Ilze Alberts: Don’t shy away from what you’re not familiar with

* This article is brought to you by Ilze Alberts 

We don’t know what we don’t know, both in the areas we are familiar with and obviously in the areas we are not familiar with. It feels safe and comfortable in the fields of your interest and you are confident, self-assured and extroverted when you interact about your favourite topics. But when it comes to the topics you are unfamiliar with and mostly uninterested in, you are uncomfortable, and have unease and you become introverted and often have nothing to say. It is easier and more interesting to learn more about your topics of high importance and priority to you and it takes effort and external motivation to learn about topics you are less interested in. But what if you rob yourself of the valuable opportunity to grow and expand your knowledge and sphere of awareness and you therefore rob yourself from increasing your sphere of influence and your self-growth?

I am writing this on my flight from America to South Africa, where I attended The Genius of Buffett Conference, The Value Investors Conference, Philanthropic Summit and the 2016 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting and AGM. “What does a shrink like you do at events like these?  Why are you here?” I am asked by many of the wealth creators, financial advisors, fund managers and financial services people attending these events. They are there from all the continents and from diverse cultures and languages. Why am I attending all these financial events and opportunities? What am I doing there as a psychologist and human behaviour specialist? I am there because I felt so disempowered and dumb in the world of finances that I made a conscious decision to empower myself and learn the art of finances and wealth creation. And what better place to be than in Omaha the last week of April every year when it is the annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders meeting and AGM and consequently many conferences and summits supporting the mindset and financial philosophy of one of the wealthiest men in the world, Warren Buffett and his best friend and business partner, Charlie Munger? I go where the world’s capitalists gather every year and I surround myself with the top of the top knowledge and awareness about the world of finances. I get to learn about and study the mind and psychology of Warren Buffett (85 years old) and Charlie Munger (92 years old) and I get to listen to them answer questions for 6 hours during the Shareholders meeting, which was attended by 40 000 people this year. I get the exposure to study the minds and human behaviour of some of the world’s most successful people and I dip into the world of self-empowerment and giving to others.

I come back feeling enriched in body, mind and spirit and I have a long list of work on myself I wish to do to learn from these geniuses. I gladly am sharing my 5 top awareness’s I have in my mind after exposing myself to deep knowledge and wisdom:

1. We are all the same, the only difference between individuals are what they dedicate their lives to and what they love to do. Warren Buffett dedicated his life to wealth creation and he loves what he is doing. He lives a thrifty life (his number plate of his car says “Thrifty”) and the purpose of his wealth creation is to give to the Gates Foundation for the betterment of the world.
2. Develop the art of great relationships and choose your partners with great care. Your partners, whether in marriage or business, are reflections of you. You can achieve so much more when you are in inspiring partnerships.
3. Discover the joy of giving. The more you have, the more you can give out. The more you give, the more you get back. It is the compounding interest of receiving and giving. Charlie Munger says: “Do no harm”. He lives his life by this principle.
4. Never ever underestimate yourself. You are your own biggest investment and investing in your mind, your service to humanity, your health, relationships, wealth, vision and mission will expand through the universal principle of compound interest. Every person has unlimited potential and discovering your abilities you never knew you had is hugely empowering.
5. Surround yourself with like-minded and inspiring people. I have formed meaningful friendships with people from all over the world and this is enriching my life so much that thinking about it brings a big smile to my face.

I am looking at my disempowerment and feeling dumb now as a blessing. If I never acknowledged to myself that I am feeling like this, I probably would not have taken the action steps, which initially was overwhelming and I felt out of my depth. Aristotle said “your biggest stressing become your biggest blessings” and I say a big YES to that.

Where are you feeling out of your depth and disempowered? What are you willing to do about it? I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and discover your limitless potential. Just imagine how that will feel and what your life will look like?

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting in 2016.

Susie and Peter Buffett sharing about their foundations during the Philanthropy Summit.

Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger answering questions during the shareholders meeting.

• Ilze Alberts is a pre-eminent wealth psychologist and human behavioural specialist and she is known for her expertise in building powerful families, businesses and leaders. As a recognized leader in human behaviour and in psychology, she has expert skills to work with businesses, families and individuals. She is an accomplished international speaker, author, teacher and human behavioural specialist. She offers her specialized service to families and family businesses as their behavioural strategist – a service for families and businesses seeking to be meaningful and prosperous for multi generations.