Being different isn’t always a bad thing (5/27/14)
Being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can be a costly endeavor. Those of us that choose to stand out from the crowd might as well paint a giant neon target on our backs. You can be an indistinguishable face in the crowd and be ‘good’, but if you have the desire to be ‘great’ there will come a point in time where you will have to choose a way to be different.
That’s what I love about Warren Buffet. He found what worked for him, took a calculated risk, and went on to become the measuring stick for an entire industry. Warren is a contrarian, he goes against the grain. The Oracle of Omaha has a very sound and simple strategy for investing. He buys undervalued fundamentally sound companies in businesses that he understands, and then sells them off when he thinks they are overvalued, and repeats. In a day of immediate gratification Warren is in it for the long haul. Where as corporate America has dubbed Wall Street the center of the Universe, Warren has chosen to call Omaha home.
Warren plays the game his way, and stands way out from the crowd because of it. When he first got started he was not seen in such a positive light, but now he’s the benchmark for an industry. Anyone could find themselves as the icon that represents being the best at what it is they do, but in order to get there you’ll have to drum up the courage to stand out from the crowd.
by Mary Buffett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
