Warren Buffett, 95, says when thinking about how to live your life, you should think about the end of it — specifically, your own obituary.
Buffett reflected on his own life and offered the advice in his third annual Thanksgiving letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders on Monday, the last one he’ll send as CEO of the company.
“I’m happy to say I feel better about the second half of my life than the first,” Buffett wrote. “My advice: Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes — learn at least a little from them and move on. It is never too late to improve. Get the right heroes and copy them.”
Buffett also noted a widely shared but unconfirmed story that Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite and later established the Nobel Prizes, had read a newspaper obituary for himself and “was horrified at what he read and realized he should change his behavior.”
“Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it,” Buffett said.
“Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government,” he continued. “When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless. Whether you are religious or not, it’s hard to beat The Golden Rule as a guide to behavior.”
Buffett, who is set to step down as CEO at the end of the year, has used his Thanksgiving letter the past three years to dispense observations and advice to Berkshire shareholders.
Buffett has made similar comments about drafting your own obituary
Buffett previously recommended reverse-engineering your own obituary in 2023 while speaking to investors at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting, where he and the firm’s vice-chairman, fellow billionaire Charles Munger, answered questions on succeeding in life and growing wealth.
At the meeting, a 15-year-old boy asked Buffett and Munger for advice on avoiding mistakes.
“You should write your obituary and figure out how to live up to it,” the Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO answered.
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“It’s not that complicated,” Buffett told the crowd, saying his tips were “straight out of Ben Franklin.”
Buffett explained that he believed in the importance of avoiding mistakes that “take you out of the game or come close to take you out of the game.”
Stay away from debt as much as possible, especially credit card debt, Buffett added. “I’ll make an exception in terms of a mortgage on your house,” he said.
“But why get behind the game if you’re effectively paying 12 or 14 or whatever percent you’re paying on a credit card?” Buffett said.
The billionaire gave another piece of more specific advice — to pause before insulting or attacking others instead of reacting in the heat of the moment. “Tell someone to go to hell tomorrow,” he said, citing the late media mogul Thomas Murphy.
“Think what great advice it is when you screw your life forever by telling somebody to go to hell or something else in 30 seconds, and you can’t erase it,” Buffett said.
“You don’t need to vilify anybody in order to make a point on subjects of discussion,” he added.
And be kind, Buffett urged the crowd.
“I’ve never known anybody that was basically kind that died without friends. And I’ve known plenty of people with money that have died without friends, including their family,” he said.
