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It’s stupid the way people extrapolate the past — and not slightly stupid, but massively stupid.

Charlie Munger

There are worse situations than drowning in cash and sitting, sitting, sitting. I remember when I wasn’t awash in cash — and I don’t want to go back.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Money Myself Situation Worst
The safest way to get what you want is to deserve what you want.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Deserve Safety Way Worth Yourself
A lot of our respected financial institutions are just casinos in drag.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Financial Institution Money Respect
Hard work, honesty, if you keep at it, will get you almost anything.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Hard Work Honesty Yourself
If you want to understand science, you have to understand math. In business, if you’re enumerate, you’re going to be a klutz. The good thing about business is that you don’t have to know any higher math.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Business Goodness Mathematics Science Understand Yourself
Most people are too fretful, they worry to much. Success means being very patient, but aggressive when it’s time.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Aggression Meaning People Success Time Worry
I’m right, and you’re smart, and sooner or later you’ll see I’m right.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Myself Right Smart Yourself
All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Death Funny Myself Place
People always underestimate the ability of earth to increase its carrying capacity.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Ability Capacity Carry Earth People
Three rules for a career: 1) Don’t sell anything you wouldn’t buy yourself; 2) Don’t work for anyone you don’t respect and admire; and 3) Work only with people you enjoy.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Admire Business Career Enjoyment People Respect Rule Work Yourself
I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I don’t know the other side’s argument better than they do.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Argument Myself Opinion Side
It takes character to sit there with all that cash and do nothing. I didn’t get to where I am by going after mediocre opportunities.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Average Cash Character Money Myself Opportunity
In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time – none … ZERO.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Known Life Myself People Reading Time Wisdom
We don’t like trading agony for money
CHARLIE MUNGER

Agony Money Trade
Intelligent people make decisions based on opportunity costs.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Cost Decision Intelligence Opportunity People
To me, it’s obvious that the winner has to bet very selectively. It’s been obvious to me since very early in life. I don’t know why it’s not obvious to very many other people.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Early Investment Life Myself People Win
We have found in a long life that one competitor is frequently enough to ruin a business.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Business Competition Enough Life Myself Ruin
Acknowledging what you don’t know is the dawning of wisdom.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Acknowledgement Beginning Wisdom Yourself
It’s been my experience in life if you just keep thinking and reading, you don’t have to work.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Experience Life Reading Thinking Yourself
Our 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.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Confirmation Experience Financial Preparation Result
There has never been a master plan. Anyone who wanted to do it, we fired because it takes on a life of its own and doesn’t cover new reality. We want people taking into account new information.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Accountability Information Life Master Planning Reality
I believe in the discipline of mastering the best that other people have ever figured out. I don’t believe in just sitting down and trying to dream it all up yourself. Nobody’s that smart.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Believe Best Master Myself People Smart
It’s waiting that helps you as an investor, and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred-gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Hard Work Investment People Wait Yourself
A foreign correspondent, after talking to me for a while, once said: “You don’t seem smart enough to be so good at what you’re doing. Do you have an explanation?”
CHARLIE MUNGER

Enough Explanation Goodness Smart Talk Yourself
If the value of a company doesn’t just scream out at you, it’s too close.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Company Scream Value Yourself
Whenever you think something or some person is ruining your life, it’s you. A victimization mentality is so debilitating.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Life Mental Person Ruin Thinking Yourself
The more hard lessons you can learn vicariously rather than through your own hard experience, the better.
CHARLIE MUNGER

Better Experience Hard Lesson Yourself

It’s stupid the way people extrapolate the past — and not slightly stupid, but massively stupid.

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It’s stupid the way people extrapolate the past — and not slightly stupid, but massively stupid.

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