Charlie Munger said ‘you are a total idiot’ if you are surprised if you lose from people like this

Charlie Munger believed that there is no replacement for hard hours and perseverance, and he once explained it in a characteristic sharp way.

Charlie Munger correlated ruthless work ethics and success

Pointing to the rise of Korea in cars, the late Berkshire Hathaway VICE chairman argued that “only a total idiot” would be surprised to lose to competitors who are going out.

He mentioned the example of Koreans who came in and brought their grip in the car industry “out of nothing”. Munger said that Koreans worked ’84 hours a week without overtime for more than a decade ‘, while their children spent after -school hours with teachers, powered by’ Tiger Moms’.

The comment, told at Munger’s 2015 Daily Journal Meeting and compiled in David Clark’s “The Tao of Charlie Munger”, distilled a theme that he often came back to, that is the result of discipline and time on task.

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Munger believed in the composite power of ‘continuous learning’

Against the blunt language is a walk -through line of admiration. Munger praised societies and companies that invest in human capital and have set in the hours. He also argued that the individual version of that ethics is continuous learning.

“Go to bed smarter than when you woke up,” he said, a habit he modeled with heavy reading and thinking calmly. He often said that the success of ‘learning machines’, not just the naturally brilliant.

He stuck stood Warren Buffett At the top of that list. When recalling lessons from the USC address of Munger, several accounts note that he called Buffett a “learning machine” whose composite curiosity helped Berkshire’s sustainability. The message for younger strivers was simple – read a lot, think clearly and then leave small daily improvements.

Others reflect that playbook. Bill Gates Leest About a book per week, Jeff Bezos codified “Learn and be curious” AmazonAnd Elon Musk credits Wide, technical reading for jumping about industries.

Photo with thanks: Kent Sievers via Shutterstock.com

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