One must avoid the error of the preening duck that quacks boastfully after a torrential rainstorm

"In a bull market, one must avoid the error of the preening duck that quacks boastfully after a torrential rainstorm, thinking that its paddling skills have caused it to rise in the world. A right-thinking duck would instead compare its position after the downpour to that of the other ducks on the pond."

[Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report 1997]

Who is swimming naked

"You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out."

[Warren Buffett in Berkshire Hathaway's 2001 Annual Report]

Keeping an internal scoreboard

"I keep an internal scoreboard. If I do something that others don't like but I feel good about, I'm happy. If others praise something I've done, but I'm not satisfied, I feel unhappy."

[Warren Buffett in US West, Autumn, 1987]

Increased capital base will act as an anchor

"An increased capital base will act as an anchor on our relative performance - seems incontestable. The only open question is whether we can drag the anchor along at some tolerable, though slowed, pace. "

[Berkshire Hathaway's 1992 Annual Report]