“It is paradoxical and disturbing to us that economists have long praised foolish spending as a necessary ingredient of a successful economy.”
Charlie Munger
Poor Charlie’s Almanack (Primary source)
In the tradition of Benjamin Franklin’s own almanack, Poor Charlie’s Almanack stands as a remarkable distillation of one man’s lifelong pursuit of what he termed elementary worldly wisdom. Compiled with evident devotion by Peter Kaufman and first published in 2005, this volume represents the most comprehensive gathering of Charles Munger’s speeches, insights, and philosophical observations spanning two decades of public discourse.
More about “Poor Charlie’s Almanack” →
“I think a life properly lived is just learn, learn, learn all the time.”
— Charlie Munger Primary source“So you have to figure out what your own aptitudes are. If you play games where other people have the aptitudes and you don’t, you’re going to lose. And that’s as close to certain as any prediction you can make. You have to figure out where you’ve got an edge. And you’ve got to play within your own circle of competence.”
— Charlie Munger Primary source“Invert, always invert”
— Charlie Munger Primary source“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter) who didn’t read all the time—none, zero. You’d be amazed how much Warren reads—and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.”
— Charlie Munger Primary sourceMore quotes by Charlie Munger →
“We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it long enough.”
— Helen Keller Disputed“Thou wilt go now, rabbit. But I go with thee. As long as there is one of us there is both of us.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“Wish not so much to live long as to live well.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“Dying is only bad when it takes a long time and hurts so much that it humiliates you.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source