Warren Buffett’s Simple Advice for Business Success

What you may not know is that he is also an honest and pretty funny fellow.

I had the opportunity to hear him speak at Georgetown University while pursuing my M.B.A. He was passing along advice to us soon-to-be (and wanna-be) business leaders, and while some of us had expectations of receiving sage investment advice, he laid out a few simple rules to live by.

He started by emphasizing that he was no different than anyone else in the world (which arguably is not the case, but you get it) and quipped that the only difference might be that we drive crappy cars and he flies around in a private jet.

He was quick, however, to point out that aside from winning, as he said, the “fallopian tube lottery” — being lucky enough to be born to loving and supportive parents — his success was not realized through luck or chance circumstance. We could all achieve his fortune if we worked hard, stuck with our core convictions, and applied common sense to our business lives.

He emphasized the need to live righteously, because no bridge can be burned these days and dishonesty and cruelty will follow you for the rest of your business career. Instead, he suggested that by adopting and following one simple mantra in both your business and personal lives, all other parts of your life will fall into place: