CURRICULUM VITAE Lucas J. Remmerswaal 13 Habits that made

CURRICULUM VITAE Lucas J. Remmerswaal 13 Habits that made Buffett Billions Lucas’ Passion is to uplift the aspiration, and raise educational achievement for students in New Zealand Mission: 1. Make financial literacy ubiquitous 2. Empower parents and teachers to encourage their children/students to achieve more 3. Inspire students to be the best they can be, active participants in creating a strong civil society productive, valued and competitive in the world New Zealand and New Zealander’s to lead globally Mailing address: 100 Revans Street , Featherston. 5710 New Zealand LinkedIn Home Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucasremmerswaal Facebook Home Page: https://www.facebook.com/lucas.remmerswaal Mobile Phone: +64-‐21 352 375 Skype: lucas.remmerswaal Email: [email protected] Excellent Health: Place of Birth: The Hague Citizenship: The Netherlands Residency: Permanent Resident Visa 10247842 New Zealand Immigration Service EDUCATION 2010-‐2014 Visited Schools (123+) to empower them with tools for Financial Literacy 1993 Dale Carnegie training, Dale Carnegie Course: Effective Communications and Human Relations/Skills for Success, Executive Assistant, Auckland 1993 Dale Carnegie training, Dale Carnegie Course: Effective Communications and Human Relations/Skills for Success, Auckland 1993 Jose Silva, mind control method, Silva 360 a complete solution to Silva mastery in just 4 days. Participated in guided meditations to awaken intuition, melt away stress and reveal hidden truths about our innermost emotions and desires. Experienced The Silva Method’s trademark techniques and exercises, designed for a variety of purposes: problem solving, healing and enhanced creativity. Auckland 1992 Dale Carnegie training, The Leader in you, Leadership Training for Managers 1992 Zig Ziglar training, Auckland 1992 Dale Carnegie training, Interviewing and Presentation Skills, Hamilton 1992 Tom Hopkins sales training 1992 Dale Carnegie training, Effective Time Management 1990 Dale Carnegie training, Dale Carnegie Course: Effective Communications and Human Relations/Skills for Success, Class 1 Rotorua 1982 Dropped out, University of Canterbury 1980-‐1981 Read Philosophy, Economics, and Accounting, University of Canterbury 1976-‐1978 Sacred Heart College, Auckland 1971-‐1975 Edmund Rice College, Rotorua 1970-‐1971 St. Michaels Primary School, Rotorua 1966-‐1970 Primary School Pius X -‐ Oud Wassenaarseweg 13, Wassenaar. The Netherlands 1964-‐1966 Montessori/Steiner Kindergarten, Wassenaar, The Netherlands Professional Service 2008-‐2014 Co-‐founder and Trustee, Success for Students Charitable Trust 2008-‐2010 Board Member, NORTHLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Whangarei Professional Background Current Position 2010-‐2014 Teacher, educator, creative Director, Success for Students Charitable Trust, Whangarei Previous Positions 2007-‐2009 Insurance Broker, Whangarei, New Zealand 2007 Tower Financial Advisory service, Financial Adviser, Whangarei 2003-‐2006 Insurance Broker, Auckland 1994-‐2003 Insurance Broker, Rotorua 1993-‐2006 Guardian Insurance, Adviser Consultant, Rotorua 1993 Prudential Retirement Planning, Consultant, Auckland 1986-‐1993 Managing Director, Remmerswaal (R & S Agencies)Ltd, Rotorua 1983-‐1986 Marketing Manager, Remmerswaal (R & S Agencies)Ltd, Rotorua 1980-‐1983 South Island Sales Representative, R & S Agencies, Christchurch 1980-‐1983 Voluntary Ski Patroller, Mt Hutt, Methven Teaching Experience Feb 2010 Volunteer teacher, Hurapaki School, Kamo,Whangarei March 2010 Volunteer teacher, Mrs Fiona Davies, 4 weeks, Kamo Intermediate School, Whangarei June/July 2010 Observer of teaching, 14 sessions, 4 weeks, Kamo Intermediate School, Whangarei Oct/Nov 2011 Collaborating with Operation HOPE, school book readings in Denver, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, and San Francisco. Biking to Bluff School visits Feb/April 2012 Riding my fathers’ 40 year old Raleigh bike. Started from Cape Reinga on the 12thFeb, arrived in Bluff on the 9thApril 2012. Visited 75 primary and Intermediate Schools. Far North Ahipara School
Awanui School
Ahipara
Awanui
Broadwood Area School
Herekino School
Broadwood
Herekino
Kaikohe East School
Kaikohe
Kaikohe Intermediate
Kaikohe West School
Kaitaia Intermediate
Kaitaia School
Kaikohe
Kaikohe
Kaitaia
Kaitaia
Kawakawa Primary School
Kohukohu School
Kawakawa
Kohukohu
Dec Roll MOE Contact 3 241 1000
Jackie Osborne 2 74 1004
1 133 6
2 53 1013
1 189 1021
1 191 1022
1 380 1023
2 233 1025
1 262 1026
1 309 1033
2 38 1035
Delwynne Stevenson Ra & Danelle Richard Wilkinson Chicky Rudkin Phillip Gordon Hamish Ruawai Susan Arrell Brendon Morrissey Peter Witana Rosie Guest Moerewa School Moerewa 1 213 2103 Keri Milne-‐Ihimaera Ohaeawai School
Ohaeawai
2 160 1058
Lee Whitelaw 7 89 1063
Roger Young 1 66 1071
Fraser Smith 3 113 1078
John Windleborn 6 104 1096
William Fuller Opua School
Opua
Oturu School
Kaitaia
Paparore School
Russell School
Awanui
Russell
Hikurangi School Hikurangi 1 177 1014 Bruce Crawford Hukerenui School Years 1-‐8 Hukerenui 5 141 1017 Patsy Bray Whangarei Dec Roll MOE Contact Hurupaki School Kamo 8 311 1018 Margaret Cameron Kamo Intermediate Kamo 5 606 1029 John Smith Kamo Primary School Kamo 5 365 1030 Ken Ward Maungaturoto School Maungaturoto 6 214 1049 Shane Campbell Ruakaka School Ruakaka 4 129 1094 Marilyn Dunn St Francis Xavier School Whau Valley 6 473 1588 Glenys Jakicevich Waipu School Waipu 7 207 1125 Paul Ramsay Whangarei Intermediate Whangarei 4 643 1129 Carleen Still Whangarei School Whangarei 4 544 1130 Rob Soar Rotorua Dec Roll MOE Contact Aorangi School Western Heights 2 145 1683 Debra Harrod Chapman College Rotorua 38 approx Graham Preston Malfroy School Rotorua 3 348 1796 Colin Watkins Rotorua Girls’ High School Rotorua 4 940 153 Di Donnelly Sunset Primary School Sunset 1 158 1970 Niels Rasmussen Western Heights School Western Heights 2 365 2078 Brent Griffin North Shore Dec Roll MOE Contact Matakana School Matakana 9 313 1364 Darrel Goosen Warkworth Primary School Warkworth 8 537 1561 Cynthia Holden Wellsford School Wellsford 4 312 1126 Dave Bradley Murrays Bay Intermediate Murrays Bay 10 975 1386 Paul Evitt Murrays Bay School Murrays Bay 10 582 1387 Ken Pemberton Orewa College Orewa 9 1875 25 Edward Meredith Orewa North Primary School Orewa 8 290 1406 Bruce Laws Orewa Primary School Orewa 8 224 1407 Diane Lambert Waikato Dec Roll MOE Contact Kimihia School Huntly 2 315 1777 Sheryll Matangi School Matangi 10 52 1814 Peter Aim Puketaha School Puketaha 8 265 1907 Bob Moffitt Cambridge East School Cambridge 9 355 1700 John Bullick Cambridge School Cambridge 8 250 1702 Mike Pettit Karapiro School Karapiro 9 58 1764 David Graham Havelock North Dec Roll MOE Contact Havelock North Intermediate Havelock North 8 624 2572 Graham Ellis Havelock North Primary School Havelock North 10 444 2573 Paul Bremer Te Mata School Havelock North 10 522 2697 Michael Bain Featherston Dec Roll MOE Contact South Featherston School Featherston 5 63 2993 Margie Sutherland Featherston School Featherston 3 76 2840 Phil Robertson Marlborough Dec Roll MOE Contact Koromiko School Koromiko 4 21 2884 Karen O’Donnell Picton School Picton 3 106 2956 Alister McCosh St Mary’s School Blenheim 8 269 3012 Tua Marina School Tuamarina 7 102 3050 Cheryl Wadworth Kaikoura Dec Roll MOE Contact Hapuku School Hapuku 4 25 3369 Diane St Claire Kaikoura Primary School Kaikoura 5 91 3391 Bruce Pagan Cheviot Area School Cheviot 7 162 309 Jen Rodgers Christchurch Dec Roll MOE Contact Casebrook Intermediate Casebrook 5 386 3309 Anne Clark Riccarton School Sockburn 2 164 3485 Paul Irving Otago Dec Roll MOE Contact Hampden School Hampden 5 41 3746 John Laing Kakanui School Kakanui 4 24 3755 David Atkinson Palmerston School Palmerston 6 122 3797 Gareth Taylor Carisbrook School Caversham 2 357 648 Ben Sincock Dunedin North Intermediate Dunedin North 6 203 3731 Deirdre Hutton Fairfield School Fairfield 10 376 3736 Matt Leach Karitane School Karitane 8 24 3756 Nicola North East Valley Normal School North East Valley 6 123 3783 Cheryl Stanes Waitati School Waitati 9 38 3857 Heidi Warrington School Warrington 9 53 3862 Nathan Southland Dec Roll MOE Contact Milton School Milton 4 125 3772 Tania McNamara The Catlins Area School Owaka 6 178 394 Alex MacCreadie Tokomairiro High School Milton 5 290 392 Wayne Edgar Waihola District School Waihola 6 28 3850 Sara Whitaker July 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, Cannons Creek School, Porirua, sponsored by PPSEAWA September 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, Hinsao School Loei Kingdom of Thailand 2 October 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, Ireland, October 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, Vadi Koleji school, Ankara, Turkey 28 October 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, in collaboration with Duffy Books in Homes, USA, Bellamy Elementary, Rome, Upstate New York 28 October 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, in collaboration with Duffy Books in Homes, USA, Mount Markham Elementary West Winfield, Upstate New York November 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, in collaboration with Operation HOPE, Washington, D.C. USA November 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, in collaboration with Read to them, Lisa Guenther, Christ Lutheran School Norfolk Nebraska, USA November 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, in Omaha Public Schools Spring Lake Magnet Center, Nebraska, USA November 2013 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, in collaboration with Operation HOPE, John Yehall Chin Elementary, Chinatown, San Francisco, USA February 2014 Volunteer teacher, reading the Tale of Tortoise Buffett, Alexandra Primary School, Central Otago, NZ April 2014 Visiting Secondary School principals, in association with Sir Eion Edgar, Queenstown Philanthropist, Wakatipu High School Queenstown, Dunstan College Alexandra, and Cromwell College, to commence in collaboration trailing and testing of new resources for secondary schools in the Central Lakes district Books Published 1. Remmerswaal, L. J., Illustrations by Lodge, A. (2010). The Tale of Tortoise Buffett and Trader Hare, i Tunes store for i Pad, August 29, 2010. 