been reading about business and purchased a bond really young (9) and knew the price of a pile of stocks when I was 10 or 11 (anything my father owned), but had little understanding of business or value. 
When my dad passed I was lost, I ended up looking for people to “look up to” and liked how Warren thought/how he spoke about things on FNN/CNBC back then. He said to read Professor Graham and I picked up Security Analysis at 16, that changed things. As archaic as SA was/is - the principles are pretty valid still. SA made tremendous sense to me and led me to read Intelligent Investor, Graham lectures/notes/other theories of his and eventually everything on his protege. 
I’ve since been lucky enough to spend some time with Warren too.

Much like Sanjeev’s heroes, and Warren w/r/t his own father and Prof Graham, my dad and Warren are my two idols, heroes and greatest mentors.

Northern stars - guides.

 

I mean - I don’t know who I’d be had I not studied this guy or spent time with him, but I’d certainly be a very different/inferior person. In many ways.

He’s taught me most of what I know by teaching me to constantly read and understand things on my own - all from an interview he did with Maria Bartiromo in 1998 or 1999. 
He’s been the greatest teacher I’ve ever had - half my friends are a product of studying him, any wealth I have/will have is a product of his teachings.

 

I love the guy.
A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of how my father and Warren would think of some situation.

Going to Omaha every year for 20 years was some sort of grounding/pilgrimage and it’s hard not being able to go the past two years. 

 

Jordan

 

[Parsad]

11 hours ago, calonego said:

Sanjeev - that’s deep buddy.
Pretty amazing… 

 

My WEB story is shockingly similar to yours in some ways.

 

My father was my boss, mentor, idol and best friend. He passed a couple weeks after my 16th birthday. 
I had been reading about business and purchased a bond really young (9) and knew the price of a pile of stocks when I was 10 or 11 (anything my father owned), but had little understanding of business or value. 
When my dad passed I was lost, I ended up looking for people to “look up to” and liked how Warren thought/how he spoke about things on FNN/CNBC back then. He said to read Professor Graham and I picked up Security Analysis at 16, that changed things. As archaic as SA was/is - the principles are pretty valid still. SA made tremendous sense to me and led me to read Intelligent Investor, Graham lectures/notes/other theories of his and eventually everything on his protege. 
I’ve since been lucky enough to spend some time with Warren too.

Much like Sanjeev’s heroes, and Warren w/r/t his own father and Prof Graham, my dad and Warren are my two idols, heroes and greatest mentors.

Northern stars - guides.

 

I mean - I don’t know who I’d be had I not studied this guy or spent time with him, but I’d certainly be a very different/inferior person. In many ways.

He’s taught me most of what I know by teaching me to constantly read and understand things on my own - all from an interview he did with Maria Bartiromo in 1998 or 1999. 
He’s been the greatest teacher I’ve ever had - half my friends are a product of studying him, any wealth I have/will have is a product of his teachings.

 

I love the guy.
A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of how my father and Warren would think of some situation.

Going to Omaha every year for 20 years was some sort of grounding/pilgrimage and it’s hard not being able to go the past two years. 

 

Jordan

 

 

Jordan is one of the friends I made due to Buffett and Prem.  I met Jordan the first time when he was maybe 25...probably younger...he came to our very first COBF dinner in 2005 in Toronto.

 

Our stories as similar as they are, are only two of probably hundreds we know of on a personal basis.  The number of people directly influenced by Buffett and Munger, where it is a life-changing event, may be in the thousands by now.  And I mean life-changing...perhaps monetarily for some...perhaps psychologically or career-wise for others...but the numbers are staggering.  I can only imagine how many people would have been touched by Buffett's teachings, examples and generosity during his lifetime!  Cheers!

[Xerxes]

On 7/13/2021 at 12:40 AM, Parsad said:

The only person who has had more influence on me than Warren and Prem was my father...no teacher has had more impact than those two.  How has Buffett changed my life:

 

- He changed everything for me from when I turned 29...the first time I read the 1998 BRK Letter to Shareholders, literally a light went on inside of me.  I had been extremely depressed since my father had died when I was 21 and I was helping my mother raise my brother who was only 9...I was a functioning depressed person wondering what I was going to make of my life.

- That letter and reading subsequent letters and books changed my whole investing framework and how I thought about money, life, happiness and integrity.

- It lead me to Fairfax Financial and Prem Watsa who became a mentor and very good friend.

- It lead to the creation of the initial version of this website and now COBF and all of the wonderful friends and posters on here...especially lotsofcoke and Ericopoly...two that played a significant role in my life and learning.

- After meeting Buffett, I came home and quit my job and began my journey in the financial world.

- That lead to finding other more accessible mentors and friends who were equally influenced by Buffett and others like Tim McElvaine, Francis Chou, Mohnish Pabrai, Larry Sarbit, Jeff Stacey, Wayne Peters, Andy Kilpatrick, Guy Spier, etc.

- It lead to me starting my own fund company with my cousin who was like a brother to me.

- Which led me to build PDH...for better or worse!

- All of this lead to the wonderful experiences I've enjoyed and my family has enjoyed...trips to Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, China and especially the Fairfax India trip...also meeting Wayne Gretzky, who was a childhood hero for me and my brother.

- It lead to raising nearly $300,000 for Crohn's & Colitis Canada, roughly another $2M that I've helped raise working for Cystic Fibrosis, The Center for Child Development and other charities.

- Finally, Buffett was the seed that allowed me to learn and also influence so many others...via coffees, lunches, dinners, our Toronto dinner, the funds, PDH, COBF, charitable work.

 

I turned 52 a week ago...Buffett has influenced me now for 23 years, 2 years longer than my father did!  I owe my father and Buffett everything...everything!  Cheers!

 

 

AMAZING !!