It’s well-known that legendary investor Warren Buffett answers investor questions for hours every yr at Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) annual meeting of shareholders. But most don’t know that such wouldn’t have been possible in Buffett’s early days.
If it weren’t for a $100 college course he took when he was 20 years old, the “Oracle of Omaha” may have shorted his own success.
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What To Know: Buffett had an extreme fear of public speaking up until the age of 20, in keeping with a report from CNBC.
“Just the considered it made me physically sick. I’d literally throw up,” Buffett told CNBC contributor and “Getting There” creator Gillian Zoe Segal.
In his early college days, Buffett would select certain classes to avoid having to present in front of his classmates. Furthermore, he designed his schedule so he wouldn’t needs to be in front of crowds.
He told Segal that he could barely even introduce himself every time he found himself in a situation that required him to speak in front of others.
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Buffett got down to vary that when he saw an ad for a Dale Carnegie public speaking course at Columbia’s Business School. He signed up and even wrote a check to cover the costs, but shortly after, he reneged on his intentions.
“I just couldn’t do it. I was once that terrified,” the Berkshire CEO said.
Not long after Buffett graduated, he came across the exact same ad throughout the paper and got all the way down to sign himself up again, with one key difference in his approach.
“This time, I handed the trainer $100 in money. I knew if I gave him the cash I’d show up,” Buffett said.
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He did show up, and he discovered that about 30 other people had the an identical problem he did, he said: “All of us had trouble saying our own names.”
By the purpose he finished the 12-week course, he was in a position to put his skills to the test. He applied for a teaching position on the University of Omaha immediately, knowing that if he didn’t keep at it, he would risk giving up the progress he had made in most people speaking class.
“I just kept doing it, and now you’ll have the opportunity to’t stop me from talking,” Buffett told Segal with fun.
The report indicates that the Berkshire CEO credits much of his success to most people speaking class, which is quite a few praise for any individual as successful since the Oracle himself.
Consistent with Bloomberg, Buffett is the eighth-richest person on this planet, with an estimated net value of $145 billion on the time of writing. His fund has historically outperformed the S&P 500, delivering nearly 20% compounded annual returns since Buffett took control of Berkshire in 1965.
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Photo: Fortune Live Media from Flickr.
Some elements of this story were previously reported by Benzinga and it has been updated.
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This text Warren Buffett Says He Wouldn’t Be Successful Today If He Didn’t Take This $100 College Class: ‘I Was That Terrified’ originally appeared on Benzinga.com