In this world, those who are truly successful have a common trait: they can find the underlying logic of things and can transfer and apply it.
How can we improve our cognition and find the underlying logic of things?
To sum up, it is to attach importance to common sense and the accumulation of common sense.
What is common sense?
Mao Zedong once said: The source of the source, the truth of the universe; Charlie Munger once said: There is a very useful ancient law in the business world, it has two steps, the first step is to find a simple, basic truth, and the second step is to act very strictly according to this truth. The truth and basic truth mentioned here refer to common sense.
Common sense is condensed wisdom, concise proverbs.
Buffett, who is 89 years old and still maintains the desire to learn, constantly being exposed to new skills, quoting a saying that mocks himself: "Old dogs also have new tricks, so I am learning new knowledge and constantly practicing" Even Buffett admits that the best investment is to invest in yourself.
Here are 53 of Buffett and Charlie Munger's mottos about life and career that deserve to be learned.
6 life tips about Buffett
1. Timid when others are greedy, greedy when others are timid
Buffett once pointed out in the Berkshire annual report that in the investment community, the two major infectious diseases of timidity and greed erupt from time to time, but the timing of their emergence is unpredictable, and the market imbalances that follow are uncertain, which is closely related to the continuous cycle of the disease and the intensity of the outbreak. Therefore, we never waste time predicting when a disease will come and when it will be cured.
Our method is very simple, just need to be timid when others are greedy, and greedy when others are timid. So Wall Street is never timid, on the contrary, there is laughter here.
Why is that? Business is sluggish, but the bosses are making a lot of money in the bull market. What could be more exciting than this sight?
Unfortunately, stocks don't always go on better than the company.
2, 89 years old to learn to do PPT, the best investment is their own
Buffett, as a wise "front wave", has a lot of philosophy of life that is worth learning from future generations.
For example, at many shareholder meetings, Buffett stressed that the best project you can do is to invest in yourself. He once gave an example: Imagine if an elf came to a 17-year-old child and promised him a car he wanted, but with one condition—no matter which car he chose, he had to let it die.
As you can imagine, in order to drive the car for 50 years, the young man would have read the user manual 10 times and changed the oil twice as often as normal.
Each of us has received a body and a piece of wisdom in our lifetime, and we can't fix them until we're 60, we have to take care of them.
A person's greatest asset is himself. When you are young, you must think more, and you must cultivate good living habits in order to make your life better. If not, you may die at the age of 70.
Buffett believes that very few people can realize their full potential in their lifetime.
Human potential is often much greater than one's current abilities.
Buffett himself has also invested a lot of energy in himself, has spent time and money to learn communication skills, just past the shareholders' meeting, the 89-year-old is still learning PPT skills. So, Buffett's important point is to develop yourself, find what interests you, and improve your abilities.
Charlie Munger also believes that he should add a mental compound interest to himself, and he decides to sell himself the best time of the day to improve his way of thinking, and then sell the rest of the time to other people in the world.
3. Lifelong learning and acceptance of criticism
Charlie Munger often praised Buffett's strong desire to learn, calling him a "learning machine."
Learning and age are not about, but about a game.
Although Buffett is older and more knowledgeable, he is still learning, and this is one of his greatest qualities.
Buffett also felt like he wanted to pick up and read everything he saw. He suggests that good investors should read everything. In his own case, he read for years and lived at the Omaha Public Library for 4 years. At the age of 10, I read all the investment books in the library, and some books were even read twice.
"Keep your brain competitive and discover what you want to do." Then you'll have to go into the water – take some money and act on your own. He joked that talking on paper is like reading a romance novel, and making love is completely different.
Munger admits that Buffett is the most sane person he has ever met, and Buffett's ability to learn is crucial to Berkshire's success.
Beyond that, Munger believes their ability to accept constructive criticism is key to Berkshire's success. He confessed: "Berkshire is built on criticism. ”
He recalled that in the negotiations for the acquisition of Si Candy, if the seller asked for more than $100,000, he and Buffett planned to turn around and leave. Ella Marshall says they're doing that and they should spend more on good qualities.
Marshall was right.
Since spending $25 million on Cash Candy in 1972, the company has earned Berkshire more than $1 billion in pre-tax revenue. If the deal had been abandoned for a minuscule $100,000, the loss would have been enormous.
4, do what you can do, so that you will not lose a lot of money
Buffett, who is also an ordinary person, mentioned an interesting point: do what you can do so that you don't lose a lot of money.
He felt that his best idea was not necessarily better than others', but his worst idea did not make him lose much. In response to the wisdom of accumulating wealth that everyone asked, Buffett replied: Spend less than earn, understand and only do what you are within your ability, only those companies you invest money in are the only important companies, keep learning, don't concede defeat, and insist on keeping a margin of safety.
