My Final Shareholder Letter

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Hand-drawn art by Rupali Bhuva
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Mein letzter Brief an die Aktionäre – von Warren Buffett Eine vielleicht etwas eigennützige Beobachtung. Ich bin froh, sagen zu können, dass ich mich in der zweiten Hälfte meines Lebens besser fühle als in der ersten. Mein Rat: Quälen Sie sich nicht mit Fehlern aus der Vergangenheit – lernen Sie zumindest ein wenig daraus und schauen Sie nach vorne. Es ist nie zu spät, sich zu verbessern. Suchen Sie sich die richtigen Vorbilder und eifern Sie ihnen nach. Sie können mit Tom Murphy beginnen; er war der Beste.

Denken Sie an Alfred Nobel, der später durch den Nobelpreis berühmt wurde und der – wie berichtet wird – seinen eigenen Nachruf las, der versehentlich gedruckt worden war, als sein Bruder starb und eine Zeitung etwas durcheinandergebracht hatte. Er war entsetzt über das, was er las, und erkannte, dass er sein Verhalten ändern musste.

Verlassen Sie sich nicht auf eine Verwechslung in der Redaktion: Entscheiden Sie, was in Ihrem Nachruf stehen soll, und leben Sie ein Leben, das dies verdient.

Größe entsteht nicht durch das Anhäufen großer Geldsummen, großer Bekanntheit oder großer Macht in der Regierung. Wenn Sie jemandem auf eine von Tausenden von Arten helfen, helfen Sie der Welt. Freundlichkeit kostet nichts, ist aber auch unbezahlbar. Ob Sie religiös sind oder nicht, es ist schwer, die Goldene Regel als Leitfaden für das Verhalten zu übertreffen.

Ich schreibe dies als jemand, der unzählige Male gedankenlos war und viele Fehler begangen hat, aber auch das große Glück hatte, von einigen wunderbaren Freunden zu lernen, wie man sich besser verhält (auch wenn ich noch weit davon entfernt bin, perfekt zu sein). Denken Sie daran, dass die Putzfrau genauso ein Mensch ist wie der Vorstandsvorsitzende. ________________________________________
Fragen zum Nachdenken: Was halten Sie von der Vorstellung, dass Größe nicht durch Reichtum oder Macht definiert wird, sondern durch die Freundlichkeit und Hilfe, die wir anderen im Alltag entgegenbringen? Können Sie eine persönliche Geschichte erzählen, die einen Moment illustriert, in dem Sie die Notwendigkeit einer Verhaltensänderung erkannt haben, ähnlich wie Alfred Nobel, nachdem er seinen vorzeitigen Nachruf gelesen hatte? Was hilft Ihnen, jeden Tag so zu leben, dass er mit den Werten und dem Vermächtnis übereinstimmt, für die Sie in Erinnerung bleiben möchten? _______________________________________________

Warren Buffett ist ein legendärer Investor und einer der reichsten Menschen der Welt. Als er im Alter von über 90 Jahren in den Ruhestand ging, schrieb er im November 2025 einen letzten Brief an seine Aktionäre, und der obige Auszug enthält seine letzten Gedanken. Er fügte hinzu: „Ich verdanke alles dem Glück.“
Seed Questions for Reflection

What do you make of the notion that greatness is defined not by wealth or power, but by the kindness and help we offer to others in everyday situations? Can you share a personal story that illustrates a moment when you realized a need for change in your behavior, similar to Alfred Nobel's realizations after reading his premature obituary? What helps you live each day in a way that aligns with the values and legacy you'd wish to be remembered for?