2. Remmerswaal, L. J., Illustrations by Lodge, A. (2011). The A-‐Z of 13 Habits, Amazon, October 7, 2011. 3. Remmerswaal, L. J., Illustrations by Lodge, A. (2012). 13 Habits -‐ Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, pdf. FREE download on 13habits.org website, 2012. 4. Remmerswaal, L. J., Illustrations by Lodge, A. (2012). The Tale of Tortoise Buffett, Junior Primary Action + work book November, 2012 5. Remmerswaal, L. J., Illustrations by Lodge, A. (2013). 13 Habits are the enlightened lamp, Success for Students Charitable Trust, August 13, 2013 6. Remmerswaal, L. J., Illustrations by Lodge, A. (2013). Why Debt is Dumb-‐The story of Long-‐Term Capital, Success for Students Charitable Trust, August 13, 2013 7. Remmerswaal, L. J., Illustrations by Aadarsh Pvt Ltd., (2014). Purple Turtle, How to become a Billionaire, Aadarsh Pvt Ltd., Bhopal, India, January 23, 2014 Appendix – A Research undertaken publications bibliography Title, Author 1.
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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman’s letters, 1969-‐2009, Warren Buffett BUFFETT. The Making of an American Capitalist, Roger Lowenstein BUFFETTOLOGY, Mary Buffett and David Clark Common Stocks and Uncommon Profi ts, Philip A.Fisher DAMN RIGHT! Behind the scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger, Janet Lowe First Things First, Stephen R. Covey How to Stop worrying and start living, Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Jeff Matthews Poor Charlie’s Almanack ― Expanded Third Edition ― The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger Sam Walton Made in America. My story, Sam Walton with John Huey Security Analysis. The Classic 1934 Edition, Graham & Dodd Security Analysis. Sixth Edition, Graham & Dodd The 7 habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management, Hyrum W. Smith The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin The Common Denominator of Success, Albert E. N. Gray The Four Filters of Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, Bud Labitan The Gospel of Wealth, Andrew Carnegie Edited by Edward C. Kirkland The Intelligent Investor. Revised Edition, Benjamin Graham The Millionaire next door, Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. William D. Danko, Ph.D. The Oracle & Omaha: How Warren Buffett and his hometown shaped each other, Steve Jordon The quick and easy way to Effective Speaking, Dale Carnegie The Richest Man in Babylon, George S. Clason The Snowball. Warren Buffett and the Business of life, Alice Schroeder The Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey The Tao of Warren Buffett, Mary Buffett & David Clark Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill Warren Buffett Speaks, Janet Lowe Appendix – B What inspired the 13 Habits that made Buffett Billions? Bibliography notes quotes and references: Education -‐ “In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honour and the highest responsibility anyone could have.” ― Lee Iacocca Integrity – “Keep your own internal score card. Be honest with yourself and others. Judge every intended action by this test; how would you feel if you were caught in the act by paparazzi and the story appeared on the front page of your local newspaper” -‐ Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway Chairman’s Letter – 1989, pages 20-‐22 Mistakes of the first Twenty five Years) “Our span of life is brief, but is long enough for us to live well and honestly.” — Cicero. “One should recognize reality even when one doesn’t like it.” – Charlie Munger “Both regarded rationality and honesty as the highest virtues” (The Snowball Chapter 3, Creatures of habit, page. 24) “Fortunately Charlie and I have both total job security and financial interests that are identical with those of our shareholders. We are willing to look foolish as long as we don’t feel we have acted foolishly”. -‐ Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway Chairman’s Letter – 1989, page 12) Intelligence – “Read everything you can” -‐ Warren Buffett (Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha. Chapter 9 Budding Buffett’s, where to begin, page.76) with ferocious curiosity. Be a multi-‐disciplinary learning machine. “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” — Cicero “Well, the first rule is that you can’t really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang ‘em back. If the facts don’t hang together on a latticework of theory, you don’t have them in a usable form. You’ve got to have models in your head. And you’ve got to array your experience -‐ both vicarious and direct -‐ on this latticework of models. You may have noticed students who just try to remember and pound back what is remembered. Well, they fail in school and in life. You’ve got to hang experience on a latticework of models in your head. What are the models? Well, the first rule is that you’ve got to have multiple models -‐ because if you just have one or two that you’re using, the nature of human psychology is such that you’ll torture reality so that it fits your models, or at least you’ll think it does. You become the equivalent of a chiropractor who, of course, is the great boob in medicine. It’s like the old saying, “To the man with only a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” And of course, that’s the way the chiropractor goes about practicing medicine. But that’s a perfectly disastrous way to think and a perfectly disastrous way to operate in the world. So you’ve got to have multiple models. And the models have to come from multiple disciplines -‐ because all the wisdom of the world is not to be found in one little academic department. That’s why poetry professors, by and large, are so unwise in a worldly sense. They don’t have enough models in their heads. So you’ve got to have models across a fair array of disciplines. You may say, “My God, this is already getting way too tough.” But, fortunately, it isn’t that tough -‐ because 80 or 90 important models will carry about 90% of the freight in making you a worldly -‐ wise person. And, of those, only a mere handful really carry very heavy freight”. -‐ Charlie Munger “This is a classic example of why, to be a successful investor, one must draw from many disciplines. Imagine an economist standing up at a meeting of economists and giving my explanation. It wouldn’t be politically correct! But the tools of economics don’t explain what’s going on.” – Charlie Munger. “You’ve got a complex system and it spews out a lot of wonderful numbers that enable you to measure some factors. But there are other factors that are terribly important, [yet] there’s no precise numbering you can put to these factors. You know they’re important, but you don’t have the numbers. Well practically everybody (1) overweighs the stuff that can be numbered, because it yields to the statistical techniques they’re taught in academia, and (2) doesn’t mix in the hard-‐to-‐measure stuff that may be more important.” -‐ Charlie Munger “Warren is one of the best learning machines on this earth. The turtles who outrun the hares are learning machines. If you stop learning in this world, the world rushes right by you. Warren was lucky that he could still learn effectively and build his skills, even after he reached retirement age. Warren’s investing skills have markedly increased since he turned 65. Having watched the whole process with Warren, I can report that if he had stopped with what he knew at earlier points, the record would be a pale shadow of what it is.” – Charlie Munger (at the Wesco 2007 Annual Meeting). “It’s hard to believe that he’s getting better with each passing year. It won’t go on forever, but Warren is actually improving. It’s remarkable: Most almost-‐72-‐year-‐old men are not improving, but Warren is.” -‐ Charlie Munger (at the Wesco 2003 Annual Meeting). He advocated a “multidisciplinary model approach” (The Snowball Chapter 59, Winter, page.771.) Assiduity – It means sit on your ass until you do it! Commit yourself to your work and study with a passion, be enthusiastic, have fun, enjoy the process more than the proceeds. “Charlie and I have never been in a big hurry: We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds -‐ though we have learned to live with those also.” -‐ Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway Chairman’s Letter – 1989, page 22, Mistakes of the first Twenty-‐five Years) “Look at this generation, with all of its electronic devices and multi-‐tasking. I will confidently predict less success than Warren, who just focused on reading. If you want wisdom, you’ll get it sitting on your ass. That’s the way it comes.” -‐ Charlie Munger “We [Warren and I] have certain things in common. We both hate to have too many forward commitments