23 Quotes by Charles T. Munger

Pain-Avoiding Psychological Denial One should recognize reality even when one doesn’t like it.

The best armour of old age is a well spent life perfecting it.

Forgetting your mistakes is a terrible error if you’re trying to improve your cognition. Reality doesn’t remind you. Why not celebrate stupidities in both categories?

If something is too hard, we move on to something else. What could be simpler than that?

An example of a really responsible system is the system the Romans used when they built an arch. The guy who created the arch stood under it as the scaffolding was removed. It’s like packing your own parachute.

Warren talks about these discounted cash flows. I’ve never seen him do one.

Envy is a really stupid sin because it’s the only one you could never possibly have any fun at. There’s a lot of pain and no fun. Why would you want to get on that trolley?

A lot of people with high IQs are terrible investors because they’ve got terrible temperaments. And that is why we say that having a certain kind of temperament is more important than brains. You need to keep raw irrational emotion under control. You need patience and discipline and an ability to take losses and adversity without going crazy. You need an ability to not be driven crazy by extreme success.

Develop into a lifelong self-learner through voracious reading; cultivate curiosity and strive to become a little wiser every day.