Warren Buffett may be known as “the Oracle of Omaha,” but even he has a dim view of prognostication. “Forecasts,” he once said, “may tell you a great deal about the forecaster; they tell you nothing about the future.”

This past weekend, I finally flew to Omaha to attend the annual shareholders’ meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett’s investment firm. With Buffett now 82 and his partner Charlie Munger 89, I decided to stop procrastinating and join 30,000+ of his other admirers in the annual trek to the Midwest.

But it isn’t Buffett’s billions that intrigues me; it’s how he lives despite his billions.

I was not disappointed. Buffett and Munger were both wise and witty as they answered questions for over four hours. Buffett’s remarks reinforced his reputation for being a level-headed investor who values solid long-term business strategies. He believes that success depends on being realistic and focusing on what you do well, rather than on being the loudest, biggest, or most ambitious person at the table.

Of course, Buffett is a “numbers guy”–when you’re making million-dollar deals, you have to be–but he refused to devalue the “people” side of the business equation. When making investment decisions, he prefers to look at how a given company is managed, and whether it’s a business he understands: Geico, not Google; banks over Bitcoin. Bill Gates sits on his board, but Microsoft has never been part of his investment portfolio.

In honor of the inspiring advice, humor, and philosophy I had the privilege of hearing Warren Buffett deliver in person, I thought I’d share some of my other favorite pieces of business wisdom Mr. Buffett has bestowed on the world, and how they apply to our world.

“When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.” The best investments are about long-term success rather than making a quick buck. While I admire the success of serial entrepreneurs, I’m proud to work at Business Wise for 33 years and counting.

“It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.” The quality of a product or service is invariably more important than the price you pay for it; never buy something just because it’s cheap. I believe quality both costs and pays dividends, and I’m thrilled that BWise clients agree.

“It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.” Make a point to surround yourself with capable professionals, and both you and your business will be more successful. I have no illusions about the fact that it’s the BWise Guys and Gals that make me look good.

“I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.” There’s no virtue in doing things just because they’re difficult; you can still find success–and a lot more of it–by solving a lot of easy problems. Sometimes I wish that there weren’t quite so many bars, one-foot or otherwise. At the same time, would “continuous improvement” be one of our six core values without challenges?

“Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.” Doing well in business depends first and foremost on integrity; without it, nothing else matters. Another one of our six core values, integrity tops the list (and yes, we have let people go when it was lacking).

“No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.” Knowing when to be patient is just as important as knowing when to seize the opportunity. I marvel at how companies can hire temporary employees to do key jobs and doubt that company culture can be acquired so quickly.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” You must strive every minute of every day to meet your own high standards for integrity, professionalism, and success.

And if you every find yourself at a loss, just think: What Would Warren Do?