in our schedules. We both insist on a lot of time being available almost every day to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. We read and think. So Warren and I do more reading and thinking and less doing than most people in business”. -‐ Charlie Munger Frugality -‐ Save at least 10% of everything you earn. Avoid borrowed money. Invest on a small scale; don’t just read! “We cherish cost-‐consciousness at Berkshire. Our model is the widow who went to the local newspaper to place an obituary notice. Told there was a 25-‐cents-‐a-‐word charge, she requested “Fred Brown died.” She was then informed there was a seven-‐word minimum. “Okay” the bereaved woman replied, “make it ‘Fred Brown died, golf clubs for sale’.” -‐ Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway Chairman’s Letter – 2002 page 12). “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get”. -‐ Warren Buffett (Letter to partners, January 20, 1966) “Another time, when they landed at La Guardia, Graham was in a hurry to make a telephone call and asked if he had a dime. Buffet fished a quarter out of his pocket. Not wanting to waste the fifteen cents, he started outside to change it, like any other multimillionaire from Nebraska. Graham hollered, “Warren, give me the quarter!” (Buffett, The Making of an American Capitalist. Chapter 10., Washington Redux, page.188.) Accounting – Make sure you understand the language of practical business life. Double entry bookkeeping was a hell of a good invention. “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” -‐ Warren Buffett. “Charlie and I avoid businesses whose futures we can’t evaluate, no matter how exciting their products may be. In the past, it required no brilliance for people to foresee the fabulous growth that awaited such industries as autos (in 1910), aircraft (in 1930), and television sets (in 1950). But the future then also included competitive dynamics that would decimate almost all of the companies entering those industries. Even the survivors tended to come away bleeding. Just because Charlie and I can clearly see dramatic growth ahead for an industry does not mean we can judge what its profit margins and returns on capital will be as a host of competitors battle for supremacy. At Berkshire we will stick with businesses whose profit picture for decades to come seems reasonably predictable. Even then, we will make plenty of mistakes”.-‐ Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway Chairman’s Letter -‐ 2009). “What you’d really want in a course is how to value a business, because if you don’t know how to value a business, you don’t know how to value a stock. But very few professors know how to value a business, so they teach that nobody knows anything. The teaching of investing is pretty pathetic.” -‐Warren Buffett. “Anyone with an engineering frame of mind will look at [accounting standards] and want to throw up.” – Charlie Munger Read – “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” -‐ Charlie “Tremendous” Jones (Books are tremendous. Life-‐Changing Classics, Volume VIII). “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?” — Cicero. “Read at every wait; read at all hours; read within leisure; read in times of labor; read as one goes in; read as one goest out. The task of the educated mind is simply put: read to lead.” — Cicero. “For books are more than books, they are the life, the very heart and core of ages past, the reason why men worked and died, the essence and quintessence of their lives.’” -‐ Cicero. “I am lucky to have picked up a book at 19, The Intelligent Investor, that gave structure to investing and investment decisions. Over time, I learned different ways to apply it. I have learned what it is outside my circle of competence. I bought See’s in 1972 and I think understanding the value of brand helped drive the decision to buy Coca-‐Cola in 1988.” -‐Warren Buffett. ”It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behaviour is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction”. -‐Warren Buffett. Gratitude -‐ Work with people you like, trust and admire. Make sure you appreciate everything they do and you’ll tap dance to work every morning! “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” — Cicero. “It is true that Warren had a touch of brain block from working under Ben Graham and making a ton of money – it’s hard to switch from something that’s worked so well. But if Charlie Munger had never lived, the Buffett record would still be pretty much what it is.” -‐ Charlie Munger (at the Wesco 2004 Annual Meeting) ”Making money isn’t the backbone of our guiding purpose; making money is the by-‐product of our guiding purpose. If you’re doing something you love, you’re more likely to put your all into it, and that generally equates to making money.” -‐ Warren Buffett Standing on the shoulders of giants -‐ A dwarf can see more not due to perfect vision or physical size, but because the dwarf is raised up high. “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” The best known use of this phrase was by Isaac Newton in a letter to his rival Robert Hooke, in 1676. To stand on the shoulders of Giants means using the understanding gained by major thinkers who have gone before in order to make intellectual progress. “We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours.” -‐ John of Salisbury Think -‐ For yourself. Don’t just follow the herd! Take care of the down side and the up side will take care of itself. “Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us 3 laws of motion, which were the work of genius. But Sir Isaac’s talents didn’t extend to investing: He lost a bundle in the South Sea Bubble, explaining later, ‘I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.’ If he had not been traumatized by this loss, Sir Isaac might well have gone on to discover the 4th Law of Motion: For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases.” -‐Warren Buffett “Our game is to recognize a big idea when it comes along, when one doesn’t come along very often. Opportunity comes to the prepared mind.” – Charlie Munger “A public-‐opinion poll is no substitute for thought.” -‐Warren Buffett ”You do things when the opportunities come along. I’ve had periods in my life when I’ve had a bundle of ideas come along, and I’ve had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I’ll do something. If not, I won’t do a damn thing.” -‐ Warren Buffett. Focus – Concentrate; “Put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket,” – Andrew Carnegie (The Gospel of Wealth) Stay within your circle of competence. Apply a margin of Safety. “Experience tends to confirm a long-‐held notion that being prepared, on a few occasions in a lifetime, to act promptly in scale, in doing some simple and logical thing, will often dramatically improve the financial results of that lifetime. A few major opportunities, clearly recognizable as such, will usually come to one who continuously searches and waits, with a curious mind that loves diagnosis involving multiple variables. And then all that is required is a willingness to bet heavily when the odds are extremely favorable, using resources available as a result of prudence and patience in the past.” -‐ Charlie Munger “We don’t really worry that much about Fed policy, and actually we don’t really worry that much about a recession -‐ I hope I live to see a couple recessions.” – Warren Buffett (in late 2007) “Not if they were doing it Munger style. The Berkshire-‐style investors tend to be less diversified than other people. The academics have done a terrible disservice to intelligent investors by glorifying the idea of diversification. Because I just think the whole concept is literally almost insane.” -‐ Charlie Munger. (The Snowball Chapter 3, Creatures of habit, see Circle of Competence page. 25) ”Then at dinner, Bill Gates Sr. posed the question to the table: What factor did people feel was the most important in getting to where they’d gotten in life? And I said, “focus”. And Bill said the same thing.” -‐ Warren Buffett (The Snowball Chapter 50, The Lottery, page. 623) Compound Interest -‐ Let the most powerful force in the universe work for you. Understand the difference between 5% and 15%, and the effect of inflation. “If you took our top fifteen decisions out, we’d have a pretty average record. It wasn’t hyperactivity, but a hell of a lot of patience. You stuck to your principles and when opportunities came along, you pounced on them with vigor”. -‐ Charlie Munger “The central problem in the stock market is that the return on capital hasn´t risen with inflation. It seems to be stuck at 12 percent. It is no longer a secret that stocks, like bonds, do poorly in an inflationary environment. We have been in such an environment for most of the past decade, and it has indeed been a time of troubles for stocks. But the reasons for the stock market’s problems in this period are still imperfectly understood. There is no mystery at all about the problems of bondholders in an era of inflation. When the value of the dollar deteriorates month after month, a security with income and principal payments denominated in those dollars isn’t going to be a big winner. You hardly need a Ph.D. in economics to figure that one out. It was long assumed that stocks were something else. For many years, the conventional wisdom insisted that stocks were a hedge against inflation. The proposition was rooted in the fact that stocks are not claims against dollars, as bonds are, but represent ownership of companies with