On January 1, 2023, Charles T. “Charlie” Munger celebrated his 99th birthday. Charlie is the Chairman of Daily Journal Corporation but is better known as the Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett’s business partner and sidekick for over 60 years.
I love watching Warren and Charlie answering questions at the Berkshire Hathaway (Woodstock for Capitalists) annual meeting each year. Warren tends to be verbose and comes off as a kindly but wise Middle-American grandfather. Charlie’s answers are direct, succinct, and often hilarious.
Over the years, I have watched virtually every taped interview that Charlie has given. Most are available on YouTube and I highly recommend them. On or around his recent birthday, he was asked about what his advice for a person was to have a happy life.
His answer was not making billions as he and Warren have. He summed it up as “lowering your expectations.” We all have dreams, but Charlie seemed to be cautioning about getting unrealistic with him. He suggested honesty in all that you do, working steadily, spending less than you earn, keep learning and stay positive.
At times, during the various questions he has received on the topic, he sounded like a blend of Ben Franklin’s advice and suggestions made in Thomas Stanley’s THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR.
With typical self-deprecation, he said that nerds got a lot out of his advice, but most people did not follow it. By playing the long game in life and in finances, you tend to be happier than most.
One thing that I have observed in recent years makes me wish that many more people would be exposed to Charlie’s simple suggestions. When I began teaching almost full time some 14 years ago it was not uncommon to have some “happy go lucky” students in each class. By my final year, the levels of angst were off the charts and students tended to be in two distinct groups:
1) Many felt that the world was against them and that they had little chance. Student debt would hold them back, social security would be empty by the time they were geezers, and AI and robots would grab millions of jobs.
2) The second group came off as if they had just spent the last 48 hours at a Tony Robbins seminar and they were going to be billionaires by the time that they were 35. Oddly, they were not the best students nor were they particularly inquisitive.
A smaller group had their feet on the ground and instinctively seemed to follow Charlie’s mantra of realistic expectations. They seemed well adjusted and optimistic.
So, while this remnant may be nerds they will keep going, take life as it comes, and if they live long enough, have a very substantial level of happiness, fulfillment, and financial gain.
Bless you, Charlie.
If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com or leave a message on the blog.
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