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I think the greatest tragedy of mankind is that people have ideas and opinions in their heads but don’t have a process for properly examining these ideas to find out what’s true. That creates a world of distortions.

Ray Dalio

There are far more good answers “out there” than there are in you.
RAY DALIO

Control Drive Inspirational Yourself
People who worry about looking good typically hide what they don’t know and hide their weaknesses, so they never learn how to properly deal with them and these weaknesses remain impediments in the future.
RAY DALIO

Future Goodness Hide People Proper Weakness Worry
Success is achieved by people who deeply understand reality and know how to use it to get what they want. The converse is also true: idealists who are not well-grounded in reality create problems, not progress.
RAY DALIO

Achievement Creation Ideal Problem Progress Reality Success True Understand
I don’t think individual media outlets will regulate. There are such things as self-regulatory organizations that will look at the members of the industry and their behavior and establish standards of behavior.
RAY DALIO

Behavior Establishment Media Member Thinking
There is giant untapped potential in disagreement, especially if the disagreement is between two or more thoughtful people.
RAY DALIO

People Potential Special Thinking
When two intelligent parties disagree, that’s when the potential for learning and moving ahead begins.
RAY DALIO

Beginning Intelligence Learning Party Potential
To be successful, we need everyone to think independently and work through disagreement to decide what’s best.
RAY DALIO

Best Decision Independent Need Success Thinking
I believe that one of the best ways of getting at truth is reflecting with others who have opposing views and who share your interest in finding the truth rather than being proven right
RAY DALIO

Believe Best Evidence Finding Interest Share Truth Way
I also believe that everyone needs to think independently and make their own decisions on what makes the most sense.
RAY DALIO

Believe Decision Independent Myself Need Thinking
School typically doesn’t prepare young people for real life – unless their lives are spent following instructions and pleasing others. In my opinion, that’s why so many students who succeed in school fail in life.
RAY DALIO

Fall Instruction Life People Reality School Success Typical Young
When you’re centered, your emotions are not hijacking you.
RAY DALIO

Emotion Spiritual Aware Yourself
Nature gave us pain as a messaging device to tell us that we are approaching, or that we have exceeded, our limits in some way.
RAY DALIO

Device Limitation Nature Ourselves Pain Way
There is a strong tendency to get used to and accept very bad things that would be shocking if seen with fresh eyes.
RAY DALIO

Acceptance Bad Eyes See Strong
Be wary of the arrogant intellectual who comments from the stands without having played on the field.
RAY DALIO

Arrogant Field Intellectual Play Pride Stand
Though how nature works is way beyond man’s ability to comprehend, I have found that observing how nature works offers innumerable lessons that can help us understand the realities that affect us.
RAY DALIO

Affect Beyond Lesson Nature Understand Way Work
A beautiful deleveraging balances the three options. In other words, there is a certain amount of austerity, there is a certain amount of debt restructuring, and there is a certain amount of printing of money. When done in the right mix, it isn’t dramatic.
RAY DALIO

Balance Beautiful Drama Money Option Printing Word
Some people who are creative are not reliable and vice versa; some see big pictures while others see details, etc. All of them are important to have on well-orchestrated teams.
RAY DALIO

Creation People Photograph Team Trust
It all comes down to interest rates. As an investor, all you’re doing is putting up a lump-sump payment for a future cash flow.
RAY DALIO

Flow Future Interest Investment Pay Rate
Most people have a hard time confronting their weaknesses in a really straightforward, evidence-based way. They also have problems speaking frankly to others. Some people love knowing about their weaknesses and mistakes and those of others because it helps them be so much better, while others can’t stand it.
RAY DALIO

Evidence Hard Time Mistake People Problem Stand Way Weakness
I’m going to give away a lot more than half my money. I’d be happy to give that to the government if the government put together programs that were like I’m giving away to charity, in which I believe the money is effectively used to help people.
RAY DALIO

Believe Government Happiness Help Money Myself People
If you can stare hard at your problems, they almost always shrink or disappear, because you almost always find a better way of dealing with them than if you don’t face them head on. The more difficult the problem, the more important it is that you stare at it and deal with it.
RAY DALIO

Deal Difficult Disappear Face Hard Problem Yourself
It’s more important to do big things well than to do small things perfectly.
RAY DALIO

Big Important Inspirational Perfection Small
I think the greatest tragedy of mankind is that people have ideas and opinions in their heads but don’t have a process for properly examining these ideas to find out what’s true. That creates a world of distortions.
RAY DALIO

Creation Greatness Kind Man Myself Thinking Tragedy World
Once you accept that playing the game will be uncomfortable, and you do it for a while, it will become much easier (like it does when getting fit). When you excel at it, you will find your ability to get what you want thrilling.
RAY DALIO

Acceptance Comfortable Excellence Game Play Thrill Yourself
Demand is best measured in terms of spending. You know, I think in traditional economics, it’s a mistake to measure it in terms of the quantity of goods.
RAY DALIO

Demand Measurement Mistake Myself Quantity Tradition
By and large, life will give you what you deserve and it doesn’t give a damn what you like. So it is up to you to take full responsibility to connect what you want with what you need to do to get it, and then to do those things.
RAY DALIO

Connection Deserve Life Responsibility Yourself
The best advice I can give you is to ask yourself what do you want, then ask ‘what is true’ – and then ask yourself ‘what should be done about it.’ I believe that if you do this you will move much faster towards what you want to get out of life than if you don’t!
RAY DALIO

Advice Believe Best Life True Yourself

I think the greatest tragedy of mankind is that people have ideas and opinions in their heads but don’t have a process for properly examining these ideas to find out what’s true. That creates a world of distortions.

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I think the greatest tragedy of mankind is that people have ideas and opinions in their heads but don’t have a process for properly examining these ideas to find out what’s true. That creates a world of distortions.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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