Able to do Anything vs Nothing

It was like a revelation to read his words. When responding to a question about his money and what he would leave his children, Warren Buffet said, “I want to leave them enough so they can do anything but not enough to do nothing.”

Warren Buffet is from the Omaha, Nebraska area and stands out as one of the most brilliant men when it comes to money. He is known as the world’s greatest investor. One report that I read stated that he started with $100 thousand dollars and is now worth more than $52 Billion.

Even Bill Gates, probably the wealthiest man, looks up to Warren Buffet.

Some other quotes that Buffet is credited with are…
Warren Buffet on action: “Someone’s sitting in the shad today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Warren Buffet on risk: “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.”
Warren Buffet on value: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

What an amazing man! What an amazing thinker!

I discovered the following from Wikipedia… (see below for address of quote)
Quote…
In June 2006, he made a commitment to give away his fortune to charity, with 83% of it going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The donation amounts to approximately $30 billion. Buffett's donation is said to be the largest in U.S. history. At the time of the announcement the donation was enough to more than double the size of the foundation.

Despite his immense wealth, Buffett is renowned for his unpretentious and frugal lifestyle. When he spent $9.7 million of Berkshire's funds on a corporate jet in 1989, he jokingly named it "The Indefensible" because of his past criticisms of such purchases by other CEOs. He continues to live in the same house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska that he bought in 1958 for $31,500 (although he also owned a more expensive home in Laguna Beach, California which he sold in 2004). The current estimated value for his Omaha house is around $700,000.

His 2006 annual salary of about $100,000 is tiny by the standards of senior executive remuneration in other comparable companies. CEOs in S&P 500 constituent companies averaged about $9 million compensation in 2003. In 2007, Buffett was listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World.
End quote…

Can you get a hold of what is written about him? He doesn’t think like the rest of us. Humble and almost normal – and rich. His down to earth thinking is so easy to comprehend – yet profound.

I think I have another new hero.

I have another friend that has been quoting Warren Buffet for many years. I have heard him talk of this man but I haven’t listened. This past week I began to listen.

I come back to the first statement that caught my attention…“I want to leave them enough so they can do anything but not enough to do nothing.”

I have witnessed the tragedy of some families that desperately need to hear what Mr. Buffet has said. Down the street a younger family has give me something to think about. Both parents work at fairly good jobs. They are busy all the time. Their kids have almost everything they want. Recently when their son was next door holding the ladder for his less privileged friend to break into his grandparent’s home… I met him again. It talked them out of doing something so stupid – and sent the privileged kid home to play with his games. I talked to the less than privileged kid for a while and settled him down.

There are so many kids getting so much for doing so little… that I predict that all of us are going to pay hugely for legal problems this dear little ones will encounter.

Watching the reviews and news reports about Paris Hilton and the Olsen Twins you will see rich and its results…

In Canada – Canadian Business created a Rich List of “Kids”(twelve listed here...)
1. Thomson family(David): $24.41 billion
2. Galen Weston: $7.1 billion

3. James (J. K.), Arthur and John (Jack) Irving: $5.45 billion

4. Edward (Ted) Rogers Jr.: $4.54 billion

5. Paul Desmarais Sr.: $4.41 billion

6. James (Jimmy) Pattison: $4.35 billion

7. Jeff Skoll: $3.93 billion

8. Bernard (Barry) Sherman: $3.23 billion9. David Azrieli: $2.44 billion

10. Fred and Ron Mannix: $2.38 billion

11. Michael Lee-Chin: $2.18 billion

12. Saputo family: $2.15 billion
(Some are not kids anymore…)

Personal…
This past Thanksgiving weekend I spent a large portion of time with our family. It was fun. I sat watching everyone laugh and interact. I played with my grandkids. I enjoyed my family deeply. I am blessed – so very blessed!

Yet we are not rich – not like millionaires at least. Money will always be looked for and hard earned. And we don’t believe in lotteries.

But yet we are rich… filthy rich. Our grandparents and great grandparents laid a foundation for us. They were a whole lot like Warren Buffet in their thinking. They left us enough to do anything with – yet not enough to do nothing.

This past weekend I witnessed a wealth in imagination, staggering riches in abilities and unimaginable resources in creativity. It is all in my younger family coming behind me.

I grinned as the “older grandpa” now watching on from the sidelines. I am blessed.

Actually Mr. Warren Buffet and I have a lot in common. We think the same – I just don’t make as much money. But hey… Warren… if you want to drop by sometime… I loved to give you some pointers on being a cool grandpa.

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~

Source
Warren Buffet - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffet
Canada's Top 100 Richest Kids http://www.canadianbusiness.com/after_hours/lifestyle_activities/article.jsp?content=20061204_83955_83955&gclid=CPaorvOa_44CFQOnQQodKSIaxA