This Week's Word & Thought: Focus

I watched a very interesting and thought provoking documentary last night on HBO.  It was “Becoming Warren Buffett” and was nothing like I assumed it would be.  It takes you through how Mr. Buffett became one of the wealthiest people on earth and in history.  One of the surprises is that he is at the top of the list of those most generous with his fortune.  His intent is to give it away in accordance with his wife’s wishes before she died of a stroke in 2004.

The film also gives you some insight to the man and what drove him.  It is obvious that he is a mathematical genius and has an incredible ability to retain information.  However, the other aspects that are not obvious is his humility, self-deprecating attitude, his absolute belief in integrity, and the one word that both he and Bill Gates used to describe themselves, “Focus!”

Did you know that his wife, Susie, was a very active participant in the Civil Rights Movement and that she eventually made her home in San Francisco where she continued to be very active in equal rights for all.  That her influence was so great on him and his children that all three children head charitable institutions funded largely by Warren Buffett.  That because of Susie’s influence, he developed a much more broad and liberal view of humanity and has setup his fortune to predominantly go towards service to human kind.

Here is a link with some info on the documentary.  I encourage you to watch, learn and enjoy.  http://bit.ly/BuffettDocumentary

It is remarkable what you can accomplish when you have FOCUS.

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett

And my favorite quote of his regarding business is…

“Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.” – Warren Buffett

One last thought about Mr. Buffett I wanted to share.  He is one of those super successful business people that lets me know it is not evil to be successful in business.  It is only evil to be greedy for power or wealth.  Using your success to help others is pretty remarkable.

I wish you great success and the love to use it to better the world.

Namaste,

Tom