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Add Your Reflection

12 Past Reflections
US
Nov 21, 2025
What I learnt in my life is every experience is precious. Not only we are bound to make mistakes, we will also be wronged. This is the beauty of life. It is we who have to observe, think and reflect. A simple way to live is just take a single step to better ourselves with our every single experience. Life is very precious, like mine - every ones too.
PS
Nov 20, 2025
Keeping life simple and being kind are the path forwards.
US
Nov 19, 2025
Kindness is the key to our peace and happiness. I realised about shedding my grievances when it was revealed to me that my own family members cheated me because of my vulnerability. I was angry and wanted to take on the case, but then soon enough I came back to my senses that I am what I am and that even this cannot affect me. I am love and light and will continue to pass my love to everyone, no matter who they are and what they do. The kind heart removes all enmity.
DA
Darius
Nov 19, 2025
When I closed my first business with $30,000+ debt hanging over me I thought all was over for me. I went to Consumer Counseling and they helped me pay off the entire debt over a 3 year period. In order to do this it required a detailed list of every expenditure my family had and give every other penny toward that debt....NO "disposable income", meaning no eating out, no movies, no anything beyond existing to pay the debt. The MOST valuable lesson was... I would have what I NEED but nothing that I really WANTED. Once came to that realization, things started to work out for me and my family. I was able to start a second business and actually sell it 30 years later. When you focus on the money you will miss what it takes to actually make money.
CA
Nov 18, 2025
I was in a CVS store and after getting a few items I got in line behind one man who was already in the process of being checked out. I was feeling lucky that there was not a big line as I was in a hurry to get to my next destination. The man before me was in his 80's and had many coupons that he was juggling along with his cane and wallet. There was a long conversation between him and the clerk as the clerk explained some of his coupons were obsolete and some just did not match what he wanted to purchase. The clerk was slow and gentle and so kind explaining to this customer who was very confused but also was obviously very hard of hearing as well. At one point the clerk even left his post so as to bring back a couple rolls of toilet paper that the man wanted but forgot. And then the elderly man decided he wanted two more rolls of toilet paper! Again, off the clerk went with a smile . Although I was in line only about 15 minutes, the line behind me grew quickly to 10 people. There... View full comment
VI
viral Nov 18, 2025
wow! what a story, catherine -- thanks so much for sharing ... another place to post it is on a sister portal of awakin, kindspring.org (on the upper right side) ... just a thought ... best wishes to you!
SP
Sneh Patel
Nov 18, 2025
Thank you so much for this article as this article came to me at the right appropriate moment! I had just been very rude to someone and I knew it was my fault and I was still being rude to her! The next thing I did was read this article and I learned my lesson about not to be rude going forward! Time for me to be more kinder and loving! Thanks again!
MI
Nov 18, 2025
Lmao. How bout complaining about living with my husband's intolerable alcoholic behavior, and everything entailed with that, only to come to the realization that I too am an alcoholic? He never got sober but I left and went to AA. I have 30 years sober. Bill Wilson wrote, "We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the Page 84 word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others." Bill Wilson was a divinely led teacher who taught there's more to quitting drinking than quitting drinking! Life is a hugh miracle. Thank you.
B
Nov 18, 2025
Greatness, to me, is defined in how a person lives. Living with compassion and kindness and love. I've been reading a biography of Fred Rogers from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and he embodies these qualities. I consider him to be "greatness". Someone mentioned TNH, Gandhi, Martin Luther King as they embody greatness. Wealth does not equal greatness.
NI
Nov 13, 2025
The simplicity and honesty are striking. Am not sure our greatness is to be defined by our offerings of kindness which are just natural responses of our life force when we are conscious. We are the biggest beneficiaries of being kind.
Around age 15, as I was looking at a red rose bush, it became clear to me that I did not want to possess those flowers by plucking them. Since then, I have become a little less self centered. Practices that foster balance and plenty of nature around, remind me to tap into the natural flow rather than take non-aligned detours .
DD
Nov 13, 2025
Definitions of greatness differ from person to person. I've never been monetarily wealthy or powerful and don't see having or accomplishing those as greatness. I see greatness being in the kind of person one is, and particularly in the kindness and help we offer. I've had that belief for decades, though my living of it has often been inconsistent. In my younger years, things like immaturity, making it in the world, making a living, building a career, and providing for my family sometimes obstructed my being kind and helpful. I grew in kindness and helping as I grew in awareness that we are one and we are each essentially divine. Now I take "Namaste" seriously. I am much better at being aware of the divine essence of each person and thus being more kind and helpful.
JP
Nov 13, 2025
We all would like to be great and famous. Greatness is defined by how wealthy we are, by how famous we are, how much power we have. Such a way of feeling is short lived. Genuine greatness and happiness arise from being kind, compassionate and serving others, by unconditional positive regard and going beyond one's self interest.
Living this way makes us joyful and happy. Sadly , a self-serving mindset has created misery and unhappiness for themselves and for others. Living this way we create hell instead of heaven, misery instead of happiness. Wars instead of peace.
We are members of one community and we need to learn peacefully. Great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Thich Nhat Hann are living examples of serving people unconditionally. This is the way I intend to live my life.
Namaste!
Jagdish P Dave