As I was re-reading "Poor Charlie’s Almanack", I found a lot of wisdom that was great to revisit. Specifically, I ran into a chapter that discusses some specific questions and recommendations to young people by Charlie Munger (Trades, Portfolio). As usual, one can expect brutal honesty and a great deal of wisdom.
I think that one of the most important details on Charlie’s advice is the fact that being honest, enjoyable and modest is a recurrent theme in Munger’s recommendations. While Munger and Buffett were blessed with all the wiring necessary to be capital allocators, they have never stopped learning and never decided to rely only on talent. Even though the advice is for young people, I think we can all benefit from Munger’s advice.
What should a young person look for in a career?
“I have three basic rules. Meeting all three is nearly imposible, but you should try anyway:
Don’t sell anything you wouldn’t buy yourself
Don’t work for anyone you don’t respect and admire
Work only with people you enjoy
I have been incredibly fortunate in my life. Warren and I had all three.
What overall life advice do you have for young people?
Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. You build discipline by preparing for fast spurts. Slug it out one inch at a time, day-by-day, and at the end of the day - if you live long enough - like most people, you will get out of life what you deserve.
Life and its various passages can be hard, brutally hard. The three things I have found helpful in coping with its challenges are:
Have low expectations
Have a sense of humor
Surround yourself with the love of friends and family
Above all, live with change and adapt to it. If the world didn’t change, I’d still have a twelve hándicap.
