Ten Things That Warren Buffet Does Differently

“I just sit in my office and read all day.”

The author interviewing Warren Buffett

1. Happy Meals, Happy People

Don’t mistake the meme for the man. Buffett famously drinks one beverage all day long (spot the bottle cap in the right-hand side of the photo) — he quips that his body’s made up of 75% Cherry Coke. For breakfast, he prefers McDonald’s, and keeps a box of See’s peanut brittle (he bought the company in 1972) within reach. But don’t mistake it for a brand stunt — it’s a worldview. Buffett’s tastes in food mirror his investments. Rock solid, dependable, and satisfying. Of course, there may be a bit of tongue in cheek as well: “I checked the actuarial tables, and the lowest death rate is among six-year-olds. So I decided to eat like one.”

Reflection: A standard McDonald’s Big Mac meal (burger, medium fries, medium Coke) clocks in at 1,170 calories (McDonald’s 2025 nutrition data). Now, a typical fine dining meal for two — appetizer bread basket, entree with butter sauce, wine, and shared chocolate lava cake hits hard at 1,500 calories per person matching the Big Mac. The “fancy food” version often hides 20–30% more sodium and sugar in “artisanal” touches. The anomaly? A 2025 Healthline study of 2,000 diners found 68% underestimate fine dining calories by 25%.

Lesson: After 40, stop moralizing every step you make including what you eat. Loosen up. Joy compounds faster than calories.

2. Marry Your Future

Buffett says the two biggest turning points in his life were “coming out of the womb — and meeting (his wife) Susie.” “Marry the right person. I’m serious. It will make more difference in your life. It will change your aspirations, all kinds of things. What happened with me would not have happened without her.”

Reflection: Here’s the kicker — couples in happy marriages outpace the rest in career success by a mile. A 2025 study from the American Psychological Association tracked 5,000 adults over 20 years: those rating their marriages “very happy” saw 25% higher income growth (median $85,000 vs. $68,000) and 30% more promotions than the “unhappy” or unmarried, thanks to emotional stability fueling focus. Unhappy spouses lagged 15% behind singles, bogged by stress — a good partner lifts your game.

Lesson: Your spouse isn’t just your partner in life’s journey. They’re your partner in where you want to go. If you find that isn’t the case, you may need to unfasten your seatbelt.

3. Chase Self-Worth Over Net Worth

“The best thing a human being can do is to help another human being know more,” Buffett’s partner Charlie Munger says, whether that’s your tight circle of family or trusted colleagues. Life works when you’re part of a connected group that sees you as essential.

Reflection: The real prize isn’t money or fame — it’s purpose and inner worth, a lesson even King Midas couldn’t grasp. A 2023 American Psychological Association study followed 3,000 adults over 15 years. Those who focused on self-growth through reflection and relationships reported 22% higher life satisfaction and a 28% boost in feeling valued, outpacing the 12% satisfaction of those chasing outer wealth.

Lesson: Real wealth is emotional security, shaped by choosing colleagues who speak with wisdom, not just wisecracks, to steady the course.

4. Invest Then Go To Sleep

Buffett doesn’t trade stocks, he grows portfolios. “Invest in great companies, go to sleep for twenty years, wake up rich,” Buffett chortles, referring to the philosophy he calls the Rip Van Winkle theory of investing. But he’s laughing all the way to the bank.

Reflection: If you invested $10,000 in Berkshire Hathaway in 2000, and never put in another dime, you would be worth $124,000 against the S&P’s $44,600.

Lesson: Make money the old-fashioned way. Don’t churn it. You don’t need more strategies. You don’t need more investor conferences. You need more stillness.

5. Be Choosy About Who You Let Into Your Circle

Buffett’s best relationships — romantic, business, personal — are built on respect, not credentials. “You want to associate with the kind of person you’d like to become.” He chooses people who sharpen his thinking, just as Munger pushed him to buy quality companies over cheaper models.

Reflection: The average American has 150 contacts and tries to grow them for social media fame; but Buffett’s circle multiplies his storehouse of wisdom — studies show trusted counselors boost outcomes 20–30%.

Lesson: Character is contagious. Choose wisely who you’re catching it from.

6. Make Wasted Time Your Friend

Buffett spends as much as five to six hours a day reading for pleasure, parked in his Omaha office, a monk amid market chaos. The average adult scrolls Instagram 2.5 hours daily — 145 hours a month. What’s that worth? It’s enough time to devour 25 biographies of greats like Einstein or Churchill, or plow through Shakespeare’s 37 plays, in a single year. What does he see as his most valuable investment? Not money — attention. “I just sit in my office and read all day.”

Reflection: In 1965, a single Berkshire share at $19 grew to $700,000 by 2025, a return of 3,600%. Plus, he’s donating 95% to charity. How do you make that your story? Buffett’s perspective gained from reading lands higher than chasing trends.

Lesson: Busy is overrated. Curiosity is where the returns are.

7. Live Below Your Ego

Buffett still lives in the same Omaha house he bought in 1958 and drives himself to work, a quiet rebel against needless extravagance, the kind most of us feel we need. “Would 10 homes make me happier? Possessions possess you at a point,” he muses.

Reflection: The average American household spends $4,500 on four-day rental vacation properties yearly (NAR 2024), never-used $100,000 boats moored in the distance ($10,650, BoatUS 2024), and extra cars idling under 5,000 miles a year ($8,000, Edmunds 2024) — totaling $23,150 a year on splurges that vanish into the mist. Invested in Berkshire at its 9.0% average return since 2000, in 25 years, it grows to $1.45 million. That opens up a horizon for real adventures, not unused toys.

Lesson: When you stop needing more things, your taste shifts to novel experiences, not novelties.

8. Say No Like Your Life Depends On It

Buffett dodges most meetings, dinners, and don’t even think of inviting him to a conference. “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything.”

Reflection: That San Francisco meeting you couldn’t skip cost you your son’s 8th birthday — and his small voice reciting a poem he’d written — just for his daddy. Buffett’s discipline cuts deeper than managing a calendar; it’s about guarding what matters.

Lesson: After 40, what you don’t do defines you.

9. Work With People You’d Leave With Your Wallet

Buffett chooses temperament over talent every time. You can teach a skill — but there’s no online course for integrity. “You can’t make a good deal with a bad person.”

Reflection: Buffett bet on Salomon Brothers, a Wall Street bond titan, swayed by an impressive CEO — only to see the man’s folly nearly sink Berkshire when the firm collapsed in 1991. Contrast that with his trust in Munger, whose decades of steady wisdom built billions. Pick your colleagues like you’d hand them your wallet.

Lesson: Trust is a better long-term asset than brilliance. If you find both, you’ve landed in paradise.

10. Choose a Place That Lifts You

Buffett trekked to New York to master Ben Graham’s value-investing system, the blueprint for his fortune, but he left Wall Street to bring it back to Omaha — the community he trusted. It wasn’t an escape — it was an upgrade. “If you can’t think clearly in Omaha, you can’t think clearly anywhere.”

Reflection: In New York’s chaos, he honed his edge; in Omaha’s quiet, he built a $140 billion legacy among people who believed in long-term wealth. There’s a right place out there that will sharpen your mind — unlike Wall Street’s grind (or Silicon Valley’s or Austin’s cool). You can learn the lesson in those places, you don’t have to stay for the course.

Lesson: Your geography becomes psychology. Choose a place or a company that lifts your abilities, not crushes them.