You have to have a temperament to grab ideas and do sensible things. Most people don’t grab the right ideas or don’t know what to do with them.

Assume life will be really tough, and then ask if you can handle it. If the answer is yes, you've won.

A board member should be perfectly willing to leave at any time and willing to make the tough calls.

Remember that reputation and integrity are your most valuable assets - and can be lost in a heartbeat.

We bought a doomed textile mill [Berkshire Hathaway] and a California S&L [Savings & Loan; Wesco] just before a calamity. Both were bought at a discount to liquidation value.

I see almost no change in the price of the composite product that flows through Costco I don't feel sorry for the people who pay $27 million for an 8,000-square-foot condo in Manhattan. So inflation comes in places.

One could imagine a period like Japan13 years ago, however, in which indexing over time wouldn't work.