Charlie Munger is an American business magnate, investor, lawyer and philanthropist. Here are 3 simple lessons we can learn from him.
Read a lot
If you want to expand the base of your knowledge and increase the circle of your competence, you should read a lot. But it should be voracious reading to turn yourself into a lifelong self-learner and strive to become a little wiser every day. It doesn’t refer to reading only about one certain topic but about a wide range of topics. Munger reads a lot. Even his children laugh at him thinking he is a book with a couple of legs sticking out.
Always invert
If you are in a specific situation turn it upside down. Look at it from the opposite side. If you plan something just think what will happen if all your plans go wrong. If you want to go somewhere think where you wouldn’t want to go. No surprise that you want to succeed but instead first make a list of qualities that will make you fail – laziness, envy, anger, self-pity and all the mental habits of self-defeat. Avoid them and you will succeed.
Learn to handle mistakes
No one can live an adequate life and stay away from making mistakes. No one likes to be reminded of their mistakes and errors but not Charlie Munger. It is useful to get reminded in order not to repeat them again. You can’t avoid mistakes but you can learn how to handle them, learn how to make fewer mistakes than other people, learn how to fix them faster than others when you do make them.
Read a lot
If you want to expand the base of your knowledge and increase the circle of your competence, you should read a lot. But it should be voracious reading to turn yourself into a lifelong self-learner and strive to become a little wiser every day. It doesn’t refer to reading only about one certain topic but about a wide range of topics. Munger reads a lot. Even his children laugh at him thinking he is a book with a couple of legs sticking out.
Always invert
If you are in a specific situation turn it upside down. Look at it from the opposite side. If you plan something just think what will happen if all your plans go wrong. If you want to go somewhere think where you wouldn’t want to go. No surprise that you want to succeed but instead first make a list of qualities that will make you fail – laziness, envy, anger, self-pity and all the mental habits of self-defeat. Avoid them and you will succeed.
Learn to handle mistakes
No one can live an adequate life and stay away from making mistakes. No one likes to be reminded of their mistakes and errors but not Charlie Munger. It is useful to get reminded in order not to repeat them again. You can’t avoid mistakes but you can learn how to handle them, learn how to make fewer mistakes than other people, learn how to fix them faster than others when you do make them.