Nothing like a good trading proverb to lose money from.
“Sell in May and Go Away”
“The Trend is Your Friend”
“Buy the rumor, sell the news”
All classic. Not all accurate.
Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice-Chairman and the Tom Hagan to Warren Buffett’s Michael Corleone, had dozens of similar proverbs, parables and pithy aphorisms over the years. In fact, so many observations with his unique brand of dry humor and brutal honesty floated in the Wall Street air, he published a book with them all.
Yogi Berra played 18 seasons with the NY Yankees before retiring in 1963. He went on to coach both the New York Mets and New York Yankees for another 20 years ultimately having his Number retired (8) , joining the Baseball Hall of Fame (1972) and being part of the MLB All Century Team (1999).
He also had his “Yogi-isms” - impromptu pithy comments with an underlying humor and wisdom attached. His commentary and life philosophy also became so well known, appreciated and respected that he too published books to pass along the wisdom to future generations.
BFFs Yogi and Charlie
Honestly, these two guys are some of the best low-key American 20th century philosophers out there. Paging through their wits and wisdoms, it’s hard to ignore some of the commonalities in attitude and world view.
I love finding another voice who independently comes to the same conclusion as me - If both of these guys came to the same conclusion about an idea, despite entirely different life paths- then it’s worth considering adopting for yourself
Case in point:
Liquor, Ladies & Leverage
Munger: There is only three ways a smart person can go broke: liquor, ladies, and leverage
Yogi: “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”
Theme: Flawed behavior drives most human outcomes—not logic.
But the list goes on and on and on. A curated list of some of the more popular —-
Charlie and Yogi on…..
Behavioral Economics
Munger: “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.”
Yogi: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
Theme: Human behavior often defies pure logic—but incentives guide it.
Avoiding Stupidity
Munger: “All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I'll never go there.”
Yogi: “If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up someplace else.”
Theme: Navigating life with awareness of failure and uncertainty.
Patience and Discipline
Munger: “The big money is not in the buying or selling, but in the waiting.”
Yogi: “It ain't over till it's over.”
Theme: The payoff often comes with time and endurance.
Simplicity
Munger: “Take a simple idea and take it seriously.”
Yogi: “You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you.”
Theme: Simplicity reveals truth, even when it sounds paradoxical.
Long-Term Thinking
Munger: “Live within your income and save so you can invest. Learn what you need to learn.”
Yogi: “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.”
Theme: Small smart choices compound; aim with purpose.
Avoiding Foolishness
Munger: “It's remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid.”
Yogi: “We made too many wrong mistakes.”
Theme: Success is often about minimizing unforced errors.
Acknowledging Reality
Munger: “You must force yourself to consider arguments on the other side.”
Yogi: “The future ain’t what it used to be.”
Theme: The world changes—don’t cling to the past.
Avoiding Ego
Munger: “Acknowledging what you don’t know is the dawning of wisdom.”
Yogi: “I really didn’t say everything I said.”
Theme: Humility is both disarming and essential.
Interested in being on the Trader Dads Podcast in 2025? Shoot me an email! I’d love to have subscribers on to sit for a discussion
TRADERDADS MAILBAG
Thoughts? Questions? Comments?
Reach out! Maybe I’ll do a full post on the topic or as a Q&A
traderdads@substack.com
