What was Charlie Munger's biggest reflection in his later years?

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Answer: Okay, regarding this question, I'll share my understanding.

If I were to summarize the reflection that Mr. Munger emphasized and talked about most frequently in his later years, I think it can be condensed into two closely linked core ideas: one about investing, and one about life.

1. About Investing: The Era of "Gold Lying Everywhere" is Over

This was perhaps the most realistic, and most frequent, "cold water" he poured on young people in his later years.

Simply put, Munger believed that the astonishing success he and Buffett achieved was largely due to them operating during a "golden age."

Imagine the market in the 1950s and 60s when they started investing: it was like a pond full of big, fat fish that few people knew about. Back then:

Few Competitors: There weren't so many smart fund managers and analysts armed with computers and models competing with you.
Information Opaque: If you were willing to read financial reports and do research, it was easy to find "huge bargains" severely undervalued by the market, like picking money off the ground.
Extremely Low Valuations: You could buy excellent companies at incredibly low prices.

But now? The situation is completely reversed.

Today's market is like a pond teeming with top anglers, each using the most advanced sonar detectors and fishing rods.

Fierce Competition: The smartest minds in the world are in this market; any tiny opportunity can be spotted instantly.
Information Overload: The information you can see is available to everyone; it's hard to maintain an informational edge.
Generally High Valuations: Finding those "dirt-cheap" great companies like in the past is almost impossible.

Therefore, Munger repeatedly stressed that for a young person today, trying to replicate his and Buffett's success through value investing is many times harder than it was back then. He even bluntly said that if he were starting now, he wasn't sure he could do nearly as well.

What does this reflection mean for ordinary people?

It's a reminder to be realistic. Don't read a few books on value investing and think you can easily become a "stock god," expecting 30% or even 50% annual returns. Munger is essentially telling you: "Kid, that path has been exhausted by us; the rules of the game have changed, and the difficulty is hellish. Achieving returns just slightly above the market average is already incredibly impressive."

2. About Life: The Secret to Happiness is to Lower Your Expectations

This reflection on life is actually an extension and elevation of the investment reflection above.

Since achieving massive success in the external world (like making money through investing) has become so difficult, how can one live a happy life?

Munger's answer is very old, yet profoundly insightful: Lower your expectations.

He believed that human suffering mainly stems from the vast gap between "expectations" and "reality."

Happiness ≈ Reality - Expectations

Look at this formula. To increase "happiness," you either need to improve "reality" or lower "expectations."

In today's era dominated by social media, where everyone is showing off, our "expectations" are inflated to extremes. You see others achieving financial freedom young, traveling the world, living in mansions, driving sports cars... your heart fills with anxiety and envy. This is the root of suffering.

Having seen the wealthiest and most successful people in the world throughout his life, Munger found that many rich people are actually deeply unhappy because their desires and expectations are never satisfied.

So, in his later years, he repeatedly advised everyone:

Don't be envious: Envy is the only one of the "seven deadly sins" that brings you no pleasure whatsoever; it only makes you miserable.
Be content: Be grateful for what you already have. A warm home, good health, a few trusted friends – these are immense wealth in themselves.
Accept life's imperfections: Life is inherently full of difficulties and challenges; don't expect everything to go smoothly. Playing a bad hand well is more admirable than being dealt a good one.

What does this reflection mean for ordinary people?

This is the "happiness antidote" Munger prescribed. He tells us that instead of pouring all our energy into chasing the increasingly elusive dream of "striking it rich," we should focus that energy on adjusting our inner selves.

When you stop making "becoming a billionaire" your sole life goal and instead aim to "live each day well and cherish the people around you," you'll find that happiness is actually very close.

To Summarize

So, Munger's greatest reflection in his later years was a dual return:

A return to reality in investing: Acknowledge that achieving success in the external world has become extremely difficult; abandon unrealistic fantasies.
A return inward in life: Since the external is hard to control, cultivate your inner self. Achieve intrinsic, sustainable happiness by lowering expectations and learning gratitude.

He wasn't pouring cold water or being pessimistic; he was using nearly a century's worth of life wisdom to tell you: See reality clearly, then adjust your mindset – this is the most reliable path to success and happiness.