Charlie Munger Quotes

I find it quite useful to think of a (partly) free market economy as sort of the equivalent of an ecosystem. Just as animals flourish in niches, people who specialize in some narrow niche can do very well.

The ability to destroy your ideas rapidly instead of slowly when the occasion is right is one of the most valuable things. You have to work hard on it. Ask yourself what are the arguments on the other side. It’s bad to have an opinion you’re proud of if you can’t state the arguments for the other side better than your opponents. This is a great mental discipline.

In my whole life I've never been good at something I wasn't very interested in. It just doesn't work. There's no substitute for strong interest.

A lot of smart people think they're way smarter than they are, and therefore they do worse than dumb people. And it's very common to be utterly brilliant and think you're way the hell smarter than you are.

I have what I call an 'iron prescription' that helps me keep sane when I drift toward preferring one intense ideology over another. I feel that I'm not entitled to have an opinion unless I can state the arguments against my position better than the people who are in opposition. I think that I'm qualified to speak only when I've reached that state…

"That is probably too tough for most people, although I hope it won't ever become too tough for me… This business of not drifting into extreme ideology is very, very important in life. If you want to end up wise, heavy ideology is very likely to prevent that outcome."

[If you want to guarantee a life of misery], be unreliable. Do not faithfully do what you have engaged to do. If you will only master this one habit you will more than counterbalance the combined effect of all your virtues, howsoever great. If you like being distrusted and excluded from the best human contribution and company, this prescription is for you. Master this one habit and you can always play the role of the hare in the fable, except that instead of being outrun by one fine turtle you will be outrun by hordes and hordes of mediocre turtles and even by some mediocre turtles on crutches.

I must warn you that if you [do the opposite] it may be hard to end up miserable, even if you start disadvantaged. I had a roommate in college who was and is severely dyslexic. But he is perhaps the most reliable man I have ever known. He has had a wonderful life so far, outstanding wife and children, chief executive of a multibillion dollar corporation. …you simply can't count on your other handicaps to hold you back if you persist in being reliable.

I'm not entitled to have an opinion on this subject unless I can state the arguments against my position better than the people do who are supporting it.

Like Warren, I had a considerable passion to get rich, not because I wanted Ferraris—I wanted the independence. I desperately wanted it.

I met the towering intellectuals in books, not in the classroom, which is natural. I can't remember when I first read Ben Franklin. I had Thomas Jefferson over my bed at seven or eight.

Don't be too timid, when you really have a cinch. Go at life with a little courage.

I sought good judgment mostly by collecting instances of bad judgment, then pondering ways to avoid such outcomes.

You climb as hard as you can by just advancing one inch at a time. That's the secret of life.

Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.

We don't want to make our money selling things that are bad for people.

You fix what can be fixed, and what can't be fixed you endure.