productive facilities. These, investors believed, would retain their Value in real terms, let the politicians print money as they might. And why didn’t it turn but that way? The main reason, I believe, is that stocks, in economic substance, are really very similar to bonds. I know that this belief will seem eccentric to many investors. They will immediately observe that the return on a bond (the coupon) is fixed, while the return on an equity investment (the company’s earnings) can vary substantially from one year to another. True enough. But anyone who examines the aggregate returns that have been earned by companies during the postwar years will discover something extraordinary: the returns on equity have in fact not varied much at all. The arithmetic makes it plain that inflation is a far more devastating tax than anything that has been enacted by our legislatures. The inflation tax has a fantastic ability to simply consume capital. It makes no difference to a widow with her savings in a 5 percent passbook account whether she pays 100 percent income tax on her interest income during a period of zero inflation, or pays no income taxes during years of 5 percent inflation. Either way, she is “taxed” in a manner that leaves her no real income whatsoever. Any money she spends comes right out of capital. She would find outrageous a 120 percent income tax, but doesn’t seem to notice that 6 percent inflation is the economic equivalent.” -‐ Warren Buffett, (How Inflation Swindles the Equity Investor, FORTUNE May 5, 1977, p. 250.) Inversion -‐ The mental habit of thinking backward forces objectivity. It’s a trick that works in algebra and it’s a trick that works in life. If you don’t, you’ll never be a really good thinker. “It is remarkable how much long-‐term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent”. -‐ Charlie Munger ”When you combine ignorance and leverage, you get some pretty interesting results.” -‐ Warren Buffett “We all are learning, modifying, or destroying ideas all the time. Rapid destruction of your ideas when the time is right is one of the most valuable qualities you can acquire. You must force yourself to consider arguments on the other side”. -‐ Charlie Munger “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful”. -‐ Warren Buffett ”The most extreme mistakes in Berkshire’s history have been mistakes of omission. We saw it, but didn’t act on it. They’re huge mistakes -‐-‐ we’ve lost billions. And we keep doing it. We’re getting better at it...we never get over it.” -‐ Charlie Munger (at the 2001 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting). “There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.” -‐ Warren Buffett “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” -‐Warren Buffett Intuition -‐ Listen to tiny hunches, feelings, or fleeting thoughts. They are like clouds in the sky but when you write them down in a notebook and act on them. They will become your most powerful habit. Although Buffett does not speak about intuition his best friends do “Often you have to rely on intuition.” -‐ Bill Gates “Follow your instincts. That’s where true wisdom manifests itself.”-‐ Oprah Winfrey “No matter how deep a study you make. What you really have to rely on is your own intuition and when it comes down to it, you really don’t know what’s going to happen until you do it.” – Konosuke Matsushita “You must train your intuition -‐-‐ you must trust the small voice inside you which tells you exactly what to say, what to decide.” – Ingrid Bergman “Intuition is a combination of historical (empirical) data, deep and heightened observation and an ability to cut through the thickness of surface reality. Intuition is like a slow motion machine that captures data instantaneously and hits you like a ton of bricks. Intuition is a knowing, a sensing that is beyond the conscious understanding — a gut feeling. Intuition is not pseudo-‐science.” (Research from Wikipedia, encyclopedia) Appendix – C YouTube 13 Habits that made Buffett Billions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_M7O54SpW0 USA Television Media Interviews 1. The Tale of Tortoise Buffett & Lucas Remmerswaal interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17aSNNoiZD8 2. Lucas Remmerswaal interviewed by Sacramento & Co https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3WvkygssxI 3. Lucas Remmerswaal + The tale of Tortoise Buffett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL69gY9M-‐YY New Zealand Television Media Interviews 4. The tale of Tortoise Buffett and Trader Hare App on Television https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2bODeIFPxE 5. 2012-‐09-‐20 -‐ CLOSE UP -‐ TEACHING CHILDREN MONEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD77x4U1cns 6. 13 Habits that made me Billions -‐ The Vision https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuZAW9vuG2g 7. Doris Buffett Review -‐ 13 Habits that made me Billions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oijApByqqgM 8. 13 Habits that made me Billions -‐ The tale Tortoise Buffett and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMBfNNSU890 9. 13 habits that made me Billions review by Brian Gaynor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb6AWsDAVA4 10. Fidelity Life get behind Lucas Remmerswaal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlywdWQcGe4 11. 13 habits that made me billions -‐ the tale of Tortoise Buffett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD77x4U1cns 12. Bernie Madoff 13 habits that made me Billions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuXIdpOXJhE 13. 13 habits talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrqqebukFMs 2012 Biking Tortoise Buffett from Cape Reinga to Bluff -‐ New Zealand school visits on YouTube 14. 13 Habits Biking Buffett to Bluff what inspired Lucas Remmerswaal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Svhrds1t8 15. 13 Habits Biking Buffett to Bluff day 1 getting the bike ready https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnnIg2lKs0E 16. 13 Habits Biking Buffett to Bluff day 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V10HG3gAYJQ 17. 13 Habits day 3 biking down 90 Mile Beach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooLvAxz4zQE 18. 13 Habits day 4 Paparore School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ottWMRRWKLg 19. 13 habits day 6 Herekino School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMsCZJmRCuI 20. 13 Habits day 7 Broadwood Area School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW8LPHhpwr0 21. 13 Habits day 7 Kohu Kohu School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwkFXTcLy84 22. 13 Habits day 7 Kohu Kohu Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Way-‐xRKWLG4 23. 13 Habits day 10 Kaikohe Primary Schools https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eYoQS93EFU 24. 13 Habits day 11 Part 1 Ohaeawai School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkmT-‐kk7rBs 25. 13 Habits Day 11 Part 2 Pakaraka School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8moErGgFbSc 26. 13 Habits day 11 part 3 Moerewa School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZJnd_lIBFY 27. 13 Habits day 12 Opua School 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA-‐2xCoUmac 28. 13 Habits day 12 Maddie + Rebecca Opua School tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQWpjjJ-‐xjQ 29. 13 Habits day 12 Russell School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gp1xQ9R8gg 30. 13 Habits day 14 Whangarei https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HJ6sp3ZdsI 31. 13 Habits Northland Principals + Teachers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YCzJBeRgq4 32. 13 Habits Teachers + Principals 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBlSxqoiYkY 33. 13 Habits day 16 Whangarei to Orewa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOPxPBdb7M4 34. 13 Habits day 19 Orewa School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VIkYNZa5WE 35. 13 Habits day 21 Fidelity Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5dvgzerkdI 36. 13 Habits day 22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P57TcRmpvm4 37. 13 Habits day 24 Malfroy School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5yG1qwke84 38. 13 habits Day 25 Rotorua Intermediate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axILfyYN8uE 39. 13 Habits day 29 Rotorua-‐Taupo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2t8kYnv1Kc 40. 13 Habits day 33 Te Mata School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjuUbpMd3wk 41. 13 Habits Day 34 Havelock North Intermediate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FknxK3VX-‐K4 42. 13 Habits day 38 Featherston https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlgugJXPqBg 43. 13 habits Day 44 No drill Kaikoura https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3JZxa6-‐rzk 44. 13 Habits day 45 Kaikoura Primary School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjcSIkfdRnE 45. 13 Habits day 47 Casebrook Intermediate School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s8QyRV_M24 46. The Tale of Tortoise Buffett at Casebrook Intermediate Room 14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYYiZYSnQy8 47. 