Investing is the greatest business in the world because you never have to swing. You stand at the plate; the pitcher throws you General Motors at 47! U.S. Steel at 39! And nobody calls a strike on you. There's no penalty except opportunity. All day you wait for the pitch you like; then, when the fielders are asleep, you step up and hit it.

You have to turn over a lot of rocks to find those little anomalies. You have to find the companies that are off the map - way off the map.

You shouldn't own common stocks if a 50 per cent decrease in their value in a short period of time would cause you acute distress.

It's us fun being a horse when the tractor comes along, or the blacksmith when the car comes along.

Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.

The approach and strategies are very similar in that you gather all the information you can and then keep adding to that base of information as things develop. You do whatever the probabilities indicated based on the knowledge that you have at that time, but you are always willing to modify your behaviour or your approach as you get new information. In bridge, you behave in a way that gets the best from your partner. And in business, you behave in the way that gets the best from your managers and your employees.

Anyone who believes a growth rate in excess of 15% per annum over the long term is attainable should pursue a career in sales, but avoid one in mathematics.