Warren Buffet...Bottle Caps, YouTube and Love

"When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen" was the saying throughout the 70's and 80's. Well who are we listening to today?

Sure, there are probably a ton of different answers to that question, but today, in this post, I would like to state the case that (with all due respect to Edward Francis Hutton) we update the slogan to "When Warren Buffett talks, people listen".

Mr. Buffett has long been someone I have taken a great interest in, but a recent article entitled, Buffett recounts the best advice he's ever received, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the man who built billions and in the name of positive social change, donated about 99% of that wealth.

That's right, read it again. He donated 99% of his worth.

I use the word worth with a purpose when speaking about Mr. Buffett's donation now, because after the following statement he gave in this article, I believe his idea of worth, has very little to do with fiance. Here is the standout quote that sparked the title of the article.

"The power of unconditional love. I mean, there is no power on earth like unconditional love. And I think that if you offered that to your child, I mean, you’re 90 percent of the way home. There may be days when you don’t feel like it — it’s not uncritical love; that’s a different animal — but to know you can always come back, that is huge in life. That takes you a long, long way. And I would say that every parent out there that can extend that to their child at an early age, it’s going to make for a better human being."

Do you see where I am going with this? What good is money if you have nothing to do with it, and what good is doing something with it if you are not really doing anything at all with it? You're not helping others, helping your community, helping the globe and so on. So worth, in a financial sense, it seems to a man who started off making his own way, has only 10% to do with a bank statement, and 90% to do with those around you. Those that you offer unconditional love.

Sure, we are all not billionaires, millionaires, or even living in the black, but throughout the ages we have given great credence to the tremendous "thinkers". Those that seemed to be able to see past their days, and offer a deeper insight that is proven true well into the future. Mr. Buffett needs to be added to that list.

I know that most people think that people today living the high life come from old money, but that is not the exact case with Warren Buffet. My favorite story of his, comes from when he was a young American trying to make a little extra cash. What he would do is by a six-pack of soda and sell them on a local corner. Every six-pack cost him 25 cents, and he would sell each bottle for 5 cents, and make a 5% return on each six-pack sold. Sure a nice profit for those days, but outside of that there is really nothing out of the ordinary there, but here is the part that sticks with me. After selling his six bottles everyday, he would go to the local gas station, which remember in those days, the vending machine sold bottles, and there was a catch and container for all of the bottle tops, and collect all of these tops.

He would then go home and count each individual one, so many for coke, so many for orange soda, etc, and based on that information he would make the decision of which six-pack to buy for the next day. Just Incredible! Here you have a young adolescent doing the selling, the market research, and the business development all for an extra 5 cents a day.

Well, after turning all of those nickles into billions, and a great deal of time learning the in's and out's of one of the worlds most complex financial systems, he has again taken his approach back to the most simple form, love.

So, I ask you, do you agree with his statement? Do you agree that "When Warren Buffett speaks, people listen"?

I can tell you that I do, and I can also tell you that another great part to the story is that Mr. Buffett hasn't lost his ability to "search through the bottle caps". Today he enjoys keeping his ear to the ground by spending a good deal of time on YouTube.

I think there is something endearing to Mr. Buffett's approach to life and finance, and would love to hear your thoughts! And when Warren Buffett speaks, are you listening?

As always, thank you...The Runner