Warren Buffett's "Twenty Punches" approach to investing:
"You'd get very rich, if you thought of yourself as having a card with only twenty punches in a lifetime, and every financial decision used up one punch. You'd resist the temptation to dabble. You'd make more good decisions and you'd make more big decisions."
But this 20-punches rule need not be limited to investing alone. Buffett ran his life on the same rule, with as little change as possible. Same house, same wife, same city, same career. Once he made a decision, he followed through with it. He was extremely focused, and that very focus made him who he is today.
This was Buffett's principle to life, and also the very principle that let to his success. Once he decided on a company to invest in, he gave it his all. He studied the company's finances thoroughly, explored its products, and even made changes to its management when necessary. He did this with Berkshire Hathaway, See's Candies, Coca Cola and more. It also helped that he was a personal fan of many of these products, including candies and coke. Loving the company's products and believing in it made it more natural and easier to study every single bit of the company.
We know that this is easier said than done. Dedicating all our time to one single company is very difficult from an investment point of view (be it investment of money or time). We are all taught to split the risks and spread our eggs. Yet, Buffett teachers another school of thought - to focus and commit. He shows that if you know your target well enough, and if you put in your everything (and if you are smart enough to spot the right company but also to run it well), you will be immensely successful. However, even if you do not have all of the above qualities, if you hold on to the same mentality of only 20 punches in your life card, you will put in 200% effort in anything that you do. That commitment, in itself, is halfway to success.