13 Habits KIS assembly 26 Feb 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gpxK-‐dfR_s 48. Cannons Creek School Sponsored by PPSEAWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6By-‐y2OtC-‐A 49. Cannons Creek School Part 2 Sponsored by PPSEA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5TfuVfWBJM 50. Cannons Creek School Part 3 Sponsored by PPSEA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMREctyuKE4 51. Chapman College Money week 3 Sept 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uptnB2DuG88 2013 School visits Thailand & Turkey 52. Hinsao School Loei Thailand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoyj1AEqIfo 53. Vadi Koleji Ankara Turkey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64aTiu70GAE 2012-‐2013 USA school visits on YouTube 54. Printing the Tale of Tortoise Buffett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2HQVxPe7u0 55. 13 Habits McKenzie White, Rosehill Elementary School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFDzbji0erk 56. Mary Lynn Reiser The tale of Tortoise Buffett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWK3E-‐qNXNE 57. 13 Habits that made me Billions -‐ The tale of Tortoise Buffett Stafford https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YStRvZV5Lpc 58. 13 Habits Burning Tree Elementary School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CshBN87lqRU 59. Bellamy Elementary Rome NY First session 28 October 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfwAnADrsYU 60. Bellamy Elementary Rome NY 28 October 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8spjRkCOyQ 61. Mount Markham Elementary West Winfield NY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETWIR6LAu-‐Q 62. Christ Lutheran School Norfolk Nebraska https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOZc_WnHSnk 63. Omaha Public Schools Spring Lake Magnet Center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCHRYya9wWA 64. John Yehall Chin Elementary Chinatown San Francisco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmmiOM9LNCc Appendix – D Success for Students Charitable Trust Date of Incorporation: 1st of September 2008 Cert of Incorporation: 2168944 Charities Commission No: CC39027 Physical Address: 57 Clyde Street, Whangarei, 0140 Postal Address: P O Box 627, Whangarei, 0140 ASB Bank Kamo, Whangarei: 12 3093 0273924 00 Website: http://13habits.org/free-‐books/ YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_M7O54SpW0 Trustee Steve Bennett Home address: 19 Going Road, Matarau. Kamo New Zealand Mobile Phone: +64-‐27 450 8977 Email: [email protected] Website: http://bennettca.co.nz/ Steve Bennett, Accountant. Director at Bennett & Associates, Chartered Accountants, Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand. Current Role : Director of Bennett & Associates. Chartered Accountants with a specific focus on the Northland region. ( 2012 -‐ present ) Previous Role : Director of Steve Bennett Associates , rebranded in 2012. In this role for 10 years. The firm is a small (10 person) firm situated in the Whangarei CBD. We service Northland's business community via Business Services, Assurance , Recovery and Government consulting. We have an excellent record of team retention and 50% of our total team are NZICA members. Prior roles include Director/ Partner Sumpter Baughen -‐ 7 years 1995 -‐ 2012. Senior Manager PWC -‐ 5 years. 1988 -‐ 1995 ( both NZ and Pacific Islands ) Education, NorthTec, Associate's Degree, Accounting and Business/Management Trustee Lucas Remmerswaal Mailing address: 100 Revans Street , Featherston. 5710 New Zealand Mobile Phone: +64-‐21 352 375 Skype: lucas.remmerswaal Email: [email protected] LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucasremmerswaal Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lucas.remmerswaal Chris Pool Office address: 113 Bank St, Whangarei, 0140 New Zealand Secretary Mobile Phone: +64 27 453 7831 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.shp.co.nz/our_directors Chris Pool CA, of Syers Hamilton Pool Ltd. Chartered Accountants, Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand. a Whangarei, New Zealand, based Chartered Accountancy practice offering a full range of accountancy and business advisory services. Our practice has been serving Northland for over 50 years. Chris has a vast range of clients representing a cross section of Northland business' including such industries as farming, transport, construction, hospitality, tourism, beekeeping and professional services. Chris has a number of governance roles and has been a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants Council since 2009. Chris has a keen interest in restoring and riding British and American motorcycles and enjoys following all forms of motor sport. Chris has five children and can be found most weekends either at the beach or on the sideline supporting their sports. Appendix – E Success for Students Charitable Trust Mentors & Supporters’ group The habit of seeking support, mentoring and advice commenced in 2010 with Gwendolyn Needham, Nevil Gibson, John Smith and Prof. John Hattie, and Alan Martin. The mentors are respected leaders in education, business and our community. They act as advocates and representatives of stakeholders in the Trust’s operations, by mentoring, assisting and supporting the co-‐founder, trustees and CEO. John Hattie – Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. Professor Hattie's work is internationally acclaimed. His influential 2008 book Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 Meta-‐Analyses Relating to Achievement is believed to be the world’s largest evidence-‐based study into the factors which improve student learning. Involving more than 80 million students from around the world and bringing together 50,000 smaller studies, the study found positive teacher-‐student interaction is the most important factor in effective teaching. •
Measurement models and their applications to educational problems (Including item response models, structural equation modelling, measurement theory and meta-‐analysis) •
Performance indicators and evaluation, self-‐concept, models of teaching and learning and educational psychology •
Psychometrics and measurement •
Models of teaching and learning •
Research design and evaluation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hattie http://www.education.auckland.ac.nz/webdav/site/education/shared/hattie/docs/cv-‐john-‐hattie.pdf Ian Braddock – Chairman Fidelity Life, Auckland, Professional Director Director, Braddock & Associates Ltd. April 2011 – Present Specialising in Governance and Financial Management. Sir Eion Edgar KNZM – Chairman Forsyth Barr, Queenstown philanthropist During his forty years of extensive corporate experience, Sir Eion has made an indelible contribution to the financial services industry through his former roles as Chairman of the New Zealand Stock Exchange, Director of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Commission and Royal & Sun Alliance New Zealand Limited (now Vero Insurance Ltd), as well as in his current role as Chairman of Forsyth Barr. Sir Eion is highly regarded for his personal contribution to the New Zealand community as both a visionary business leader and for his philanthropy towards a diverse range of community organisations covering sectors as diverse as education, youth, arts, sports and health. His contributions have been formally recognised nationally with his Knighthood in 2009 for services to business and the community; the 2004 NBR New Zealander of the Year award; inductee of the Business Hall of Fame in the same year; and recognition of his community leadership with the “Senior New Zealander of the Year” award in 2010. Recently Sir Eion retired as President of the New Zealand Olympic Committee after seven years; in recognition of this, the NZOC gave him the title of Honorary President for Life. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws, for his 23 years of service on the University of Otago Council, with the last five years as Chancellor. Alan Martin – Martin & O'Halloran Limited, Whangarei, Accounting Alan has over 40 years experience with small and medium sized businesses in a wide range of industries including tourism, hospitality, manufacturing, farming and forestry. Legal and Medical including hospitals, local authorities, and Charitable Trusts. NZ Chamber of Commerce -‐ Northland, Anglican Parish of Whangarei, Loyal Orange Institution of New Zealand Inc, NZ Automoble Association -‐ Northland District, Self employed, Ernst & Young, Education, Victoria University of Wellington. Gwendolyn Needham – Whangarei , Independent Professional Training & Coaching Professional Gwendolyn is an entrepreneurial force of positive energy, empowering and enhancing the lives of all who read her books and attend her seminars and workshops. Her approach is original. Appendix – F Success for Students Charitable Trust Advisory Board Nevil Gibson – Editor in Chief, The National Business Review (or NBR) is a weekly New Zealand newspaper aimed at the business sector. The National Business Review Online is New Zealand's authority in breaking business news and analysis. The NBR produces an annual Rich List with the estimated wealth of the richest New Zealanders. Nevil is a brilliant guy with a deep understanding of -‐ and interest in -‐ almost every aspect of the economy, journalism, politics, and film. About as far from a pedant as one can get while still being a polymath, Nevil encourages rather than pushes, mentors rather than censures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Business_Review http://www.nbr.co.nz/ John Smith – Principal Kamo Intermediate School, Whangarei, 1996 – Retired 2014 All Things must come to an end and on Friday 19th April 2013, Mr John Smith, our Principal here at