Want to join the top 20% of the wealthy? Charlie Munger teaches us: Bet less, bet big!!
Charlie Munger once said, "The iron law of life is that only 20% of people achieve what the other 80% do." This statement hits the nail on the head for most people—everyone wants to be among the top 20%, but they always drift along with the crowd.
In fact, Munger had already hidden the secret to becoming a winner in the betting system of horse racing.
He said that the stock market and horse racing are essentially the same thing.
Everyone bets, and the odds fluctuate with the bets.
Good horses have a high winning probability but low odds; bad horses have a low winning probability but temptingly high odds. Even worse, the horse racing club takes a 17% management fee.
You not only need to be smarter than other bettors, you need to be significantly smarter to make money.
But some people do actually win.
Munger's childhood gambling buddies made a fortune betting on light carriages and horse racing.
This man rarely bet, focusing only on mispriced bets—opportunities with underestimated odds but high payouts.
Once he saw a winning opportunity, he would strike hard.
This is the core difference between winners and ordinary people: ordinary people are busy betting frequently, while winners wait for the best opportunity.
Those who always want "more work, more gain" are, in Munger's eyes, "crazy." He said, "They don't wait for the perfect opportunity to go all out; they believe that by working harder or hiring more business school students, they can be invincible in the business world." Effort is not wrong, but blind effort will only make you sink deeper into the 80% of the mire. True winners don't rely on brute force, but follow Munger's truth: "The way to become a winner is to work, work, work, and work again, and expect to spot a few good opportunities."
This "work" is not aimless busywork, but day-to-day accumulation, research, and refinement. It takes time to understand industry logic, it requires dedicated study of company value, and it demands patience to wait for opportunities. Without this deep cultivation, even if an opportunity is right in front of you, you won't be able to seize it.
To break into the top 20% of winners, Munger believes it boils down to two things:
First, put in the hard work and develop a keen eye for identifying hidden gems. We aren't born with the ability to see through everything at all times; the market is efficient most of the time. You must rely on "work, work, work, and more work" to find those undervalued "mispriced bets" amidst a sea of information.
Second, bet less, but bet heavily when you're sure. Munger said, "Smart people bet heavily when they find such opportunities. They bet heavily when they encounter good opportunities, and remain inactive at other times." The market isn't perfectly efficient; there will always be opportunities to find bargains.
But these opportunities are only for those who can endure loneliness, stay true to themselves, and are willing to put in the relentless effort.
In Munger's view, patience is more important than hard work, and vision is more valuable than diligence. Behind vision lies day-to-day, dedicated cultivation.
May you be able to bury yourself in your work while also looking up to seize opportunities, ultimately becoming one of the 20% who succeed.
The above is a summary of reading Chapter 4 of *Poor Charlie's Almanack*, shared for mutual encouragement.
———————— Day 405 of Rejecting Noise and Focusing on Dollar-Cost Averaging
Currently holding 50 ETH, cost $2373.67
Currently holding 5.51 BTC, cost $86167
Currently holding 1817.32 SOL, cost $157.3
Currently holding 7250 LINK, cost $14.8
Today's actions: Continued mindless buying of 0.04 BTC, 5 SOL, and 50 LINK
Current overall account profit: -12.24%
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