What drives the world’s richest man?

Nick Kuzyk, an MBA student at the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, was one of a handful of Western students who traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to meet with the world’s savviest investor – Warren Buffett – on March 31. I just now discovered Nick’s short blog, which chronicles his preparation for the trip, and the meeting itself.

Kuzyk was impressed with Buffett’s plain-spoken modesty and honesty. In his post about the visit, he says he didn't really learn anything specific from the man – even though Kuzyk cannily arranged the seating so he would be right across the table from Buffett throughout lunch. (Buffett had a double-sized root beer float for dessert, and yes, he picked up the tab.)

But as Kuzyk struggled to find the meaning in the meeting, he came up with one beautiful image: “The overall moral that he taught us was that all the riches in the world are nothing if you can't stroll the streets of your hometown as did you when you were a kid.”

A little later, Kuzyk discovered a few more "takeaways" in a post he called “Key Learnings from the Oracle.” Here are five of the lessons he learned from meeting Warren Buffett.

* Brilliance is the ability to funnel a massive amount of information into a simple yes/no decision

* Being an inherent optimist is a key trait to success

* Start playing Bridge

* Happiness is tap dancing to work every day

* Success begets success. And it starts from the inside and flows out

For more of Kuzyk’s Lessons, click here.
To read his post, My time with Warren Buffett, click here.