Poor Charlie's Almanack

By: Peter D. Kaufman

Finished: 7/30/2024

What’s it about:  a collection of speeches and lessons from Charlie Munger, one the greatest investors and minds of history. 

Main takeaway: Obviously, Charlie is a thug. One of the deepest thinkers f all time with the track record in investing to prove it. The main ideas are: Invert, always invert. Essentially, think about the problem backwards. I want to get rich, so start with the idea in mind. Now, reverse it out. If I was rich, what had to have happened? Additionally, avoid the things that are sure to leave you in ruin, such as drugs and alcohol. His famous speech on this topic is the surefire ways to ensure misery. Study psychology, but especially on the errors of human judgement. See those below:

Use mental models and checklists: Don't rely on yourself to remember everything. Pilots follow checklists, they work. Don't make every decision brand new. Use mental models of life to make decisions. Lastly, since then I have heard Charlie was an enormous biography reader, so I plan to try to do the same!