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Charlie Munger

Vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, 1978–2023

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
Luckily, I got at a very early age the idea that the safest way to try and get what you want is to try and deserve what you want. It's such a simple idea. It's the golden rule so to speak. You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end. There is no ethos, in my opinion, that is better for any lawyer or any other person to have.

USC Gould School of Law commencement, Speakola, 2007 source ↗

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Shinya Yamanaka Stem cell biologist; Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 2012
Well, I will bring this technology to clinics. I really want to help as many patients as possible. As you may know, I started my career as a surgeon 25 years ago. But it turned out that I am not talented as a surgeon
Recorded Adam Smith, Telephone interview recorded shortly after the prize announcement, October 2012, Nobel Prize Outreach, 1 October 2012 source ↗
Lech Wałęsa President of Poland, 1990–1995; co-founder and chairman of the Solidarity trade union
When I recall my own path of life I cannot but speak of the violence, hatred and lies. A lesson drawn from such experiences, however, was that we can effectively oppose violence only if we ourselves do not resort to it.
Recorded Oslo City Hall (lecture read on his behalf by Bogdan Cywiński), The Nobel Foundation, 11 December 1983 source ↗
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf President of Liberia, 2006–2018
So I urge my sisters, and my brothers, not to be afraid. Be not afraid to denounce injustice, though you may be outnumbered. Be not afraid to seek peace, even if your voice may be small. Be not afraid to demand peace.
Recorded Oslo City Hall, The Nobel Foundation, 10 December 2011 source ↗
Frederick W. Smith Founder and long-serving chairman of FedEx Corporation
The most important piece of advice that I could give them is to take advantage of the tremendous reservoir of knowledge that’s out there today. Spend some time learning how the world has evolved. There are a lot of good lessons in history, and other peoples’ experiences in the past, that could be exactly the solution to the problem you’re looking for.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, 23 May 1998 source ↗

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Question How has a setback or failure set you up for later success? Failure & regret
Life will have terrible blows, horrible blows, unfair blows. Doesn't matter. And some people recover and others don't. And there I think the attitude of Epictetus is the best. He thought that every mischance in life was an opportunity to behave well. Every mischance in life was an opportunity to learn something and your duty was not to be submerged in self-pity, but to utilize the terrible blow in a constructive fashion.
Recorded USC Gould School of Law commencement, Speakola, 2007 source ↗
Question What does everyone in your world seem to agree on that you think is wrong? Values & belief
I realized very early that non-egality would work better in the parts of the world I wanted to inhabit. What do I mean by non-egality? I mean John Wooden, when he was the number one basketball coach in the world. He just said to the bottom five players, “You don't get to play. You're sparring partners.” The top seven did all the playing.
Recorded USC Gould School of Law commencement, 2007, Speakola, 2007 source ↗

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