Three almanacks, a world of wisdom | #47

Insights from Benjamin Franklin, Charlie Munger, and Naval Ravikant

In today's fast-paced world, it is easy to overlook the timeless wisdom found in the almanacks of great thinkers like Benjamin Franklin, Charlie Munger, and Naval Ravikant. That's why, last month, I dove headfirst into their almanacks, eager to explore the wisdom they held.

I started my journey with Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin, continued with the Almanack of Naval Ravikant, and finished it up with Poor Charlie’s Almanack about Charlie Munger. By diving deeper into their works, I uncovered valuable insights on wealth, happiness, and better decision-making that are relevant to this day. While it's impossible to distill every nugget of wisdom, here's a taste of what I learned from each book.

How to live a virtuous life

Benjamin Franklin, the founding father of the United States, delivers his worldviews through proverbs and aphorisms. We get a glimpse into his virtues & values, as well as his thoughts on how to live a happy and healthy life.

Franklin is a proponent of frugality and living modestly. He writes "Weigh every small Expense, and nothing waste, Farthings long sav’d, amount to Pounds at last" and "If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the Philosophers-Stone". He advises to spend less, save more, and to live below your means. "He that can live sparingly need not be rich".

He stresses the importance of being content with what you have as a path a happy life. He writes "The poor have little, Beggars none; The rich too much, Enough not one" and "Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody". Even when we have a lot, we want more. Being content is being rich.

Franklin was also a proponent of eating less. He writes "Three good meals a day is bad living" and "Eat few suppers and you’ll need few medicines”. Eating less and skipping meals can lead to a healthier life and help us avoid sickness.

How to make better decisions.

Charlie Munger, the Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and a longtime partner of Warren Buffett, shares his thoughts and frameworks on better decision-making.

Charlie was one of the first people to popularize the idea of mental models as a helpful tool for rational decision making. Charlie uses over 100 mental models he collected using multi-disciplinary approach to learning. His mental models take inspiration from math, psychology, business, economics, history, and many other fields. Charlie says that not using mental models is like being 'a one-legged man in ass-kicking contest'. You are severely disadvantaged, to put it mildly.

While learning mental models is one thing, systematically putting them to use is another. That's why Charlie recommends using checklists to make better decisions. Just as pilots use checklists to make sure that everything is in order before a flight, we can use checklists to make better decisions. Whenever Charlie is making an important decision, he runs through his checklist of mental models to make sure he is taking a holistic approach and considering all sides.

Learning frameworks and mental models from different fields can help us make better decisions in business and in life.

How to build wealth and be happy.

Naval Ravikant, the founder of AngelList and investor in many startups like Uber & Postmates, shares his frameworks on how to build wealth and be happy.

Naval goes into great details about how to build wealth. And it’s not just get-rich-quick advice. It’s about principles that stood the test of time. If I were to summarize in a sentence - to build wealth, you need to combine specific knowledge with leverage and do it for long enough time frame with people who smart, energetic, and have high integrity. Specific knowledge is something you are uniquely good at. It can be one skill or a combination of several. Specific knowledge can be learned, but cannot be taught. Leverage comes in 3 forms: capital, labor, and media/code. Play long-term games with long-term people; avoid debt, jail, addiction, disgrace, and shortcuts.

You can be rich but unhappy. That’s what the second section of his almanack is about happiness. Good health, a loving family, and a calm mind cannot be bought - they have to be earned. Naval advices to focus on physical, mental, and spiritual health. Working out regularly and meditating for an hour a day, and reading all the time helps with achieving physical and mental calm.

A treasure trove of insights.

No matter how hard I try, it's impossible to convey all the wisdom found in these books in one short essay. If you are interested digging deeper into the topics I covered, you will enjoy reading these books. The almanacks are a treasure trove of wisdom that will make you think for days. And if you implement some of these frameworks, they might lead to a better life as well.

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