What I Learned from Poor Charlie's Almanack (EP.1)

"The only way to win is to work, work, work, and hope to have a few insights." — Charlie Munger

Charlie Munger was Warren Buffett's business partner and closest intellectual companion for over 60 years. If Buffett was the face of Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie was the mind quietly asking the harder questions behind the scenes. What sets him apart from other investors isn't just that he was good with money — it's that he read everything. Science, psychology, history, biology — and then connected it all into mental models he could actually use to make decisions. That's what makes this book feel like more than just an investing book.

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1) Preparation — the only thing we can actually control

"Sloppy preparation and decision-making are never excusable because they ARE controllable."

Outcomes are out of our hands. Preparation isn't. Charlie doesn't ask us to be smarter than everyone else — just more prepared, for whatever we're doing.

Before starting anything, it helps to know:

• What you know

• What you don't know

• How you'll handle it if things don't go as planned

• What you'll take away from the process regardless of the outcome

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2) Lifelong Learning — read not to know, but to think better

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

I used to set reading goals — finish X books this year. But Charlie doesn't read to remember. He reads to build mental models. Everything he's read, whether it's design, data, psychology, or investing, eventually connects in ways you don't expect — but only if you read enough.

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You don't need to know everything. You just need to feel like you understand something a little better today than you did yesterday — 1% better every day.

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3) Independence — your own thinking matters more than you think

"Remember that just because other people agree or disagree with you doesn't make you right or wrong — the only thing that matters is the correctness of your analysis and judgement."

Most people aren't wrong because they're not smart. They're wrong because they follow the crowd without thinking it through. Charlie could swim against the current not because he was stubborn, but because he'd read and thought enough to trust his own analysis.

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Before believing something, ask yourself — am I thinking this because I reasoned it out, or because I've just heard it repeated enough times?

And what if someone argues the opposite? Charlie's answer isn't about how many people are on your side. It's about whether you've done the work. If you've looked at both sides, done your homework, and still think the same thing — there's no real reason to change your mind just because of outside pressure. Conviction doesn't come from stubbornness. It comes from being prepared enough.

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4) Patience — don't interrupt the compounding

"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world — never interrupt it unnecessarily." — Einstein

This is a quote Einstein said that Charlie loved to reference.

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Charlie didn't just apply this to investing. He applied it to everything. Skills built daily, relationships tended consistently, knowledge accumulated without stopping — all of it compounds.

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What usually interrupts compounding isn't failure. It's impatience — wanting to see results before they're ready.

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5) Decisiveness — prepare slowly, decide quickly

"When proper circumstances present themselves, act with decisiveness and conviction."

Charlie believed in "extreme patience combined with extreme decisiveness." Everything takes time, so you wait. But when the moment arrives, you move — no hesitation.

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At work, if a great opportunity shows up unexpectedly but you haven't built the skills to handle it, you won't have the confidence to take it. In investing, if a crisis hits, are you prepared — both in knowledge and liquidity — to act with a clear head? Or will you panic and sell everything at a loss?

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The courage to decide comes from being prepared enough. Not from confidence alone.

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6) Focus on what NOT to do — know what kills you, and never go there

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I'll never go there."

Charlie spends more time thinking about what not to do than what to do. Avoiding preventable mistakes is always worth more than chasing the next opportunity.

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Things worth avoiding:

• Making decisions when emotions are running high (sleep on it first)

• Taking on work or relationships with people who aren't straightforward — sometimes gut feeling tells you not to, even when logic says it should be fine

• Getting involved in things that drain energy without going anywhere

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7) Process over outcome — find happiness along the way

"Enjoy the process along with the proceeds, because the process is where you live."

This is one of my favorite lines in the whole book.

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Outcomes are just a destination. The process is the timeline you actually live in.

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I've found that many times when I've invested real effort into something and it didn't turn out the way I hoped, what I gained from the process ended up feeding something else entirely. And sometimes the result turned out better than expected anyway.

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Ask yourself often: if I don't get the outcome I'm hoping for — was the journey worth it? If yes, keep going.

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Munger's fundamental philosophy:

Preparation. Discipline. Patience. Decisiveness.

None of these are things you do once — they all have to be practiced, every day.

A small note: since I'm reading this in English, there are parts I'm still not sure I fully understand. I think some of it will make more sense as I gain more experience and knowledge. More to come — EP.2 coming soon.