Quotes from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time -- none, zero. You'd be amazed at how much Warren reads--and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. 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.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“There is no better teacher than history in determining the future... There are answers worth billions of dollars in 30$ history book.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“How to find a good spouse?
-the best single way is to deserve a good spouse.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group…then to hell with them.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“It takes character to sit with all that cash and to do nothing.
I didn't get top where I am by going after mediocre opportunities.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“What are the secret of success?
-one word answer :"rational”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“The best armour of old age is a well spent life perfecting it.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a board subject matter area) who didn't read all the time - none, zero. You'd be amazed how much Warren reads - and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“The best armour of old age is a well spent life preceding it.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“The reason we avoid the word "synergy" is because people generally claim more synergistic benefits than will come. Yes, it exists, but there are so many false promises. Berkshire is full of synergies - we don't avoid synergies, just claims of synergies.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

“I think that, every time you see the word EBITDA, you should substitute the words "bullshit earnings.”
― Charles T. Munger, quote from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

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Popular quotes

“There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still have to prove our worth anew each day: we have to prove that we are as good today as we were yesterday. But when we have a valid alibi for not achieving anything we are fixed, so to speak, for life.288”
― Thomas Sowell, quote from Black Rednecks and White Liberals

“Alone and lost, appeared this saint,

With pretty gray eyes, darkness can’t taint.

He stole her from cold, from blustering storm,

Kind and gentle, he took her from harm.

Fearful of dark, he created her light,

A jar of gold, chasing demons of night.

Telling stories of love, he brought to her life,

A moment by his side: no pain, no strife.

He gifted her poems, a gesture on whim,

With every word read, she could see only him.

She counted the days until he returned home,

The boy with his light, the girl not alone.

Invisible to all, a shade wandering in dark,

He brought back her faith, with his pure kind heart.

- Elsie”
― Tillie Cole, quote from Sweet Soul

“That night Bindi, Steve, and I all curled up in bed together. “As long as we’re together,” Steve said, “everything will be just fine.”
It was spooky, and I didn’t want to think about it, but it did indeed seem that Steve got into trouble more when he was off on his own. Around that time, on a shoot in Africa with the bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, Steve slipped as he rushed to get a shot of a lizard. He put his hand out to catch himself, and placed it down right in the middle of a euphorbia plant. The bush broke into pieces, and the splinters sank deep into Steve’s hand.
Kalahari bushmen use the resin of the euphorbia plant to poison-tip their spears. Steve’s arm swelled and turned black. He became feverish and debated whether to go home or to the hospital. He sought the advice of the bushmen who worked with the poisonous resin regularly.
“What do you do if you get nailed by this poison?”
The bushmen smiled broadly. “We die,” they said.
John filmed every step of the way as the skin of Steve’s arm continued to blacken and he rode out the fever. He worried about the residual effects of gangrene.
Ultimately, Steve survived, but he felt the effects for weeks afterward. Once again, Steve and I discussed how uneasy we felt when we were apart. Every time we were together on a trip, we knew we’d be okay. When we were apart, though, we shared a disconcerting feeling that was hard to put into words. It made me feel hollow inside.
The Africa trip had taken Steve away from us for three weeks, and Bindi had changed so much while he was away. We agreed that we would never be apart from Bindi and that at least one of us would always be with her. I just felt bad for Steve that I had been the lucky one for the past three weeks. He missed her so much.
The next documentary would be different.”
― Terri Irwin, quote from Steve & Me

“The worst thing about e-mail is that you can’t interrupt the other person. You have to read the whole thing and then e-mail them back, pointing out all their mistakes and faulty assumptions. It’s frustrating and it’s time-consuming. God bless phone calls.”
― George Carlin, quote from When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?

“I wasn't convinced a shop girl would know the word 'Oedipal.”
― Shirley Hazzard, quote from The Transit of Venus

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About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.