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Ray Dalio emphasizes the significance of having a clear set of principles to guide decision-making in life and work. He explains that principles are fundamental truths that serve as the foundations for behavior and can be applied in various situations. By classifying situations into types and having good principles for each, we can make better decisions more quickly and have better lives as a result. Dalio shares his own approach to life, which involves constantly seeking the truth, thinking for oneself, and consistently operating with clear principles. He encourages readers to discover and write down their own principles to achieve their goals.
Dalio emphasizes the importance of learning from failures and weaknesses to achieve success. He shares his personal experiences of making mistakes and facing failures, including a significant financial crash that led him to lose everything. However, he sees these failures as valuable lessons that taught him humility and prompted him to change. He believes that successful people change and adapt after failures, while unsuccessful people do not. He encourages readers to embrace their weaknesses, acknowledge their failures, and learn from them in order to continue progressing towards their goals.
Dalio emphasizes the value of systematizing decision-making processes and applying algorithms and formulas to test the validity of these decisions. He reflects on his early approach of writing down the criteria he used to make investment decisions and later turning them into algorithms. This systematic approach helped him make better decisions and improve the quality of his collective decision-making at Bridgewater, his investment firm. Additionally, Dalio highlights the importance of out-teaching competition by sharing knowledge and research. He discusses how he started selling research packages alongside his consultation and trading services, expanding his business and meeting the growing demand. This approach allowed him to differentiate himself and provide additional value to his clients.
The speaker recalls how he began building an investment library by ordering annual reports from Fortune 500 companies and emphasizes the importance of embracing risk and avoiding mediocrity. He shares his independent thinking and willingness to take risks in various aspects of life. He also discusses the misconception that the future is a modified version of the present and highlights the importance of recognizing that the future is often very different.
The speaker reflects on his experiences in the stock market and commodities trading. He shares the lessons he learned during market downturns in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the importance of questioning established ways of doing things and not relying on government assurances. He also discusses his transition from stock investing to commodities trading and the founding of Bridgewater Associates. Based on his expertise in analyzing markets, he emphasizes the significance of understanding fundamental principles and utilizing systematized decision-making to achieve consistent returns.
What I learned from reading Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
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Whatever success I've had in life has had more to do with my knowing how to deal with my not knowing than anything I know [0:01]
Ray's first principle and why [5:35]
Ray's key to success [8:07]
The similarities between investors and entrepreneurs [9:27]
Shift your mindset from I know I am right to How do I know I am right? [13:05]
Systemize your decision making [14:09]
Ray on his life story [17:30]
the quality of your decisions determine the quality of your life [19:50]
Like a lot of Founders, Ray was bad at school [21:45]
More about his personality: stubborn and determined + his first jobs [22:45]
Hungry for knowledge he could actually use [24:28]
Terrible is better than mediocre [25:03]
What we think to be true that is not: The future is a slightly modified version of the present [25:30]
Steve Jobs [26:30]
A pivotal lesson for Ray: The same things happen over and over again [28:02]
the founding of Bridgewater [32:33]
the humble beginning of Bridgewater [35:15]
If you know your business A to Z there is no problem you can't solve – Sam Zemurray [36:06]
Watching the richest man in the world go broke [38:00]
Ray loses everything and has to start all over again [40:30]
Successful people change in ways that allow them to continue to take advantage of their strengths while compensating for their weaknesses and unsuccessful people don't [45:10]
The new Bridgewater: Systematizing his decision making process [47:35]
Developing more products and out teaching his competition [48:11]
The results of systematized thinking guided by principles that are written down and adhered to [53:30]
Counterintuitive thoughts on public success [55:19]
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