Kamo Intermediate School retired (or as Mrs. Smith would say "moved on to other projects"). John Smith was here as Principal for 18 years and he had implemented a lot of what Kamo Intermediate is about. Our 4 mantra's, Channel 'K', Extensions and the E-‐Team were some of the ideas he started here. But it is probably his ability to see talent (mostly through Mrs Smith) and give opportunities not just in the students but in the staff as well. He will be missed, but he will always be remembered . . . Ki te tuohu koe, me Maunga Teitei, If you are to bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain. Haere Ra Matua! Katheren Leitner – Chairperson YMCA of Auckland Inc, October 2010 – Present The YMCA of Auckland has served Auckland communities for more than 150 years. The YMCA brand is one of the most recognised and trusted in the world. It is defined by the triangle which has always featured in it's logo -‐ the triangle represents balance of mind, body and spirit. Katheren is the first female chair of the Board in it's 150 year history. The organisation has more than 750 employees and operates fitness clubs, stadiums, camps, early childhood centers, swim schools, hostels and a hotel. Milton Jennings – CEO Fidelity Life, 1987 – Present Milton, a big supporter of Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand received a special award acknowledging his long-‐time support to the organization, by the Governor-‐General as he, has personally fundraised over $100,000 for the organisation. For the last seven years he has played in LBC’s Golf Marrowthon, which sees golfers from all handicap levels test their skill and endurance in the ultimate challenge of playing 100 holes in a single day to raise money for LBC. Golfers undertake sponsorship for their participation and use a golf cart for the day, but Milton consistently walks the 100 holes – effectively walking the distance of a marathon. He also takes part in LBC’s Shave for a Cure fundraising event and has participated in the Firefighter Sky Tower Stair Challenge. Garth McKenzie – Mission Training Officer, The Salvation Army Previous: Commissioner & Territorial Commander New Zealand Fiji and Tonga Territory, The Salvation Army, Wellington June 2002 – Retired March 2009 Education: Rongotai College Peter Neilson – Chief Executive at Financial Services Council of New Zealand Inc, May 2011 – Present Peter Neilson was appointed as Chief Executive of the Investment Savings and Insurance Association of New Zealand Inc (now the Financial Services Council) in May 2011. He was appointed to build the influence of the sector organisation through evidence based research to help grow and protect the wealth of New Zealanders. Prior to that he was Chief Executive of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development for seven years, where he drove the campaign to put a price on carbon, create markets for fresh water quality management, a levy on solid waste and putting sustainability criteria into public procurement. Earlier in his life he was a Cabinet Minister with oversight of the financial sector, including insurance and monetary policy. He has been employed in the finance industry in corporate finance and worked initially after graduation in the public service as an economist. Appendix – G Referees Garth H McKenzie – Retired Salvation Army Commissioner I commend the vision of the Success for Students Charitable Trust and the consistent hard work Lucas Remmerswaal is doing to bring the vision to reality. The goal to give away 1,000,000 interactive financial literacy workbooks by 2020 to raise awareness for and improve financial literacy skills of students in New Zealand is a worthy goal. The laying of appropriate foundational behaviour's , habits and attitudes empowering students to manage their finances more effectively is a very important life skill which impacts not only making wise financial choices but also builds sound habits of responsibility and stewardship for everyday living. The books already produced are of an appealing standard, colourful, well written and illustrated. Lucas himself brings an open committed spirit to this goal which is refreshing and inspiring. John Hattie – Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne I like the work Lucas is doing, where he is looking at the Habits. These habits are more than Financial Literacy. I think Lucas is onto a winner, he has got a great idea, he has got some of the most stunning artwork, and he has a story, and he also has the skill to tell a story, and there is nothing better than a storyteller. It is a winner! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_M7O54SpW0#t=15 For many children (and adults), money is something to be “spent” rather than a form of barter or investment. The ability and skills to understand financial literacy can be developed at an early age and the most powerful message of this story is about the habits that led to a deeper understanding about money. The choice of Warren Buffet as the focus of the story helps underline the importance of decency, learning, and communication – and the 13 habits can relate to so much more than understanding money. The story is about a child growing up to become one of our most successful innovators in investment based on decent principles, attention to effort, and love of learning – an illustration of the key parts of life-‐long learning in action. The message is it is NOT about the money, but about behaviours, attitudes, and thought processes that relate to the resources around us – money, the planet, home, friends and so on. These “big and rich” habits can be understood by even the youngest of children, as Lucas has demonstrated via various focus groups with five year olds. To see them afire with ideas and questions after hearing the story, to see them inspired by the art work that invokes many more stories, and to see them make connections to their lives – these are the art of a true story teller. Go for it Lucas – and delighted to keep supporting in many little ways. John Smith – (Retired Principal) Kamo Intermediate School Financial Literacy does not get taught in schools. The resources are not there. We all know that financial literacy is needed but that an issue is getting those involved with education to give it the value it deserves within the 'hurly-‐burly' of the school curriculum -‐ real and hidden! With the Govt. narrowing the curriculum, and make no mistake that is what is happening even if it is denied by the spin doctors within the M.O.E. and Govt., schools are reluctant to give more than just lip service to the need for Financial literacy to be taught in any meaningful way. However by 'inundating ' the schools through Duffy Books and other mass means schools will be awakened to the possibilities and perhaps the need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_M7O54SpW0#t=15 John Cook PhD – Organisational Sense Making I have known Lucas for several years and his energy, enthusiasm, knowledge and expertise for making finance and investment simple for all ages is now becoming a legend. His 13 habits is a must read for all ages and I highly recommend it. I have been impressed with Lucas' understanding of finance and his ability to make simple and appeal to children of all ages. Financial literacy is so important that it must start early. His books for children are a delight to read with a high degree of background research, marketing and design. Brian Gaynor – Executive Director Milford Asset Management Lucas is getting across some very important messages. You have to earn the money first before you can spend it, rather than borrow it. I would endorse it very strongly. I like the idea of habits, and disciplines, because the habits will generally stand the test of time. The best way to do this is in an attractive format and this certainly seems to achieve it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb6AWsDAVA4 Milton Jennings – CEO Fidelity Life Lucas has shown great devotion to write these books and improve the financial literacy of New Zealanders. He must be admired for his commitment to the cause and the energy he has brought to the project. It is a big journey, and you have got to start somewhere, so Lucas has the start of a concept, so we thought it was worth getting behind and supporting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlywdWQcGe4 Nevil Gibson – Editor in Chief, The National Business Review I believe this initiative is a game changer for economic literacy in New Zealand and will help prevent future generations suffer from another catastrophe in which so many lost their life savings through unwise investments. The Buffett philosophy is well proven and provides sound habits for a lifetime. Jenny Shipley – New Zealand’s first woman Prime Minister How kind of you to send the books to me. I’ve read both of them and think they are terrific. How refreshing to have a children’s story told in the context of the real world, that is, that business, commerce, effort, investment and talent and resources makes the power of difference for everyone, including littlies. You can be assured that my children and grandchildren will be aware of them, and I congratulate you for both your skill and intent in producing such wonderful illustrative and illuminating children’s literature. With my respect and warm regards, Sir Eion Edgar – Chairman Forsyth Barr As a strong believer in “financial literacy” I commend Lucas and his team for furthering this ideal. Gwendolyn Needham – Independent Professional Training & Coaching Professional Lucas has limitless passion and energy for a better future for all children, and society, based on learning and understanding money know-‐how, from an early age. He engages with little ones in real and exciting ways. All ages will learn from his '13 habits’ books. His huge vision and strategies deserve attention by policy-‐makers at the highest level. Nick Hindson – Director at Market Share International Limited Lucas is a vivacious, enthusiastic and inspiring thought leader and author who is seriously committed to making a real difference in the world for those wanting and needing to learn more about managing money and financial matters. His dedication to improving financial literacy is unquestionable. He is a true hero of our time. Theresa Sjoquist – Author/Researcher at Theresa Sjoquist Lucas has the power to enthuse, anyone and everyone, and he's a stickler for the detail. He does not recognise obstacles. Dr Russell Wills – Children's Commissioner "Work hard, save 10% and invest your savings wisely" -‐ Isn't it about time someone wrote a book about the basics of financial literacy for kids? Lucas Remmerswaal’s books have done just this and they're great! Doris Buffett – Older sister of Warren Buffett The books I am looking at are enchanting; they are clever, they are colorful. They would draw any child’s attention. We do a lot of work with prisoners, in large maximum security prisons, one of the biggest problems, are ignorance with money. They bridge it between being cutesy and being too hard to understand. A very important problem how understand money. I am always talking to people about compound interest and nobody seems to understand that at all. I want some of them for myself! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oijApByqqgM Tony Nicely – Chairman & CEO GEICO an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. The-‐tale-‐Tortoise-‐ Buffett-‐ Inspired is a great way for youngsters to begin think about investing. Lucas’s way of telling the story makes it easy and understandable for all ages. The best investors begin at youth and find it fun. This is a fun book. Dionne Waldron – Operation HOPE Program Manager Lucas Remmerswaal-‐ author of "The A-‐Z of 13 Habits" came to Baltimore and joined me to educate the youth @ Empowerment Academy in Baltimore City. He read his book with the students. This book is very engaging and colorful; it will keep the kids attention while teaching them importance of habits money and patience. I enjoyed the book myself-‐ it reinforced what I've been teaching to the youth with Operation HOPE's Banking on Our Future program. It was truly a pleasure working with Lucas Remmerswaal and I hope to see him in Baltimore again very soon. Empowering one student at a time, with HOPE Umar Hameed – NLP Expert, Sales Trainer, Sales Coach, Executive Coach and Expert at Building High Performance Teams Lucas wants to change the world that we live in by educating our children on financial literacy. His goal is to educate 100 million kids. I interviewed Lucas when he was visiting the Baltimore Washington area for my radio show. He has passion, commitment and the expertise to make this goal a reality. There are many people who talk a good game but Lucas is actually doing it! Appendix – H In the media NORTHERN ADVOCATE Nov 9, 2007 Bridgecorp losses leave Northlanders in shock "I didn't give the investment advice but I'm not sidestepping the issue. I've done what I can to help investors wanting information but I think from now on the matter has to be handled through the courts." Mr Remmerswaal said he hoped one of the outcomes would be to stop the spread of "bad or dishonest practices by some investment advisers in some areas". http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10475020 The NZ Herald March 15, 2010 Generous billionaire inspires writer Lucas Remmerswaal is a man on a mission -‐ a mission to change the way a whole generation approaches its finances. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10632071 The New Yorker March 18, 2010 WARREN BUFFETT FOR FIVE-‐YEAR-‐OLDS Remmerswaal insists that Buffett’s core values transcend economics and are simple enough for kids to understand. But if he were to partner with Buffett, he’d have access to some of Berkshire’s kid-‐friendly brands to spread the gospel. And if children respond to anything these days, it’s branding. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/03/warren-‐buffett-‐for-‐five-‐year-‐
olds.html#slide_ss_0=1 The NZ Herald May 17, 2010 Writer gets two-‐minute meeting with his hero Whangarei children's book writer Lucas Remmerswaal has finally succeeded in meeting billionaire businessman Warren Buffett -‐ even if it was only an impromptu encounter in the back of a Nebraska steak house.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10645400 Whangarei Leader May 25, 2010 Brush with Buffett A SHORT encounter at the back of an American steakhouse was a dream come true for a Whangarei insurance broker and investment adviser. Father-‐of-‐six Lucas Remmerswaal has spent every spare moment of his life for the past year focused on his ultimate goal – to change the way the next generation approaches finance. http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-‐news/northland/whangarei-‐leader/3730700/Brush-‐with-‐Buffett The NZ Herald Aug 23, 2010 Kiwi's Buffet book gets over the line Lucas Remmerswaal has been on a mission to produce and publish a children's book based on the "ideas and principles" of Warren Buffett before the investor and philanthropist turns 80 at the end of this month. And he's accomplished his goal.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10668177 Whangarei Leader August 31, 2010 Book work pays off IT TAKES a village to create a best-‐selling children's book, Kamo investment adviser turned writer Lucas Remmerswaal says. http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-‐news/northland/whangarei-‐leader/4074833/Book-‐work-‐pays-‐off Norfolk Daily News September 9, 2011 New Zealand author seeks to improve literary, financial sense Lucas Remmerswaal, a New Zealand author, has written “13 Habits That Made Me Billions,” which will be released this fall in the United States. “My vision is to empower kids with the 13 habits that lead to financial literacy,” Remmerswaal said. Remmerswaal is a strong believer in the principles of Warren Buffett, the Omaha billionaire. Norfolk schools are looking at incorporating the book into the “Three Schools One Book” program. http://norfolkdailynews.com/news/new-‐zealand-‐author-‐seeks-‐to-‐improve-‐literary-‐financial-‐
sense/article_5fb51344-‐d897-‐11e0-‐85a6-‐0019bb30f31a.html?mode=jqm Sunday Star Times September 18, 2011 How do your finances really add up? 96% believe that financial literacy must be taught in schools. At the moment financial literacy in schools is a bit of a postcode lottery. It tends to rely on "hero" teachers and parents pushing for its inclusion. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-‐star-‐times/business/5639566/How-‐do-‐your-‐finances-‐really-‐add-‐up/ Whangarei Leader October 18, 2011 Author drumming up support Lucas Remmerswaal is on a mission. The former insurance broker, investment adviser and now author wants to empower 100 million youngsters with habits that lead to financial literacy. http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-‐news/northland/whangarei-‐leader/5798450/Author-‐drumming-‐
up-‐support Rodney Times March 6, 2012 Lucas takes financial messages on the road Children are becoming money smart in primary schools. Author Lucas Remmerswaal of Whangarei dropped by Orewa Primary to read his book Tales of Tortoise Buffett. His story is inspired by American business magnate Warren Buffett. Mr Remmerswaal called during his cycle tour from Cape Reinga to Bluff to promote financial literacy among children through his books, free to download on his website 13habits.org. http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-‐news/rodney-‐times/6529269/Lucas-‐takes-‐financial-‐messages-‐
on-‐the-‐road The Southland Times April 10, 2012 Oyster finale to money-‐savvy tour A two-‐month national financial literacy tour ended with a feed of Bluff oysters yesterday. Author Lucas Remmerswaal read his three books to schoolchildren throughout New Zealand to teach them how to be smart with money. He completed the journey from Cape Reinga to Bluff on his three-‐speed Raleigh bike. He biked because it allowed "magical, magnificent moments" and showed the "enthusiasm, sincerity and integrity" he had for the project, he said. http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-‐times/business/6715962/Oyster-‐finale-‐to-‐money-‐savvy-‐tour The NZ Herald -‐ Hamilton News June 7, 2012 Liz Koh: Billionaire tips for kids Financial literacy for kids is something that Lucas Remmerswaal is passionate about. New Zealander Remmerswaal has written a series of books for children based on the financial principles used by one of the United States' most successful investors, Warren Buffett. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hamiltonnews/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503362&objectid=11064559
