Category Archives: blessings

warren buffett…the man

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A candid shot…captured by one of my classmates.


Oh my gosh! I am going to do my best to describe what this experience was like, but there’s no way I will be able to do it justice. Somehow I got lucky enough to be able to go on this trip with about 20 other students from my school.


See that first row of seats in the picture? Yeah, that’s THE first row.

It was a Q&A with Warren Buffett at Berkshire-Hathaway. In searching the Internet (the source of all truth) I was unable to determine exactly who is the richest man on earth, but Buffett is definitely in the top three and I got to sit in a room with him for 2.5 hours listening to him answer a bunch of college kids’ questions, followed by lunch and individual pictures with all of us (six schools in total).

Warren and Julianne…I just wanted to show you his personality. So not full of himself.

So, I won’t bore you with all of the details, but let me just say, Warren Buffett is both brilliant and hilarious.

A few of my favorite tidbits:

In speaking about Wall Street, he joked about those who are currently there:

They couldn’t pull off the Manhattan Christmas Pageant this year because they couldn’t find any wise men.
He loves his Cherry Coke…he knows that Coke is better than Pepsi.

In speaking about failure:

Striking out occasionally is part of the game and it’s a lot more fun to play the game that wait on the side too scared to bat.

One of my favorites, in reference to how lucky he has been in his life:

I won what I call the Ovarian Lottery.

Seriously, he was one of the most humble people I’ve ever met, which is just incredible. Connie and I kept commenting on how he just reminded us of a grandfather. Sure, he’s loaded and brilliant, but other than that, he really is just a jolly old man.

Me and Connie in the big room at Berkshire where the Q&A was held.

However, he did have one moment where he, in a very understated way, showed that he knows just how good he is at what he does. Someone asked him about predicting the market and this is what he said:

I can’t and I like to think that because I can’t, no one else can.
All of my school peeps with Mr. Buffett

The number of stories he has locked away in his mind and the detail with which he can remember them is amazing. Amazing. I feel like I got a semester’s worth of education in 2.5 hours. And what’s fascinating is that I didn’t walk away from it thinking, “I want to be as rich as Warren Buffett.” I walked away from it thinking, “I want to be like him when I’m 78. I want to have stories to share and a life full of amazing experiences. I want to not have regrets.”

Really, I keep reading over my notes in awe, both of how brilliant he is and how lucky I was to be there and have had this experience.

Warren and me. Crazy!!!

Another couple of great quotes…needing no explanation.

Leverage is what gets smart people in trouble.
Work around people that bring out the best in you.
The price of the stock doesn’t tell me if I’m right or wrong. It’s the performance of the company.
There are a few more things I’d like to share, but they deserve their own posts, so I will share them later.

The restaurant where we had lunch. Warren takes everyone here.

My table at lunch. Omaha steaks!

And my favorite picture!

sisters

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I have the most fabulous sisters in the world. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but really, it’s true.

When I lost my passport in the stupid taxi in Berlin (notice, it’s the taxi’s fault…not mine), I was okay until I got on the phone with the taxi company and there was no communication happening. I lost it. I just started crying on the phone. It was awful. I went over to where Tanya and Erika were sitting and Erika just took over.

I am pretty good in a crisis…when it’s not my crisis. I didn’t even know where to begin, other than I knew I needed to cancel my credit cards. So that’s what I did. Meanwhile, Erika was on the phone with the emergency embassy people (or whatever they are called) figuring out how the heck we were going to get me home (eventually)*. In the end…it all worked out, but I don’t know what I would have done had she not been there to keep the stress level down.

Today, it was the other sister that came through for me. I had a not-so-fun conversation last night with a friend of mine. As most of you know, I am a pretty straight-forward person and tend to tell it like it is. Well, last night I got a little taste of my own medicine and guess what…it didn’t taste so great. So, this morning my sister called (for other reasons) and I ended up telling her about this conversation and how not fun it was.

And this is why I LOVE my sisters…rather than tell me that what this guy said wasn’t true or that he should have said that, she said, “Well, he has you figured out, doesn’t he?” This is exactly what my mom would have said, if she were still alive, and this is why I adore my sisters.

I know there are some people who probably wouldn’t love that (and don’t get me wrong, my sisters know when to “just be nice”…because I tell them when I need them to “just be nice”), but I really do. I love knowing that there are these two people in my life who love me unconditionally (thank goodness) and part of loving me unconditionally is being able to see all my flaws and still think I’m fabulous (or something like that). And really, my brothers are pretty great, too.

