"If my father had been working mainly for the money, his
efforts would have quickly dulled into a routine, a job. What has
kept him sharp and engaged for all these years is the intellectual challenge,
the serious and consequential game. That part of it is new every
day."
"No one asks to be born. No one gets to choose his
parents or to have a say in the circumstances of her birth."
"If life is what we make it, it is essential that we make
it for ourselves."
"One of my father's often-quoted tenets is that a parent,
if he has the means to do so, should give his children enough to do anything,
but not enough to do nothing."
"In the same way that my mother felt it was important
to expose me to different churches and different kinds of worship, she
also thought it was important for me to understand that people were born
into lives of differing circumstances and opportunities."
"From the poor kids, I learned a lot about the mystery
of identity, this really humbling and inspiring strength of character that
allows certain people to remain undaunted in any situation."
"To put it another way, are we really choosing the game
we want to play or are we abdicating that choice and just letting the slope
of the playing field make our decision for us"
"Similarly, when people get tangled up on their options,
it's not because they have too many, it's because they lack the clarity
and will to commit to one."
"One difficulty, I think, is simply that acknowledging
and embracing a calling really raises the stakes in life."
"Many people seem unwilling to live frugally, or if they
must live frugally, they see it as an affront, a penance that has been
thrust upon them."
"If a boy grows up receiving lavish and expensive gifts
for every Christmas and every birthday, it's only natural that he'll grow
up associating those gifts with the love and security behind them, or worse
see them as proxy for secruity and love."
"That is part of the suspense and joy in life, that we
sense ourselves moving forward, gaining in competence and knowledge and
being compensated for our progress, whether in money or professional advancement
or creative satisfaction."
"Success, however we define it, happens little by little."
"Be that as it may, luck generally takes time to find
us. And we are in a better position to recognize and seize the luck
if we've logged some effort getting ready for it."
"But, seriously, the more important lesson, I think, comes
back to the question of how we use our time."
"Patience, in turn, required trust, a trust that good
things would happen at their own natural place."
"When times are tough and the future looks murky, there is, I believe, a tendency to see one's own dreams and preferences as luxuries one can't afford."
Written by Peter Buffett
Life
Is What You Make It: Find Your Own Path to Fulfillment
