40 Chances Quotes

“My own dad had given me a terrific gift: he told me, both verbally and by his behavior, that he cared only about the values I had, not the particular path I chose. He simply said that he had unlimited confidence in me and that I should follow my dreams.”
― Howard G. Buffett, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World

“The challenge is clear: we have to conserve and improve the soil we have, and we need to turn dirt into soil wherever people need to grow food. That's true in America's breadbasket, it's true in the tropics, and it's true in the dry, hardscrabble, weathered soils that cover much of sub- Saharan Africa.”
― Howard G. Buffett, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World

“Our “It’s your life” message produced one particularly interesting outcome: none of our three children completed college, though each certainly had the intellect to do so. Neither Susie Sr. nor I were at all bothered by this. Besides, as I often joke, if the three combine their college credits, they would be entitled to one degree that they could rotate among themselves. I don’t believe that leaving college early has hindered the three in any way. They, like every Omaha Buffett from my grandfather to my great-grandchildren, attended public grammar and high schools. In fact, almost all of these family members, including our three children, went to the same inner-city, long-integrated high school, where they mixed daily with classmates from every economic and social background. In those years, they may have learned more about the world they live in than have many individuals with postgrad educations.”
― Howard G Buffett, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World

“...I am convinced that all the energy and good intentions in the world cannot trump cultural disconnects. To be effective, we have to ask questions of and listen to the people affected by what we want to do. Then we must engage them early in our planning and keep adjusting our approaches.”
― Howard G. Buffett, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World

“As you look more broadly at the many countries of Africa where agriculture is difficult and people are hungry and inject both internal and cross-border conflict and corruption into the mix, to me the conclusion is clear: we need major initiatives in agriculture, but they need to be designed around simple, basic technologies and inputs for subsistence farmers, not large-scale farms.”
― Howard G. Buffett, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World

“Whether you love or hate what you're doing, whether you're good at it or struggling, life is not a treadmill - it's a moving walkway. There are no do-overs. We get a limited number of chances to do what we do, whatever we do, right.”
― Howard G. Buffett, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World

“Most of the world’s seven billion people found their destinies largely determined at the moment of birth. There are, of course, plenty of Horatio Alger stories in this world. Indeed, America abounds with them. But for literally billions of people, where they are born and who gives them birth, along with their gender and native intellect, largely determine the life they will experience. In this ovarian lottery, my children received some lucky tickets. Many people who experience such good fortune react by simply enjoying their position in life and trying to ensure that their children enjoy similar benefits. This approach is understandable, though it can become distasteful when it is accompanied by a smug “If I can do it, why can’t everyone else?” attitude.”
― Howard G Buffett, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World