It wasn’t unexpected that in the recent passing of Jimmy Buffet, many would wonder if he and Warren Buffet were related. Well, to answer that question, they weren’t. They did, however, meet and become good friends.
I took that even farther by wondering what Warren, the quiet and highly disciplined investor, might have in common with Jimmy, the always buoyant and outgoing entertainer.
That led to me imagining what it might have been like for these two highly-successful men to get together in a quiet place, maybe sitting on the porch of a farmhouse atop a high hill from which they could see the sweep of the landscape. I believe it reasonable that in such an environment they would likely find themselves comparing notes about their shared qualities and experiences.
As for respect, they both had shown a great deal of it, Warren respecting the many people who depended upon his investment logic and knowledge, and Jimmy respecting all those out there listening to his music. Maybe those listening and watching could never make every investment pay off or twang a guitar just right, but those two men had great respect for their interest and effort.
Then there was resolve. Warren was often rebuffed because of how insistent he was that his disarmingly simple methods could be used to amass wealth. Jimmy faced a steep climb in identifying what his music was really about, a main course of country highly seasoned with the reality that it’s five o’clock somewhere. On their trips through life, the two men had managed to tough it out and succeed in making it work along the lines of their respective disciplines.
And what about being receptive, welcoming the future with open arms? They both would likely have laughed not at how much they had accomplished, but rather at how much more they had yet to experience and learn. It was a deep understanding that nobody ever gets to the end of either of those two curves.
They always had to be responsible to those who directly depended upon them, the professions they represented, and most important, themselves. They had to take the differences in stride, resist the temptations that so often come with wealth and popularity. In that respect, both had done well in ignoring money’s potential corrosive effects, not to mention the often beguiling calls of drugs and booze.
Then there were those times when they wisely allowed for a relaxed state of mind. No matter how intense it was in the boardroom or on the stage, they had kept their cool, taken the high-spirited times in stride, relished the fact they had let it all sink in to become a part of what they were and how they wanted to be remembered.
At the same time, however, they also had to be resistant to dissenters, doubters, and those driven by jealousy or some other destructive mental twist. They never knew when sharp words or actions might cause them to wonder if they were on the right course. That’s when they had to remember to be true to themselves.
At stake for Warren was his reputation for getting everything right for maximum monetary performance, for avoiding the pitfalls that ruin the best investors. For Jimmy, it was a matter of gauging taste, of being sure that his imaginings of Margaritaville could be converted into real and profitable centers of genuine fun and entertainment.
The results were undeniable. Both men had reason to marvel at how many were out there asking, indeed, yelling: Tell us more, Warren. Play one more for us, Jimmy. And they were doing it not only after every highly successful meeting with Wall Street gurus or every sell out show, but all the time, and with every breath of their truly exceptional lives.
So, there they would be, on a porch in the country, a thinker, strategist, and human money machine, and a showman, entrepreneur, and adventurer, matching in different ways the qualities they shared in common. Brilliantly in tune with what they were and how they saw themselves, each had gone down two entirely different paths to be rewarded by impressive followings of people wanting, maybe even praying to be just like them.
Would you like to be like Warren who continues to be among the wealthiest in the world? Or like Jimmy who will always be remembered as a legendary entertainer and maker of happy people?
That could be and undoubtedly would be the end, except for this revealing fact: That’s neither the question nor the end of the story.
Even if you are never like Warren the investor or Jimmy the entertainer, you can believe as strongly and have the same dreams. Then, just as they exported those qualities to others in boardrooms and on stages, you can do the same in your own life.
The kinship you feel toward Warren or Jimmy is yours to have. That is, no matter how young, old, poor, or wealthy, or how many times challenges put you down or rewards lifted you up, you will always have the greatest asset with which every human being has been endowed — the opportunity to be yourself.
So you might keep that in mind as you join others in laughingly lifting your own glass high and welcoming the New Year.
