Warren Buffett on Becoming a Successful Investor

“I think you should read everything you can. In my case, by the age of 10, I'd read every book in the Omaha public library about investing--some twice. You need to fill your mind with various competing thoughts and decide which make sense. Then you have to jump in the water--take a small amount of money and do it yourself. Investing on paper is like reading a romance novel versus doing something else. [Laughter] You'll soon find out whether you like it. The earlier you start, the better.

At age 19, I read a book [The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham], and what I'm doing today, at age 76, is running things through the same thought process I learned from the book I read at 19.

I remain big on reading everything in sight. And when you get the opportunity to meet someone like Lorimer Davidson (former CEO of Geico), as I did, jump at it. I probably learned more in those four hours than in almost any course in college or business school.”