Common Sense from Buffett That Even Illiterates Can Understand

1. Suppose you hand me a gun with 1000 chambers and 1 million chambers, with only one chamber containing a bullet, and you say, 'Point the gun at your temple and pull the trigger, how much do you want?' I won’t do it. No matter how much you offer me, I won’t do it. If I win, I don’t need the money; if I lose, well, the outcome is obvious. In finance, people often do such things without thinking.

2. Don’t borrow money at the wrong time; avoid the temptation of quick success and shortcuts, or you might regret it in the future.

3. If the company you invest in is not profitable, it is also difficult for you as an investor to gain returns from it.

4. There should be a clear reason for purchasing anything; shopping without a reason should be avoided.

5. The most worthwhile companies to buy are those that still evoke a desire to buy even if the price seems high.

6. Everyone has their own range of abilities; what matters is not how large this range is, but whether you act within your capabilities.

7. In investing, it's important to focus on significant and knowable things while ignoring the unimportant and unknowable. Don't be misled by consulting firms that base their advice on macroeconomic analysis.

8. Stay away from any environment that encourages you to act blindly.

9. Time is a friend to good businesses and an enemy to bad businesses. Holding onto a bad business long-term, even if bought at a cheap price, will not yield good returns; whereas holding onto a good business long-term, even if bought at a high price, will ultimately yield excellent returns.

10. Habits may start lightly and be hard to notice, but as time accumulates, they can become heavy and hard to shake off.

11. The ideal job is one that you want to continue doing after achieving financial freedom.

12. Doing work you don’t like is like saving your sex life for old age; you should start doing what you truly enjoy as early as possible.

13. Don’t dwell on the past, because the future has many exciting things to look forward to. Life can only be lived forward; being hung up on the past is useless.

14. Throughout your life, you should do what you love and associate with those you like.