Buffett, for example, only cares about businesses that he knows and can control. Because he can't understand technology stocks, Buffett missed Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. At Berkshire's 52nd shareholder meeting, Buffett half-jokingly said that he didn't invest in Amazon "because he was so stupid."
Only by seeing their own "stupidity", knowing the boundaries of their own abilities, and not being disturbed by others and the market, can they return to rationality and avoid losses. These are both investment philosophies and life wisdom.
5. Do what you like and work with people you like
Buffett was asked, what advice do you have for MBA graduates?
Buffett said: "Do what you like, work with the people you like, as long as you can do these two things, you can't be wrong." 」
Buffett feels very fortunate to discover what he really loves early on. He recalls reading many of his father's investment books as a child and realizing what he really wanted to do. He pointed out that the biggest mistake in life is to do nothing and be perfunctory.
The ideal life should be to work for the work that you are willing to give free of charge.
Running Berkshire is the biggest fun thing in Buffett's life. So Buffett advises everyone to do what interests them. Charlie Munger echoed that as long as it was something he wasn't interested in, he couldn't do a single thing.
And this is reflected in investment, but also to find people with inner strength. Buffett quoted Emerson as saying, "The power within you is ultimately a new force of nature." ”
One of Buffett's famous investment cases: Nebraska Furniture. Its founder, Ross Bloomingin, is a man of inner strength. Rose Bloomkin, an old lady who had never been to school, turned $500 into a $78-acre, $400 million Nebraska furniture store. She was energetic about work and worked until she was 103 years old.
Buffett tells everyone that nothing is more important than following your passions. That's what Berkshire's great executives have in common — they love what they do.
6, make friends with people who are better than you, and walk with the wise
Buffett once said that you'd better hang out with people who are better than you. Partnering with good people, you will also unconsciously go in that direction.
Buffett and Charlie Munger met in 1959, and since then they've been friends, together creating the greatest investment record ever made. Buffett once said of Charlie Munger: "Although Charlie has no professional investment training, he instinctively understands all this, and his level is not below anyone I have ever seen." 」 He's a very smart guy... I know that a lot of people have a high IQ, but they don't have a good time up to Charlie,, both in investing and in many other ways. ”
In terms of making friends, Buffett suggests that everyone list the qualities they expect their friends to have, and then let themselves slowly develop these qualities. He stressed that it is a matter of choice, has nothing to do with DNA, and that anyone can develop good character and habits. Munger interjected that they knew some businessmen who had a successful career but did not have a single friend... Indeed it is. "You can't survive at all." He concluded.
Reading more books is also a great way to make friends.
Charlie Munger says that books allow you to make friends with all kinds of people, and even make you more good friends.
Charlie Munger: 47 proverbs about investing and life
1. 12 Suggestions on Investors' Mental Cultivation
The decision to live is more important than the decision to invest, and independence is the purpose of making money, not the other way around.
Knowing what you don't know is more useful than being a smart person.
Acknowledging ignorance is the beginning of wisdom.
People are trying to be savvy. I just want to prove that I'm not doing something stupid, but it's a lot harder than many people think.
Using quantitative means, we can find a good deal, but once we have crossed the shackles of thinking, then we can start to think about better investment opportunities.
My success stems from my long-term focus.
Waiting quietly will help you become an investor, yet most people are in a state of impatience.
You have to be very patient, you have to wait until something comes up and you realize that the price you paid is worth it.
There is no single criterion for getting rich through investment. You need to know a lot about business, human nature, and numbers, and don't expect a magical system to do that for you.
Successful investing requires both aggressiveness and patience, and also needs to be prepared to seize an opportunity when it arises, because in this world, opportunity does not last long.
Every century, the market will always fall by more than 50% two or three times, and if you can't calm down on all this, you are not suitable as an ordinary shareholder. Compared to those who are more dignified and more calm about market fluctuations, you deserve mediocre results.
When we were young, we didn't know what would expand our investments, but we would learn relentlessly and make amends before it was too late.
Going with the flow will only bring you closer to the average.
Forecasting has never been my forte, and I don't rely on accurate predictions to make money. We tend to just buy good companies and keep holding them.
The desire to get rich overnight is quite dangerous.
As an investor, Graham learned many lessons in the market. The Great Crash and Depression that nearly crushed him shaped the philosophy of evaluating the company and left the rest of his life in the throes. All his methods are aimed at getting rid of this happening again.
The ancient saying goes, "A river drowns a man who drowns." "Try not to make stupid mistakes, not try to be as smart as possible, and investors with a long-term advantage know how to make unimaginable gains from this."
2. 18 suggestions for learning
It's been an experience in my life that if you can keep thinking and reading, you don't need to go to work.
Extreme specialization is the way to success.
In any past year, if you haven't overturned your favorite idea once, then this year is a waste.
