Even when you are dealing with friends and relatives, have all the specifics of the deal spelt out beforehand, including your monetary benefits. Your bargaining leverage is always greatest before you begin a job—that’s when you have something to offer that the other party wants.

Think about the worst and best possible scenarios and promptly make the most rational, progressive decision. Assessing risks carefully helps you see where you are struggling and can guide you to make smarter decisions.

Warren Buffett is well-known for being frugal and encouraging others to do so. He’s lived in the same house he bought when he was 28 for a mere $31,500 to date. Being frugal and conservative with your spending helps you avoid waste. And when you avoid waste, you make your money work for you and save enough to invest for the future.

“If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.”

Warren Buffet has never borrowed excessively, even when he was starting out in business. He says, “Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money.” He has always negotiated with creditors to pay what he can, and when he is debt-free, saved his money to invest. Living on handouts, loans and credit cards will not make you rich.

Look broadly for investment opportunities and reinvest like you have a single lifetime “punch card” with only 20 punches—make each one count. Even a small investment can generate great wealth if you are diligent enough to favor substance over form.

“I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because, sooner or later, one will.”

Don’t base your decisions, successes or even happiness on what others say or do. Buffet notes: “You don’t have to swing at everything—you can wait for your pitch. The problem when you’re a money manager is that your fans keep yelling, ‘Swing, you bum!'” Instead of following the crowd, measure yourself by your “Inner Scorecard”—your own standards and not the world’s.

Warren Buffett says, “Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre.” The long and rocky road to success holds many valuable lessons and makes victory that much sweeter. So, be patient and keep pressing on. Don’t obsess over quick results and instant gratification. Remember:

“No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”

To quit is not to give up. Warren Buffet makes mistakes just like any one of us, but he learns from them. He recalls: “I bought a company in the mid-’90s called Dexter Shoe and paid $400 million (Worth over $400 billion in 2021) for it. And it went to zero.” He is, however, quick to add: “Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” Know when to walk away from a loss.

“You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.”