Persistence
Don't be discouraged. I was refused many times and I did not give up. I admire persistence. It is commendable, especially in young men, and it will win in the end.
I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.
— J.D Rockefeller
I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. It is so hard. You pour so much of your life into this thing. There are such rough moments... that most people give up. I don't blame them. It's really tough. Unless you have a lot of passion about what you're doing, you're not going to survive. You're going to give it up.
— Steve Jobs
The extent of too much planning
Rockefeller planned in his mind. His mind was a living plan, but he also believed execution was equally important (see previous post on his letter to his son).
In later years Rockefeller also said: "I have small faith in the man who plans elaborately on paper. I once asked a landscape gardener to undertake the improvement of 2,000 acres of land. He set to work on an elaborate scheme which I saw at a glance was impossible. He was not practical. He planned too much on paper."
— J.D Rockefeller
Sure Enterprise
Rockefeller made everything show up for some use or else he rejected it.
"It has always been my rule in business to make everything count," he told an old friend in Owego.
"To make everything count something. I never go into an enterprise unless I feel sure it is coming out all right. For instance, a promising scheme may be proposed to me. It may not altogether satisfy and is rejected. My brother Will would probably go into it and make $10,000. Another equally promising scheme comes along. He goes into that and loses $10,000. The result is he hasn't made any advancement in these two ventures and is actually losing time. Meantime in some surer enterprise I have made, say, $5,000 in the same time the other fellow has lost twice as much. But mine counts and his doesn't. I believe the only way to succeed is to keep getting ahead all the time."
— J.D Rockefeller
This is why Rockefeller was often accused of being timid. It is why it has seemed difficult for some critics to reconcile his timidity in some things with his apparent audacity in others. He was not timid. He refused to enter upon operations where he could not see the project all the way through. But having satisfied his mind and gone in he hesitated at no sacrifice, no cost, no measures, however vast and even cruel, to drive through to his objective.
My takeaway is that it is better to work on projects or business which are sure things rather than investing in SPACs or investing in things which are speculative. You make money and progress in life betting on safe and sure things. When you get the opportunity, make sure to seize it and bet big.
Discipline-- Avoid joining the crowd in mania or temptations
Don't be convivial, always ready to pitch in and be one of the crowd. Be moderate. Be very moderate. Don't let good fellowship get the least hold on you. If you do, you are lost, not only you but your progeny, your family for generations to come.
It is my firm conviction that every downfall is traceable directly or indirectly to the victim's good fellowship, his good cheer among friends, who come as quickly as they go. We have to apologize everyday for this class of man who fills our hospitals, our asylums, our poorhouses, and the very gutters of our streets. Look on him and don't be a good fellow.
— J.D Rockefeller
Three ways a smart person can go broke: liquor, ladies, and leverage
Wise people want to avoid other people who are just total rat poison, and there are a lot of them.”
— Charlie Munger
Finding the right spouse
“We all know people who are out married—their spouses are so much better. Think what a good decision that was for them, and what a lucky decision. Way more important than money."
And a lot of them did it when they were young. Just stumbled into it. Now—you don’t have to stumble into it. You can be very careful. A lot of people are wearing signs: Danger, Danger, do not touch. And people just charge right ahead. That’s a mistake,” Munger said, to chuckles from the audience.
“Well, you can laugh, but it’s still a horrible mistake.”
— Charlie Munger
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