At the end of each day, try to be wiser than when you wake up in the morning. Faithfully and brilliantly performing their duties, improving a little bit every day. Ultimately, if you live long enough, most people will get what they deserve.
Acquire valuable ideas in important subject areas and use them frequently. Remember to use it together, not just one part of it.
I like people who can openly admit that they are stupid. I know I'll behave better if I admit my mistakes head-on. It's a great learning tip.
A person can live a comfortable life without making mistakes, but this is unrealistic. In fact, one of the tricks in life is to learn to deal with mistakes. The inability to deal with "psychological resistance" is a common reason why many people eventually go bankrupt.
Every missed opportunity in life is an opportunity to exercise and learn, and what you have to do is not to indulge in self-pity, but to use these bad blows in a constructive way.
None of the wise men I know in my life have not been learned all the time.
If you already have the level of intelligence required by a mentally mature person, then you have the ability to surpass those who are smarter than you. Just take the most critical knowledge points from all the different subject areas, not just a few, and you'll be much smarter than they are.
In life, I have met many people who have achieved a lot. Although they are neither the smartest nor even the most diligent, they are all very good at learning. They fall asleep every night smarter than when they wake up, kids, and that's important, especially if you're facing a long run in your life.
If you want to have wisdom, you have to sit still and read. This is the right way to gain wisdom.
We are always learning, revising and abandoning our ideas. Giving up your original ideas in a timely and rapid manner is one of the most valuable qualities. Also, you have to teach yourself to think differently.
If you can't articulate the other person's point of view more clearly than your opponent, then you can't say you have a point of view to be proud of. This is an important mental training.
Those with more seniority than you may have biases due to motivation, or other similar psychological factors that affect their cognitive abilities, in which case you need to have the courage to overturn their decisions. Of course, there are cases where you have to admit that you don't know anything about something, and the best thing to do at this point is to trust a professional.
I always keep my distance from certain people who don't really understand the questions but answer them with confidence.
I think people who multitask at the same time pay a big price.
There is a saying that says, "To the man with the hammer, everything looks like a nail." "This way of solving the problem is stupid. Most people are trained in a single model and try to take one approach to all problems. That is, extreme ideologies can bind people's minds, which must be avoided.
3. 18 proverbs about life experience
The surest way to get something you want is to make yourself worthy of it.
Maintaining reason is a moral law. Don't be stupid when you shouldn't be stupid.
I've heard Buffett say it many times: "It's not greed that moves the world forward, it's envy." ”
In areas I wasn't interested in, I never had much success. If you can't be interested in certain things under any circumstances, then even if you are very smart, it will be difficult for you to achieve big success.
The best way to fight aging is to live well before you get old.
In a marriage, you should not look for a partner with good looks and character. You need to lower your expectations to find a partner.
Someone once asked me who in life had contributed the most to my personal well-being, and I said, "It's simple, it's my wife's first husband." ”
If I have achieved anything, it is mainly because I insist on thinking deeply.
Three rules of career: 1. 2. Don't sell things that you don't want to buy yourself; 2. 3. Don't work for people you don't respect and appreciate; Only work with people you like.
Deal with people you trust and keep others away from your life.
Find your way to success by positively reinforcing the people around you.
When you're faced with an incredible disaster, never let a collapse of will turn into two or even three.
In the long run, the probability of a great civilization being surpassed and eventually eclipsed is 100%. Therefore, you should try to understand how civilization is in decline.
Life always hurts someone in some way and helps others in a certain way. In the face of life's blows, everyone should actively cope. Manhood should be like this, calmly facing the unsatisfactory in life. Don't always complain, and don't expect to solve problems by complaining.
If you've been investing in Buffett for 40 years, you don't have the right to complain even if he's no longer useful to you.
If you're worried about inflation and don't need too many items, one of the most effective protections is that you can't have too many ridiculous needs in your life.
It's useless to spend time worrying about things you can't handle. If you always feel that something terrible is going to happen, then I suggest you have the option of being a stupid optimist for the rest of your life.
The highest form of civilization is to form a seamless network with a strong sense of trust – no process is required, just reliable people trusting each other... In your own life, you will also aspire to have such a seamless network of trust. If your marriage agreement is full of 47 pages, then I suggest you don't get married anyway.
summary
Charlie Munger once said that you have to use your knowledge in different areas to solve important fundamental problems.
The reason why we continue to learn and accumulate many mental models is to increase our understanding of the world, so that we can make fast and correct decisions.
Nothing new under the sun.
Once you have enough common sense, you can solve the vast majority of problems you encounter in life and work.
Exactly as Munger said, "Physics, mathematics, chemistry can solve 90% of things." ”
The old saying goes: Learning is like the seedlings of spring, and it does not see its long days increase.
Don't ignore the power of common sense, after all, the best investment in life is to invest in yourself!
Investment Consultant: Lu Peng's practicing certificate number: A1130620080001
When: March 15, 2022