William Green has profiled a number of value investors and turned their lives into inspiring stories. What I liked most about Richer, Wiser, Happier is how Green dissected life lessons and decision patterns from these legends. My favorite chapters are the ones on Charlie Munger, Joel Greenblatt, Monish Pabrai, and Nick Sleep. Here are some of the timeless lessons on what made these individuals successful.

1. Clone like crazy – There is absolutely no harm in copying the best ideas.
2. Treat life as a game, not as a survival contest or a battle to the death.
   1. Pabrai once said “On my gravestone, I want them to write, ‘He loved to play games, especially games he knew he could win.” So, say no to many things, and say yes to a few in which you can truly succeed.
   1. “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” – Warren Buffett.
3. Live by an inner scorecard – Do not worry about what others think of you; don’t define yourself by external validation.
4. Read and hang out with people who are better than you.
   1. When Pabrai finds a topic that interests him, he approaches it with enthusiasm. For example, when Pabrai started learning about Buffett, he read everything he could find viz. decades of letters to Berkshire’s shareholders and books such as Roger Lowenstein’s “Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist.” He never missed Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha and made it a yearly ritual.
   1. He developed a personal relationship with Buffett over time. He also became friends with Munger, who invited him to his club for bridge games and his home in Los Angeles. But in the beginning, Pabrai’s only source of knowledge was reading.
5. Patience – The number one skill in investing is patience, extreme patience.
6. Self-discipline – Templeton triumphed by taking self-discipline to an extreme. He didn’t just master Mr. Markets, he mastered himself. He took responsibility for every aspect of his life, including his time, money, health, thoughts, and emotions. This required extraordinary self-discipline, an old-fashioned virtue.
7. Be aware of your ignorance – Even if you are well-read, there are still areas that you may be ignorant about. The more you delve into a subject, the narrower your focus becomes. It’s important to be aware of your own ignorance and recognize the areas where you lack expertise. Remember that there is always more to learn and that no one knows everything.
8. You need a combination to succeed – Luck is not enough, intelligence is not enough, hard work is not enough, and even persistence is not necessarily enough. You need some combination of all four. We all know people who were intelligent and worked hard but didn’t get lucky.
9. Be like a water – “To be strong, you have to be like water: if there are no obstacles, it flows; if there is an obstacle, it stops; if a dam is broken, then it flows further; if a vessel is square, then it has a square form; if a vessel is round, then it has a round form. Because it is so soft and flexible, it is the most necessary and the strongest thing.” Lao-Tzu
10. Simplify your approach – Your strategy should be so simple and logical that you understand it, believe in it to your core, and can stick with it even in challenging times when it no longer seems to work.
11. Money buys independence and that is my favorite lesson from Charlie Munger. What money gives you is the ability to do what you want to do in the way you want to do it and that is an incredible benefit.

Thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommended!