Wisdom From Charlie Munger

So many of my mistakes as a younger man came because I didn’t have the patience or humility to look for someone who had already done the thing that I was about to do and ask them, “what did you learn and what advice would you have for me?” Wisdom helps you prioritize the things God prioritizes. It helps you make better decisions.

Proverbs 4 tells us “Get wisdom…Do not forsake wisdom… wisdom is supreme…Hold tight to good advice. Guard it well— your life is at stake!”

I spend a lot of time looking for good advice. And I watch too many young people make the mistake I made – not seeking advice, more prone to ask their peers than someone older and wiser than themselves.

One way is to find wisdom is listen to those who have been successful in life as a function of a lot of failure. In that regard, the world lost a wise man last year – Charlie Munger died a little over a month ago, a few days short of his 100th birthday. The world knew Munger as Warren Buffet’s closest associate. But many knew him for his wisdom.

So, let me encourage those of you who haven’t made your worst mistakes in life yet – read the wisdom of people like Munger. Listen to their advice and hold tight! Here are some examples of things he’s said:

Wisdom & reading: “I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time — none, zero. You’d be amazed at 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.”

Learning: “I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than when they got up.”

Trust: “If you want to rise, be trusted.”

Dealing with adversity: “Life will have terrible blows, horrible blows, unfair blows. Doesn’t matter. And some people recover and others don’t. Every mischance in life is an opportunity to behave well.”

Focusing on your strengths: “When I’m lousy at something, I don’t try. Leave it alone.”

Self-governance and rest: “Disasters from fatigue are enormous. Pilots follow very strict guidelines around when they can and can’t work. This is good because we’re poor at self-regulating. Plus, when a pilot screws up, he usually dies.”

Helping others: “If you want to help, ask how you can hurt, then avoid that.”

Authority: “Get involved in your community and learn how to get things done when you don’t have positional power. Good Ideas plus Civility results in Authority.”

Finding happiness: “There are two sources of bliss: ignorance and enlightenment, with five stages of grief in between.”

A few questions as you begin making plans in 2024:  Where do you find wisdom? How have you prioritized learning? How much do those who have authority in your life trust you?

Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash