It’s not up for debate that Charlie Munger left an incredible legacy, but beyond that he left us wisdom for the ages.
Here are the 9 Greatest Charlie Munger Quotes and What I Believe Is The Lesson In Each –
- “In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time — none, zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren reads — and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.” The lesson – pretty obvious. Reading helps you evolve. It teaches you. It prepares you and can lend its way to your immense success. Smart people read. Successful people read. And you can never read too much.
- “Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Systematically you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. Nevertheless, you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts. Slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day- if you live long enough- most people get what they deserve.” The lesson – Work on yourself each and every day. Learn something new. Keep growing. It’s a series of baby steps. It takes work and dedication. It may feel slow going at times, but if you do this long enough you will inevitably find success.
- “Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to hell with them.” The Lesson – Acquire knowledge from the sages and the wisdom that was left before us by the greats. There is so much incredible wisdom that will possibly set you apart from the others. People may find you intimidating by the wisdom you acquire. They may not understand the very depths of your being, but it doesn’t matter. Just keep learning and growing and use that knowledge to better yourself and your circumstances.
“Mimicking the herd invites regression to the mean (merely average performance).” The Lesson – Be unique. There’s no reward in being a copy cat. You’ll be average at best. Come up with your own unique voice and way of showing up in the world. You’ll be an original and likely admired for your uniqueness and authenticity.
“I am not smart enough to make decisions with no time to think. I make actual decisions very rapidly, but that’s because I have spent so much time preparing ourselves by quietly reading.” The Lesson – You can think fast on your feet when you are prepared. When you are doing the work behind the scenes. When you are constantly learning and growing you can jump into action at any given moment. You’ll always be prepared.
“I am personally skeptical of some of the hype that has gone into artificial intelligence. I think old-fashioned intelligence works pretty well.” The Lesson – The old way of doing things can never be replicated with artificial intelligence and technology. There is no match for our original thought and the human capacity to succeed and our resilience. You are very capable of succeeding even in today’s world overrun by technology on your own merit.
“You don’t have a lot of envy, you don’t have a lot of resentment, you don’t overspend your income, you stay cheerful in spite of your troubles, you deal with reliable people and you do what you’re supposed to do. All these simple rules work so well to make your life better.” The Lesson – Just be a good person. Wish others well. Be honest. Work for what you want in life. Treat others fairly. Don’t be jealous. Don’t get competitive. Do well and be well and wish others well and you’ll be just fine. A lesson in good will I suppose.
“We’ve had enough good sense when something is working very well to keep doing it. I’d say we’re demonstrating what might be called the fundamental algorithm of life — repeat what works.” The Lesson – If something works well there’s no need to do it any differently. It’s that famous quote, but I’m not sure who, “If ain’t broke don’t fix it.” So know when something works and double down on it.
“I think a life properly lived is just learn, learn, learn all the time.” The Lesson – You can never be too learned in life. There is so much information to access. Charlie Munger read voraciously as should you if you want to level up in life. Always be growing and learning and evolving.
These are our favorite Charlie Munger quotes. He’s said a lot of profound things over the years, but these ones here seem to offer more than just financial advice. These quotes here seem to offer us some really substantive guidance for living, doing well and earning your keep.
Check out these previous post on Getting Happy.
Here’s our favorite Mindful Quotes from our sister site.
