Although I think about myself considerably religious, I’m not usually drawn to pilgrimages. The truth is, the final main pilgrimage I undertook was almost 40 years in the past, at age 5, once I accompanied my grandparents on the Chaar Dhaam Yatra (4 locations of pilgrimage) within the mountains of north India.
I nonetheless have vivid reminiscences of that journey, not due to the spirituality these locations invoke however as a result of the mountains have at all times attracted me. The truth is, it could sound uncommon, however every time I’m within the mountains, I’ve an eerie feeling that I belong there. The air and the water remind me that at some second in time, I lived there.
Anyway, forty years later, I’m beginning on a unique pilgrimage. This time, not within the mountains, however I’ve this sense that the expertise shall be the identical – I’ll really feel that at some second in time, in a earlier beginning, I had been there.
This pilgrimage is 12,000 KM other than my final one. It’s proper within the coronary heart of America, in Omaha, additionally presumably the center of all issues worth investing.
After deferring for a number of years, because of inertia and monetary constraints, I’ve gathered my will and financial savings this time to attend Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders’ assembly, to “see” the person with whom I began and have walked by way of my investing journey of the final 21 years — Warren Buffett.
The occasion, typically dubbed the “Woodstock for Capitalists,” represents much more to me than simply a possibility to glean enterprise, investing and life insights from Warren. It’s my pilgrimage to pay homage to a residing legend on the earth of investing and to honour the reminiscence of his not too long ago departed accomplice and one of many few individuals I actually look as much as in life, Charlie Munger.
Warren, together with his legendary persistence and sage-like knowledge, has served as a distant mentor to me. His ethos and life choices resonate deeply with my values. His strategy to investing — emphasising rationality, persistence, equanimity, empathy, and long-term worth — parallels lots of the religious classes I’ve ingrained in my final forty years since I made the primary pilgrimage with my grandparents.
I noticed Charlie in 2018 once I attended the AGM of Every day Journal, the place he was the Chairman. That second once I obtained the chance to ask him a query continues to be etched in my thoughts. Time stood nonetheless for me, and I solely heard Charlie’s response in a video recorded by a buddy.
I’m certain time will stand nonetheless once I get my first glimpse of Warren on 4th Could 2024. I received’t be seeing Charlie, at the least not bodily, however I hope to visualise his soul seated subsequent to Warren, casually popping in See’s peanut brittle with Coke, and saying each time Warren finishes his assertion, “I’ve nothing so as to add.”
This pilgrimage to Omaha marks a profound second in my life, very like that religious journey I made as a toddler. It symbolizes a full circle of kinds, from the sacred temples of my childhood to the hallowed halls the place enterprise, investing, and ethics have merged underneath the steering of Warren and Charlie.
In Omaha, I additionally anticipate finding some good buddies I’ve met and quite a bit I by no means have, every drawn by respect for Warren’s and Charlie’s legacy. I’m certain this one can be a strong reminder that some journeys, whether or not religious or mental, are greatest undertaken with others who share our values and aspirations.
In his newest 2023 letter to shareholders, Warren described Omaha as a particular place the place all of the three individuals seated on the stage on 4th Could – Warren, Greg Abel, Ajit Jain – and Charlie earlier, have discovered as residence at some factors of their lives. He additionally wrote how Berkshire’s fortunes modified for the higher when the corporate relocated to Omaha from New England in 1970. After which he additionally wrote about his sister Bertie who spent her early early life in Omaha and, many many years later, emerged as one of many nation’s nice buyers.
He then wrote –
So what’s going on? Is it Omaha’s water? Is it Omaha’s air? Is it some unusual planetary phenomenon akin to that which has produced Jamaica’s sprinters, Kenya’s marathon runners, or Russia’s chess consultants? Should we wait till AI sometime yields the reply to this puzzle?
Preserve an open thoughts. Come to Omaha in Could, inhale the air, drink the water and say “hello” to Bertie and her handsome daughters. Who is aware of? There isn’t any draw back, and, in any occasion, you should have a great time and meet an enormous crowd of pleasant individuals.
As I see Warren, inhale Omaha’s air, drink its water, and meet many buddies on this pilgrimage, I’ll preserve you in my coronary heart, too.
And, if you’re additionally making the pilgrimage this time, I stay up for seeing you on the place the place, I’ve a sense, I’ll imagine I’ve already been.
Worth Investing Meetups in Dallas and New York: I’m organising in-person meetups on Worth Investing in –
- Dallas (US): Saturday, twenty seventh April
- New York (US): Saturday, eleventh Could
If you’re in or round these cities and want to attend, kindly register right here. Thanks!