My sister’s final words of advice to me this morning? “Well it sounds like you’ve got some things to work on.” She did let me dwell on the problem at hand, or make excuses. She was just matter of fact about the situation and then it was time to move on. At which point she went on to tell me how proud I should be of her because she actually told this nurse off at work. (My sisters and I tend to have opposite problems; I say too much…they say too little.) And proud of her I was.

I wish everyone could have my sisters because really…they are fantastic!

*The end of that story is that, by some miracle my cousin managed to convince the airline in Berlin to let me on the plane to Paris and the next day I spent three hours in the consulate getting and emergency passport. I love Paris…and was so happy to be in a country where I spoke the language!

the week from hell

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And this week has been no exception. But I had an interesting conversation Monday evening that got me thinking…and the thinking has continued. This week has been quite the roller coaster, from really bad to really good and back again.

So, the conversation had to do with grass being greener (you know what I’m saying). I didn’t really want to have it because the example being given was totally ridiculous and didn’t apply to my life at all, but…it did make me think. Yes, it’s easy to look at others’ lives and think, “Oh, if only I could be her.” But I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone else’s.

At any given moment this week, in the depths of my personal (and generally hormonal) despair, I was able to call up one of my siblings and get love, support, advice, encouragement, or just an ear to listen. Yes, it sucks to not have a mom sometimes, but I sure did get blessed in the sibling department. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without them.

I know it’s not gratitude month anymore, but I just wanted to get this one down for posterity!

And I’m pretty sure that one of the things I asked for before coming to this earth was my family. I knew how great my siblings would be and I made sure they would be with me.

today was fun

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Today was our first day of career training and I must admit, I was a bit nervous. I don’t love “mock” anything so I was a little concerned.

It started with a presentation by Career Services and then we had breakout sessions. I went to the marketing one for CPGs and it just didn’t feel right. The people didn’t feel right. The jobs didn’t feel right. I love people and what motivates them, but I don’t love using that information to market products to them, I don’t love the idea of getting someone emotionally attached to a name brand when the private label is the exact same product.

And here’s the gospel perspective…OB/HR will allow me to learn skills that I can use throughout my life, whether I work for the rest of it, or only for a few years. It’s something I really am passionate about. And then there are the people. I just fit with them. Being in the marketing meeting felt a bit like trying to fit in with the “cool kids” in high school. Miserable.

Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but I just didn’t fit.

And then today, when we were working on our elevator speeches, I realized that all of my experience and what I want to do is work with people and help facilitate organizations to better work with their people. Yada yada. I’m pretty sure I know what I want to do (or have an idea), just figuring out how to sell that…that will be the hard part.

Oh, and figuring out how to sell myself.

Which brings me back to elevator speeches. So there were five of us and a “sherpa” (second year) at each table. We worked with each other to figure out our interests, strengths, experiences, passions, and then we got to writing the speeches. After we were done, Frances Hume (the facilitator) asked each sherpa to have someone from his or her table ready to share their speech.

Well, normally I don’t really like people to read my stuff in front of me. It’s my whole fear of auditioning. But I decided to just get over it. Mine was the third one he read (his name’s Jason something) and it was the first one he flat out complimented. I was very happy and flattered, and then I blushed…I hate that about myself. And then Nathan Child (who I don’t know if I have a crush on or not, but who is definitely around me a lot) pointed out that I was blushing. I like being good at things, but I don’t like being recognized for it. Yes…it’s weird.

Anyway, Cody’s was really good, as well, but in the end they selected me to read mine. Not every table had someone share (too many tables) and I tried to get out of it, but then I just sat there and went along for the ride. But rather than just waiting to see, my sherpa went ahead and volunteered me.

And guess what? I was nervous, but it was really fun. I tried to deliver it with some kind of personality (those poor finance guys are so dry…especially when reading) and it went really well.
So, the bottom line? I love school and I’m going to love OB/HR stuff. Marketing is still very, very interesting, but it’s not something for me to do, it’s something for me to read about, facilitate, etc.

It’s a good day. And to think, if I hadn’t come to BYU and decided to attend the OB/HR rafting trip, none of this might have happened. I’d be marketing in Nashville. Selling my soul. It would be a sad, sad, sad day.