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Re:Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in a... by jumbopapa on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @08:33AM (#21583717)
One of my favorite Charlie Munger speeches seems relevant [1].

> I have a friend who carried a big stack of linen cards about this thick, and when somebody would make a comment that reflected self-pity, he would take out one of the cards, take the top one off the stack and hand it to the person, and the card said, “Your story has touched my heart. Never have I heard of anyone with as many misfortunes as you.

Sure, you might not start with as much as someone else. That doesn't change the effects of compound interest - you can still have have an exponential return.

[1] - https://jamesclear.com/great-speeches/2007-usc-law-school-co...

Re:Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in a... by auiya on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @09:39AM (#21584252)
That's quite a concerted way of displaying his complete lack of empathy. Imagine if he put the same effort into bettering humanity rather than chasing wealth and snubbing nose.
Re:Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in a... by eigenvalue on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @11:18AM (#21585178)
It's not about displaying empathy, it's about addressing what will actually help the person, and complaining almost certainly won't.

The quote continues: "Well, you can say that’s waggery, but I suggest that every time you find you’re drifting into self-pity—I don’t care what the cause, your child could be dying of cancer, self-pity is not going to improve the situation—just give yourself one of those cards. It’s a ridiculous way to behave and when you avoid it you get a great advantage over everybody else, almost everybody else, because self-pity is a standard condition and yet you can train yourself out of it."

Re:Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in a... by jumbopapa on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @10:51AM (#21584917)
Are you really implying that Charlie Munger hasn't bettered humanity? He has given money generously and created wealth for countless people.

It's not lacking empathy. At the end of the day the only thing you can remain control of is your attitude. Are you going to let unfortunate circumstances continue to ruin your life or are you going to do something about it? Charlie developed this thinking when he son died of leukemia at age 9. He was devastated, but he decided it wasn't going to be a drag on the rest of his life.

Re:Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in a... by auiya on Thursday November 21, 2019 @10:27AM (#21594998)
Philanthropy on that level is generally done to protect one's wealth from taxation, and has little to do with moral compassing, empathy, or generosity.
Re:Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in a... by sigstoat on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @12:20PM (#21585960)
Re:Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in a... by jumbopapa on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @02:55PM (#21587799)
Yep - he's very generous. Many people just seek to vilify someone for having wealth.
Re:Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in a... by auiya on Thursday November 21, 2019 @10:40AM (#21595175)
Hoarding wealth at that scale -should- be vilified. It's a villainous and immoral position to take given today's level of wealth inequality.