Warren Buffett Life Lesson: Learning from People Better Than One's Self Instead of Feeling Threatened

I'm afraid that Warren Edward Buffett's lessons are hardly taught in school (read here). Whether it's the use of cost averaging into an index fund (or equity fund) or how to win in stocks, I believe we need more of Buffett's lessons. Now, it's time for a bit more of Buffett's lessons. Just because I can't be Buffett doesn't mean I can't learn from him. Another lesson that I feel I should constantly learn from Buffett is, "Hang out with people better than you."

I once felt threatened when more intelligent people gave me friendly criticism. I felt I was insulted even when the person was trying to help me. How would Buffett respond to that? I should choose my friends carefully. I could remember when I started to make friends with intellectual types. Sure, I didn't enter the dean's list. However, I remembered hanging out with better people than I am helped me improve my bad study habits. I could remember my days in the Associate in Computer Science course and I befriended some of the dean's listers. Later, in my business administration days, it made sense for me to hang out with better people than the unruly crowd. Though, it was funny that these intelligent people I hung out with never thought I nearly didn't graduate fourth-year high school.

How did hanging out with more intelligent people help? I remembered I almost failed in basic programming. Rather than hang out with that arrogant information technology student--I befriended a highly intelligent guy. The difference was there that I did make it even if I never got accepted into the course I originally intended. Later, my study habits improved when I was hanging out with more intelligent people. Whether it's the summa cum laude or the organization president--I did get better. I tend to have bad social skills. I had a tendency to get distracted. Hanging out with such people started to be part of better growth. I may have never graduated cum laude but I'm glad that I finished on time.

However, some people choose to feel threatened. That pretty much differentiates the winner mindset from the loser mindset. The winner mindset could care less if somebody is better than him or her. The loser mindset tends to think that he or she has to be better than everyone. The winner mindset respects competition. The loser mindset hates competition. The winner mindset accepts losses. The loser mindset chooses to blame others. The winner mindset accepts healthy competition. The loser mindset seeks to compete with others only for gain. The winner mindset seeks not to impress others. The loser mindset tends to be about impressing others. If you're in the loser mindset then it's more than time to change that mindset to grow.

I used to say, "I'll never be Buffett! I'll never be John Gokongwei Jr.! I'll never be Bill Gates!" These guys can give me advice on how not to be poor. Sure, I'll never become the Oracle of Cebu City and I don't intend to be. However, could learn from the Oracle of Omaha to better improve myself. I may feel threatened but there's not a need to be. Instead, learning from the better people can be more rewarding than seeking to eliminate the competition.

Hussam Middle Eastern Cuisine's New APM Prime Mall Location

It was sad when I went to Ayala Center Cebu to eat at Hussam Middle Eastern Cuisine. They had closed their office at Il Corso. They moved out of Ayala Center Cebu at the end of January . I remember talking to someone who said that the old location can be "very hard to find" when you enter the mall. Right now, I remember how trying to find Hussam in Ayala can be comparable to trying to find the magic lamp in Aladdin's Cave of Wonders. That's what I felt back then, I ate at Hussam back in 2024 . Ayala Center Cebu probably had a low visibility problem. They had their soft opening on Black Saturday. They missed the Hari Raya Puasa date, a holiday for the Muslim population. This time, the use of glass walls makes it obvious to passersby that it's a Middle Eastern restaurant, that grilling is underway, and that it's certified halal . The place still maintains the same pristine cleanliness I recall from Ayala Center Cebu. The place's transparent glass windows ...

Toxic Positivity: Shielding Our ECONOMICALLY OUTDATED Constitution

ABS-CBN News I thought about what life was like in the late 1990s. It was a boomer vs. millennial clash . I remember how often I kept complaining about high school during the K+10 era. Even worse, the real problem why I hated school was that school cared more about grades for the sake of grades , instead of teaching students how to get good grades based on learning first. What may have compounded it is that we've had boomer parents who thought that fatigue is a badge of honor . What I realized is the common problem of toxic positivity . We have the "good vibes only" or "everything will turn out right in the end". Sadly, life doesn't always turn out that way. You can tell a terminally ill cancer patient that, and the cancer patient would die anyway. No amount of toxic positivity ever fixes the problem. This time, I'd like to rant once more about how toxic positivity has been used to defend the outdated 1987 Constitutio of the Philippines. The classic r...

Social Media Gossipers' Ad Hominems Against Actor Robin Padilla Regarding His Proposal to Remove 60-40

Make no mistake that I didn't vote for Robin Padilla. I feel like I've had enough of voting for celebrities, athletes, and those who I felt are know-nothings in the legislative. However, Padilla recently had his proposal to remove the 60-40 restrictions regarding foreign direct investments (FDIs) . Former Philippine Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona-Robredo was even in favor of that amendment. I guess that's why Philippine economist Andrew James Masigan endorsed Robredo. I may have not endorsed Robredo while Masigan remains to be one of my favorite local sources. The news from GMA News Online reveals these plans by Padilla himself: Senator Robin Padilla said he wanted to revise the Constitution to scrap the 60-40 rule on foreign ownership of businesses to accelerate job creation and competition among industries . In a Monday interview, Padilla said the move would attract more foreign investments to support the country’s economic recovery. “Para sa akin mas...

New Study Confirms Oil Degulation Law is Bad, Oil Nationalization is Better

Yes, you found that right. Did you know that the Filipino First Policy caused the Philippines to succeed and Carlos P. Garcia was the best president ever? Today, because of the Iranian War crisis, we need to talk about a new important discovery. What I realized is that the oil deregulation policy is bad . Do you want the oil prices to fall under control? Then read this new blog to find out. A new audit was revealed in the world's greatest economic forum. The Trust Me Bro School of Economics invited the trustworthy IBON Foundation to speak at Intrigador Financials . I was so wrong not to notice the genius behind the likes of Makabayan Bloc. What have I done compared to the youths of Kabataan Partylist ? I even discovered that the IBON Foundation is the most credible economic think tank . As I realized that Filipinos should only listen to Filipino economists , I have found that there are literally tons of studies from the famous Trust Me Br...

Pinoy Pride Economics Helps in Drug Mule Recruitment

Al Jazeera Who can remember the execution of three drug mules in China on March 30, 2011 ? These were three separate cases where the three convicts were Sally Villanueva , Ramon Credo (who was cremated before his remains were brought home, and Elizabeth Batain (whose face was never shown). Sally had an episode in the GMA-7 TV show Magpakailanman, where her husband was personally interviewed by Mel Tiangco. We never got Sally on the big screen. The husband's side of the story said that his wife was guilty of a frame-up, while Mel herself said, "If the offer is too good to be true, don't take it, or you could end up in the same pickle." Take note that I'm just paraphrasing Mel's words, not saying the words she said. Reviewing the three drug mules who got arrested, based only on what's available for public viewing on the Internet If we read through the circumstances , this is how they were arrested, proving they weren't a trio: China has brushed aside...

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