Charlie Munger shared the secret to a long and happy life in a recent interview: “It’s easy, because it’s so simple … 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.”
Who better to give life advice? Munger is a billionaire investor, businessman and philanthropist. He was married 54 years before his wife died in 2010; he fathered 8 children.
He’s an admirer of Cicero & Benjamin Franklin. Both are mentioned throughout his book, Poor Charlie’s Almanack; the title is a tribute to Franklin.
In Munger’s book, and in many speeches, he introduced the concept of “elementary worldly wisdom.”
Using Munger quotes, or “Mungerisms,” as they’ve become known, I share his wit and wisdom in the form of 13 Rules to Live By (with my commentary):
- “If you keep learning all the time, you’ll have a huge advantage.“
If you want an edge, you must develop yourself into a lifelong learner. Educational materials are ubiquitous today—most of it is free. Consequently, there has never been an easier time to learn.
The difference between high achievers of the future and the masses will be high achievers’ desire to continue learning, aided by focused attention. Learn to control your attention while the rest of the world is going the other way.
One of the reasons meditation is en vogue is because high achievers recognize the need to control their attention in an increasingly distracted world.
2. “The safest way to get what you want, is to deserve what you want.”
The way to get good friends, a good job, or a desirable significant other, is to be deserving of a good friend, a good job, or desirable significant other. And so it stands to reason, if you want something attractive, you must first become attractive yourself.
You will attract what you become.
3. “Deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end.”
There’s an acronym that can be pulled from “Enthusiasm:” I Am Sold Myself. It’s one of the keys to selling anything, including yourself.
You can’t expect someone else to be pumped about you (or your product) if you’re halfhearted about you (or your product). But your excitement must be genuine—no facade of fakery is so thick that discerning people can’t see through it.
4. “Know the edge of your competency“
Benjamin Franklin had enough self-awareness to know that he was smarter than his peers. But he also had the intellectual humility to know he couldn’t be right about everything.
Thus, when Franklin argued, he would open with a variation of “I could be wrong, but…” Approaching a debate this way is an acknowledgment that you don’t know it all, and signals that you’re open to learning.
Intellectual humility is a trait you’ll rarely find when debating politics; or at a meeting with co-workers competing for the I am the smartest person in the room trophy. Conversely, acknowledging what you don’t know is the precursor to wisdom.
5. “Be a survivor. It’s not my nature to feel betrayed.”
I’ve been betrayed by friends, lovers, coaches, and more. If thoughts or feelings from one of those instances [when someone was disloyal to me] ever pop into my head, I gently push them out.
Resist the temptation to hold a grudge, and never allow yourself to indulge feelings of betrayal. That part of your past where someone did you wrong doesn’t serve you; you can’t build on it. Let it go, and reclaim your mental energy.
People who’ve betrayed my trust have been forgotten into oblivion. I recommend you do the same.
6. “Go through life with a multi-disciplinary approach—the big ideas carry 95% of the freight.”
Times are rapidly changing. You no longer need to pay an inflated tuition rate to learn the big ideas from multiple disciplines. What a time to be alive!
Anyone can now learn the following (without even stepping foot on a college campus):
- writing
- basic math
- psychology
- persuasion
- investing
…I went through life constantly practicing a multi-disciplinary approach. And I can’t tell you what this has done for me. It makes life more fun, it made me more constructive; it’s made me more helpful to others; it’s made me enormously rich.
Charlie Munger
7. “Trust, success, and admiration are earned.”
“Earn” is a powerful word. Imagine how improved our culture would be if everyone felt as though they needed to earn success and admiration. What if everyone you met felt like they needed to earn your trust?
We select trustworthy people and give enormous trust. As they practice that trust, they get more confirmed in being trustworthy. Eventually we’ve got this seamless web of trust that is incredibly efficient and very useful.
Charlie Munger
8. “Every mischance in life is an opportunity to behave well.”
Here Munger is quoting Epictetus. In his own subtle way, he’s saying life will punch you in the f*cking face. If it hasn’t happened yet, it will. That’s because nobody is exempt from mischance. While some people recover, others do not.
Mischance is another word for bad luck. How do we deal with bad luck? First, you must never allow yourself to be submerged in self-pity. Nothing is more pathetic than “Why me?” It’s a waste of precious time and mental energy.
Use your mischances as fuel to provide value to the world—do not let your suffering go to waste.
9. “When proper circumstances present themselves, act with decisiveness and conviction.”
When a good opportunity presents itself is not the time to think and analyze. Most of the thinking required to seize the moment should already be done; therefore, action is immediate.
Start making little investments of time now that will enable you to take advantage of once in a lifetime opportunities that change everything.
Good things happen when self-development and preparation meet opportunity.
10. “Remember that the highest and best use is always measured by the next best use (opportunity cost).”
Undoubtedly, every dollar invested in real estate can’t be invested in VTSAX. Moreover, every hour spent with Dick can’t be spent with Harry.
Whether you’re dealing with time or capital, both should be measured against their next best use.
11. “More important than the will to win is the will to prepare.”
In Opportunity Knocks for Savage Thinkers, I quoted a motivational speaker who gave a talk to NCAA athletes. He said, “Everybody wants to be a beast until it’s time to do what beasts do!”
The same bestial tenacity is required to be successful in the real world. “Beasts” are reading, thinking, and practicing their presentations when nobody else is around.
Other parallels exist between the NCAA & “the real world.” For example, natural ability might get you a scholarship. Natural ability can get you in front of the jury, customer or hiring manager. But you must have the work ethic and will to prepare for big sales presentations and court trials to be a beast.
“Your performance is always a reflection of your preparation.”
Dr. William Imsais
12. “Marry well.”
Munger has spoken frequently about the value of surrounding yourself with quality people, be they friends, business associates, or spouses.
We all know people who are outmarried—their spouses are so much better. Think what a good decision that was for them. Way more important than money.
Charlie Munger
13. “It is better to remember the obvious than grasp the esoteric.”
You must learn lots of basic knowledge because it is easily connected to other concepts and knowledge. As a result, basic knowledge and ordinary knowledge, once combined, becomes extraordinary knowledge.
Don’t be impressed with the guy who can’t explain something to you in simple terms. He is usually a charlatan disguising his own lack of understanding with big words.
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
Munger believes his ideas haven’t spread faster because they’re so simple—I’m doing my part to change that.
The best resources for more of Charlie Munger’s wisdom are: Poor Charlie’s Almanack, Seeking Wisdom by Peter Bevlin & FS blog.
