These are few things I’ve heard before but only “got it” once some time has passed.

  1. Take a simple idea and take it seriously
    When you figure out how the world works in one or more aspects, go all-in.
  2. Trust is the most expensive currency
    Like reputation, it takes 20 years to build and 5 minutes to destroy it.
  3. Mistake is a blessing
    At the moment of pain, you can’t possibly see how this is going to be a blessing. Only when looking backward does it become clear - almost like a prerequisite for the next stage of life.
  4. Men are reasoning rather than reasonable animals
    Alexander Hamilton said it too well.
  5. You can’t make money by trying to make it.
    Same thing goes with credit. You cannot claim the credit and expect people to give it. In fact, when you don’t, people tend to give you even more.
  6. Humans are averse to cloning. But lots of good ideas have been figured out.
    Charlie Munger once said Sam Walton practically invented nothing new. Charlie believed he himself did not either.
  7. Revolution in a hurry leads good men into excess
    Hamilton again. Charlie’s version probably is: if you mix raisins with turds, that’s still a turd.
  8. The longer the communication pipeline is, the more information is lost
    Compound this with incentives, and you will get a pretty dysfunctional organization.
  9. Time is the ultimate stress test
    A hotshot, fast money, a saint you once worship - how many are still there? This is from Li Lu: If you don’t have intellectual honesty, you will be tested.
  10. If you wrestle with the pig, both of you will get muddy but the pig will enjoy it.
    There’re people who love drama and ugly fights.
  11. The teacher will show up once the student is ready.
    There’re things you can’t grasp until you accumulate a certain level of life experience.
  12. Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you want
    That’s from Howard Marks.
  13. Randomness causes immunity. Anti-fragility is tolerance, or even thriving, under extreme randomness.
    From Nassim Taleb
  14. There’s no adult in the room. Everybody is trying to figure out themselves.
    This is from Peter Thiel. I cannot remember when and where. Your CEO, your VP, and your manager are dealing with things they probably never encountered in their lives.
  15. Belief comes from capability. Champions behave like one before becoming one.
    No need to say it further.
  16. Inversion and choice elimination is easier
    What will happen in the future? Too hard. How about something that will never change? That is easier.
  17. Societal anomalies and extreme phenomena can usually be explained through the confluence of simple ideas.
    Munger’s lollapalooza
  18. The goal is not about getting rich. It is staying sane.
    Once you see enough unhappy rich people and families, you will get it.
  19. It never occurs to me that making the most money is the goal in life
    Howard Marks said it. My brother said it.
  20. It is not greed that drives the world. It’s envy.
    Nothing can trouble the mind of a smart man more than seeing his idiot friend get rich. Warren Buffett jokingly said Adam Smith was wrong to say that greed is what drives the world.
  21. The Golden Day never comes. It only exists in the past.
    You never know whether you’re in one or not. You can only tell when you look back.
  22. Love is something you give before you get it back.
    It is not guaranteed to get it back. Actually, you should not expect it. Giving love freely already already serves a joyful purpose.
  23. It is harder to be kind than be clever.
    Bezos said it well enough
  24. It’s unfortunate that this happens to me. No, It is fortunate. It’s the opportunity to excercise what you’d practice. It’s an opportunity to learn something
    Taken from random places in Stoic readings
  25. Friendship takes effort to maintain and does not happen automatically like when you were young.
    Hope I didn’t recognize this too late
  26. A well-groomed, smart person with good interpersonal skills is not interesting. If you have those traits, it’s easy for you to attain the position of power. You should look at those who’re no good. Those you can’t believe to rise. That’s real politics.
    It brought me a good laugh when I heard it first time. But it’s very very true
  27. The future is going to come whether you like it or not. So you might as well be excited about it.
    Speaking of A.I. and interesting time when I nearly graduate the CS program
  28. Still hurted but didn’t bother that much (anymore)
    Munger once jokingly said one good thing of being is when you wake up nothing new hurts.
  29. We like to believe that world is a fair place. But it’s not. The reality is probably too much to bear so we invent the Hell and Heaven, Karma, After Life, you name it. Don’t get me wrong, there is a social good coming from this invention. But to the personal level, it’s better to see the world as it is.
  30. Zeno went to see the Oracle of Delphi and asked what’s the secret to life. The cryptic answer was:
    “You will become wise once you start to have conversations with the dead.”
  31. Happiness raidates from within.
    A broken soul will not be fixed by outside hands.
  32. Every good sorcerer knows: *if you know the name of the spirits, you have power over them
    Case in point: if you understand how LLM works algoritmically, you feel like you are the one wielding it - and not the other way around.

[more to come – transferring from a notebook]