Brainy Thoughts

“Some men are born with greatness, some men achieve greatness, and some men have greatness thrust upon them.”

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet. His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

“Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat.”

Robert Anson Heinlein (1907 – 1988) American novelist and science fiction writer. Often called “the dean of science fiction writers”, he is one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of “hard science fiction”.

“Courage is the capacity to go from failure to failure with increased enthusiasm!”

Paraphrased Winston Churchill

“The truth is merely a matter of fact whereas honesty is a question of attitude.”

Tim Maher-DeTroyer

“To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first, and call whatever you hit the target.”

Ashleigh Brilliant (Ashley Brilliant)

“You are neither right nor wrong because others agree with you. You are right because your facts are right.”

Warren Buffett (1930 – ) American investor, businessman and philanthropist.

He is regarded as one of the world’s greatest stock market investors, and is the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. With an estimated net worth of around US$62 billion, he was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world as of March 5, 2008.

Buffett is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. His 2006 annual salary is about $100,000, which is on the low side of senior executive remuneration in other comparable companies, and when he spent $9.7 million of Berkshire’s funds on a business jet in 1989, he jokingly named it “The Indefensible” because of his past criticisms of such purchases by other CEOs. He lives in the same house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500, today valued at around $700,000.