Here's evergreen advice Warren Buffett gave students on ‘seizing big opportunities’ in life and investing

Billionaire investor and money manager  Warren Buffett gave students at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business some evergreen advice on seizing opportunities, using the “20-slot punch card” method.

The ‘Oracle of Omaha’, known for his long-term approach to stocks, sticking to fundamentals, and taking calculated but thoughtful risks, gave the address in 2001. A clip of the speech has recently gone viral on social media.

What did Warren Buffett say about seizing big opportunities?

Explaining that big opportunities are rare and must be grabbed, the Berkshire Hathaway chief, due to step down this year-end, emphasised, “Big opportunities in life have to be seized. We don’t do very many things, but when we get the chance to do something that’s right and big, we’ve got to do it.”

He added that taking up such opportunities in small measures, “is just as big of a mistake almost as not doing it at all”, noting that “you really got to grab them when they come, because you’re not going to get 500 great opportunities”.

Warren Buffett's ‘20-slot punch card’ approach to investing

Giving students a guiding metric to use when making decisions, Warren Buffett said they would be better off thinking of opportunities marked on a punch card with 20 punches on it, where “every financial decision you made, you used up a punch”.

He explained that using this approach, “You’d get very rich, because you’d think through very hard each one.” He added that limited chances to invest mean that one would spend time thinking and weighing the pros and cons, instead of making rash and impulsive decisions.

‘Can’t make money' with impulsive buys, says Buffett

“There’s a temptation to dabble – particularly during bull markets – and in stocks it’s so easy. It’s easier now than ever because you can do it online. You know, you just click it in, and maybe it goes up a point, and you get excited about that, and you buy another one the next day and so on. You can’t make any money over time doing that,” he added.

Buffett believes that treating investment opportunities as only one punch card with only 20 punches during your lifetime would ensure, “you think a long time before every investment decision – and you would make good ones, and you’d make big ones. And you probably wouldn’t even use all 20 punches in your lifetime. But you wouldn’t need to.”

WATCH: Warren Buffett on the ‘20-slot punch card’ approach

Money lessons from Warren Buffett — Key highlights

• Buffett believes in doing your own research by reading all financial statements. He also holds onto stock he buys for the long term and says that you should buy companies that even a fool can run because someday a fool will.
• Buffett also often suggests investing in the stocks of companies which have an “economic moat” around them or companies with a strong competitive advantage and growth prospects in the long run.
• Buffett believes that investing should not be complicated, and one should stick to the fundamental rules while ignoring the noise that comes.
• Buffett is a big proponent of thinking long and hard and asking the right questions before choosing to invest in a stock. And feels that by questioning every investment and stock, you will make better investing choices in the long run.
• Ignoring the noise is imperative, believes Buffett. Instead of blindly following the market, making objective decisions while ignoring the noise is advisable. Investing rationally should be prime, instead of being swayed by either extremes — euphoria or scepticism.