Charlie Munger: Just Keep Your Head Down & Do Your Best. | University of Michigan 2010【C:C.M Ep.190】

 

[Transcript]

BECKY QUICK: Do you think that the job market is as difficult or is going to be as difficult now as it was back in the 30s, how do we put this on?

 

CHARLIE MUNGER: No, it's nowhere near as bad as it was 30s. This is hog heaven compared to the 30s. This is – no, that was unbelievable. I lived in the 30s, we didn't have the social safety net. You know what people did in the 30s?

 

BECKY QUICK: What?

 

CHARLIE MUNGER: They moved down to one another's houses, that's what families were for. It was a Confucian system.

My grandfather cut his house in half and moved one of my uncles in. My other grandfather saved his son-in-law's bank, using a third of the only good assets he had on Earth. And it was just pain and trouble, and a lot of family system.

It was difficult but the people who plugged well and just kept going, eventually did fine.

And so – but I think there's still plenty of trouble ahead. I don't think it matters if you're going to live a long life, may be an advantage to have some trouble.

 

BECKY QUICK: Why do you think that the job market is going to remain lousy for some time to come? Is it just that there's not demand that's built up? Is it that companies have downsized, they can get by with less?

 

CHARLIE MUNGER: Well, Tom Friedman said it's like the car that has to run across 300 miles of hot desert and it doesn't have a spare tire. We've kind of used all the standard tricks that it's safe to use. And now we shall got the damn desert to go across and we don't have the spare tire.

So it's – of course – Why fret too much about what you can't fix. Just keep your head down and do your best.

(Source: https://youtu.be/Pph3Bg8Pihg)

 

[YAPSS Takeaway]

Why fret too much about what you can't fix. Just keep your head down and do your best. ~Charlie Munger