Imagine my surprise on Wednesday (3-5-08) when I found out that Warren Buffett, who has been Bill Gates’ second fiddle as the world’s richest man for several years, is now the world’s richest billionaire with a net worth. of $ 62. billion.
For the uninitiated, a billion dollars is a million dollars a thousand times. At $ 62 billion, you could also say that Buffett is worth a million dollars 62,000 times. Gates fell to No. 3 with $ 58 billion on the newly released 2008 list by Forbes magazine.
Equally surprising to me was the fact that, after reading The Tao of Warren BuffettI discovered that Buffett had some very valuable information on what students should know when selecting their first job after graduation.
“Managing your career is like investing – the degree of difficulty doesn’t count,” Buffett said. “So you can save yourself money and pain by getting on the right train.”
According to Buffett, it is not only necessary to learn what type of business to invest in, but what type of business to work in.
If you are going to work for a company with a poor economy in the long run, then he (or she) can never expect to do really well because the company is not doing well. Salaries will be below average and raises will be few and far between, and there is a greater risk of losing your job because management will always be under pressure to cut costs.
But if you are going to work for a company that has a great long-term economy going for it, then the company will be awash in cash. This means higher wages and tons of raises and promotions for a job well done. Plus, there will be plenty of room to move forward as management looks for ways to spend all that free cash.
In short, Buffett says he wants to work for a company that has high (profit) margins and makes a lot of money. And you want to stay away from companies that have low margins and lose money.
One is a first-class train ride to Easy Street; the other is a long, slow, hard freight train ride to nowhere in Siberia.
A good example of a company with high margins, no debt, and billions in cash reserves is Microsoft.
The next step in moving forward with your career is also working for a company that allows you to do what you love to do.
“There comes a time when you have to start doing what you want,” says Buffett. “Take a job that you like. You’ll jump out of bed in the morning. I think you’re crazy if you keep taking jobs that you don’t like because you think they’ll look good on your resume. Is that like saving sex for your old age?”
It is not difficult to understand why Buffett is a very smart person. He didn’t become the richest man in the world for being stupid. You don’t need talent to lose money; it takes a lot of talent to make a lot of money.
According to Buffett, spending your life getting up and going to a job you hate, with people you don’t respect, creates frustration and discontent, which you take home from work and share with your family, which makes them unhappy. well. This, of course, makes everyone you love a lousy life, including yourself.
When you find a job that you love, going to work puts a smile on your face, which you can take home at the end of the day to share with your loved ones.
If you’re worried about money, remember that the people who love what they do are the ones who make it to the top of their fields and end up making the most money. Do what you love, says Buffett, and the money will come.
(Editor’s note: The Tao of Warren Buffett is written by Mary Buffett (Warren’s daughter-in-law) and David Clark, who were the best-selling authors of Bufettology.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley