The best business returns are usually achieved by companies that are doing something quite similar today to what they were doing five or ten years ago.

The banking business is no favorite of ours. When assets are twenty times equity - a common ratio in this industry - mistakes that involve only a small portion of assets can destroy a major portion of equity. And mistakes have been the rule rather than the exception at many major banks.

Do not put all your eggs in one basket.

The line separating investment and speculation, which is never bright and clear, becomes blurred still further when most market participants have recently enjoyed triumphs. Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money. After a heady experience of that kind, normally sensible people drift into behavior akin to that of Cinderella at the ball.

Investment ideas, like women are often more exciting than punctual.

To be successful, you should concentrate on the world of companies, not arcane accounting mathematics.

If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.