Mike Tyson Takes on Soren Kierkegaard. There's a Lesson Here for You.
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There are myriad names you might expect to see in a Wall Street Journal byline. Mike Tyson probably isn't one of them.
But the surprises don't stop there. Of all the things that Iron Mike might write about in The Wall Street Journal, the following would probably not make your top 10 list:
I'm currently reading "The Quotable Kierkegaard," edited by Gordon Marino, a collection of awesome quotes from that great Danish philosopher... I love reading philosophy.
Not that it's just about philosophy for Tyson. It's also about... love letters.
In general, I'm a sucker for collections of letters. You think you've got deep feelings? Read Napoleon's love letters to Josephine. It'll make you think that love is a form of insanity.
And to be fair, Tyson's Twitter followers were probably not shocked to hear about the boxer's proclivity for deep thoughts.
A quote by Napoleon Bonaparte seems appropriate. "Courage isn't having the strength to go on-it is going on when you don't have strength."
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) December 11, 2013
There's a lesson in here. Or, at the very least, a reminder.
Reading is one of the best ways you can use your time. I feel pretty comfortable saying that's true in general. For investors though, it's doubly (at least) true.
A great quote from Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger comes to mind.
In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn't read all the time -- none, zero. You'd be amazed at how much Warren [Buffett] reads -- at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out.
Over at the ever-insightful Farnam Street blog, Shane Parrish came up with what he called "the Buffett formula." Here's how he described it: "Read. A lot." After all, as Parrish further notes, it's exactly what Buffett does:
Warren Buffett says, "I just sit in my office and read all day."
What does that mean? He estimates that he spends 80% of his working day reading and thinking.
An important next question is this: What is reading? Checking the prices of stocks in your portfolio isn't reading. Watching stock charts isn't reading. And while browsing your Twitter feed might technically be reading, I'm pretty darn sure that that's not what Munger and Buffett are referring to.
There are plenty of good books out there to be read. And sure, there are lots of books specific to investment, but books about business may be even more useful -- we are, after all, investing in businesses (this is where Fool co-founder David Gardner turns for much of his reading). There are also SEC filings to be read -- they're not always the most enthralling reading, but it's a great way to get to know the bones of the companies you're interested in.
And while the flood of content available on the Interwebs can be overwhelming to pick through, there is good reading to be found there, too. Recent articles on Fool.com have included a review of a study into Warren Buffett's investing success, a reflection on the overuse of the word "bubble," and a dive into the world's five strongest economies. The aforementioned Farnam Street blog is also a great place to find solid reading material.
While a WSJ column from Mike Tyson admittedly caught me by surprise, I have to give Iron Mike a big thumbs up for a superb reminder.
So go ahead. Go read. Go read a lot.
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The article Mike Tyson Takes on Soren Kierkegaard. There's a Lesson Here for You. originally appeared on Fool.com.
Matt Koppenheffer owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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