What's nice about investing is you don't have to swing at every pitch.
Interpretation
Investing allows you the freedom to choose your opportunities wisely rather than taking every chance available.
Warren Buffett's quote emphasizes the importance of selective investing, suggesting that not every opportunity needs to be pursued. Just as a batter in baseball doesn't have to hit every pitch thrown their way, investors should carefully evaluate which opportunities align with their strategy and risk tolerance. This approach encourages mindfulness and patience in investment decisions, promoting long-term success over impulsive actions.
In practice
In a financial seminar discussing investment strategies.
I have no views as to where it will be, but the one thing I can tell you is it won't do anything between now and then except look at you. Whereas, you know, Coca-Cola (KO) will be making money, and I think Wells Fargo (WFC) will be making a lot of money and there will be a lot - and it's a lot - it's a lot better to have a goose that keeps laying eggs than a goose that just sits there and eats insurance and storage and a few things like that.
If the world couldn't see your results, would you rather be thought of as the world's greatest investor but in reality have the world's worst record? Or be thought of as the world's worst investor when you were actually the best?
Cash never makes us happy, but it's better to have the money burning a hole in Berkshire's pocket than resting comfortably in someone else's.
I think you should read everything you can. In my case, by the age of 10, I'd read every book in the Omaha public library about investing, some twice. _x000D_ You need to fill your mind with various competing thoughts and decide which make sense.
The most common cause of low prices is pessimism - some times pervasive, some times specific to a company or industry. We want to do business in such an environment, not because we like pessimism but because we like the prices it produces. It's optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer.
Oneβs objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out and get it over. Your problem wonβt improve with age.
Everybody thinks that they're going to time the market, they're going to sharpshoot the market, and buy right at the bottom. The truth of the matter is that nobody is good at it.
If you are predisposed to be patient, disciplined and psychologically appreciate the idea of buying bargains, then you're likely to be good at it. If you have a need for action, if you want to be involved in the new and exciting technological breakthroughs of our time, that's great, but you're not a value investor, and you shouldn't be one.
There's a company behind every stock and a reason companies - and their stocks - perform the way they do.
Owning equities is an essential part of anyone's portfolio. You just can't ignore it over time. It's going to add the real pop to anyone's overall performance.
I'm a big believer in investing for the long term, and the decisions you make shouldn't be made if the economy is good or bad at a specific time.
When it comes to portfolios, my personal advice is for anyone who can, put money into forestry or farmland. Long term, you would probably never come near their returns in the stock market. In the world that I see, land is golden.
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