The Press June 25, 2012 Children's financial literacy promoted "It's changing our thinking because the biggest problem we've got is youth unemployment -‐ all round the world." The next generation of the workforce would need to be inventive to find jobs in a tough market, he said. Teaching initiative and entrepreneurship as young as possible was a must, he said. Duffy Books in Homes general manager Linda Vagana said the programme was happy to support Remmerswaal. His challenge was to raise the money to get the books published. Money matters were relevant all over the country and the book would be a great tool to offer pupils, she said. The scheme is run under the charitable trust of author Alan Duff. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-‐press/business/7162853/Childrens-‐financial-‐literacy-‐promoted The NBR Weekend Review July, 2012 It takes only $5 to break the 'cycle of poverty' Buffett was asked? 100 years from today what do you want your legacy to be? How do you want to be remembered? "Old age,” Buffett chuckled and everyone laughed. But in a more serious tone of voice he said, "A teacher. Once a month students come to my office, it’s my favourite, I really enjoy that." http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/it-‐takes-‐only-‐5-‐break-‐cycle-‐poverty-‐ng-‐122471 The NBR Weekend Review August 31, 2012 First steps toward financial literacy I can imagine New Zealand being the first country in the world where all our children are learning real life contexts, the habits that lead to financial literacy as a core subject to break the cycle of poverty. I use the experience of legendary investor Warren Buffett, who says the “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/first-‐steps-‐toward-‐financial-‐literacy-‐ng-‐127357 The NZ Herald Sep 6, 2012 Lucas Remmerswaal: Being an entrepreneur a way out of unemployment trap This week is money week and I am really excited because financial literacy is in our school curriculum. Getting an education is no longer a guarantee of employment. Thousands of graduates are working as waiters. Teaching our children to be innovative entrepreneurs is the only solution to the unemployment trap that faces graduates. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10831942 Fredericksburg.com November 23, 2012 New Zealander preaching financial literacy visits region A New Zealander on a mission to increase the financial literacy of children through the lessons of Warren Buffett made a stop in the Fredericksburg area this past week. Lucas Remmerswaal visited the region as part of a trip to the U.S. to work on and promote his children’s books about the habits that have made Buffett one of the world’s wealthiest men. Those habits include working hard, saving money to invest, reading constantly, avoiding borrowed money and living with integrity. http://news.fredericksburg.com/businessbrowser/2012/11/23/new-‐zealander-‐preaching-‐financial-‐
literacy-‐visits-‐region/ journalstar.com December 14, 2012 New tool for students: Tortoise Buffett and Trader Hare? In the clamor over some Nebraskans’ desire to ensure today’s students are tomorrow’s patriots, one of the more overlooked additions to the state’s new social studies standards is financial literacy. The state now requires that high school economics curriculums include instruction on personal finances, an addition prompted in part by the toll the recession took on Americans. Teachers searching for a classroom tool could look to a children’s book written last year by a New Zealander inspired by the same recession -‐-‐ and Omaha’s most famous billionaire. http://journalstar.com/news/local/education/new-‐tool-‐for-‐students-‐tortoise-‐buffett-‐and-‐trader-‐
hare/article_facaa6fa-‐30f6-‐53c0-‐8036-‐3452d3f67924.html Eastern Courier October 2, 2013 Money literacy sparks students' interest Students at Willowbank School took to it with interest as part of money week. Author Lucas Remmerswaal schooled year 5 and 6 students on everything from compound interest to Kiwisaver. "Compound interest is like interest on interest. If you had lambs that then had lambs that would be compound interest. Student Micaela Lucman says she enjoyed the The Tale of Tortoise Buffett. "The lessons in it are really interesting and fun and it is something we know about because of the story of the tortoise and hare." http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-‐news/eastern-‐courier/9229494/Money-‐literacy-‐sparks-‐students-‐
interest The Nation October 21, 2013 Financial literacy and growing Thailand's GDP "One of the greatest gifts we can give to another generation is our experience, our
wisdom," said Desmond Tutu. When we invest in our children, our future, we need more
than literacy and numeracy. We believe that we can teach financial literacy. Oliver
Wendell Holmes said: "One's mind, once stretched by new ideas, never regains its original
dimensions."
We believe that habits determine destiny, and our first habit is integrity. And the essence of
extraordinary life is to live your passion.
It all starts with having the integrity to find your purpose and passion. Confucius said: "Choose a
job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Financial-‐literacy-‐and-‐growing-‐Thailands-‐GDP-‐
30217528.html The Nation November 18, 2013 Buffett, Berkshire and gold "So, rather than speculating, a smarter and safer strategy to beat inflation would be to concentrate your efforts on investing in businesses that have little debt, the ability to increase prices and a history of paying strong dividends." Buffett closed with "I'd bet on a good producing business to outperform something that doesn't do anything." http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Buffett-‐Berkshire-‐and-‐gold-‐30219834.html Norfolk Daily News November 19, 2013 Author hopes to make common sense about finances more common The late Steve Jobs dreamed of making a computer available on every desktop. Lucas Remmerswaal dreams of making financial literacy just as ubiquitous. http://norfolkdailynews.com/news/author-‐hopes-‐to-‐make-‐common-‐sense-‐about-‐finances-‐more-‐
common/article_038f9538-‐512d-‐11e3-‐8941-‐001a4bcf6878.html The Omaha World Herald December 22, 2013 Warren Watch: 'Tortoise Buffett' author a hit with Nebraska schoolchildren “The kids loved meeting a real author,” said Collen Swanson, who teaches third grade. Even though the Omaha students live in Buffett’s hometown, Remmerswaal said, “most students have never heard of Warren Buffett or read a story that included a moral of financial literacy.” http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131222/MONEY/131229828 The Nation December 23, 2013 Buffett fan shares financial literacy in Omaha schools Recently I travelled to Norfolk, a town of around 24,000 people in the US state of Nebraska, to visit two schools and share financial literacy and "The Tale of Tortoise Buffett and Trader Hare" with students and teachers. Later in Omaha, the state's biggest city, I drove past the Kiewit Plaza worldwide headquarters of Berkshire Hathaway. The next day we were at Spring Lake Magnet Elementary School. I taught children in the first to fourth grades and was welcomed into classrooms by teachers. Students began echoing my words, "You can be anything you want to be! If it's to be it's up to me!" Even though this was the home town of the "Oracle of Omaha", most of the pupils had never heard of Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett or had ever read a story that included a moral of financial literacy. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Buffett-‐fan-‐shares-‐financial-‐literacy-‐in-‐Omaha-‐sch-‐
30222693.html NZEDGE.com January 21, 2014 Nebraskan Children Get Tortoise Buffett Savings Tips Children’s author New Zealander Lucas Remmerswaal took his Warren Buffett-‐inspired financial literacy campaign to Nebraska recently as part of an international promotion which has taken the Whangarei man to the Frankfurt Book Fair, Turkey, on an east-‐to-‐west tour of the US. Remmerswaal’s three books teach children about the habits of American business magnate Buffett and provide basic lessons about money, setting goals and entrepreneurship. http://www.nzedge.com/nebraskan-children-get-tortoise-buffett-savings-tips/
The NZ Herald March 17, 2014 Charity out to close book on poverty A charitable group is aiming to give away a million financial literacy work books to New Zealand students by 2020 to try to improve young people's wealth creation skills. The Success for Students Charitable Trust was co-‐founded by Lucas Remmerswaal, a father-‐of-‐
six who has authored children's books based on the "ideas and principles" of billionaire investor Warren Buffett. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11220713
Rule No 1: You've got to get the product right. We are constantly striving to get the product right, the Kaizen continuous improvement philosophy, is a habit deeply ingrained in our subconscious thinking. 'It's all about customer satisfaction! The 13 Habits that made Buffett Billions, a project inspired by Socrates passion for a powerful truth, that the ‘unexamined life is not worth living’. It is our desire that 100 Million students may come to understand that the, “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” And with ‘tracking’ the ripple effect of the small changes that make the empire of habit, the foundation of success. Leaders propel the human race forward not through their own energy, but acting like a lightening rod. Their vision attracts everyone they touch to focus on solutions. This is the power of the mastermind. That enables leaders to uplift and nourish humanity and, in doing so, leave the world a better place. -‐ Lucas Remmerswaal “One of the greatest gifts we can give to another generation is our experience, our wisdom.” -‐ Desmond Tutu

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