MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors

Six takeaways:

Warren Buffet may be the most well-known investor of all time, but even masters have their biases and blind spots. Buffet’s success would not have been possible without the longtime partnership of Charlie Munger. Their partnership, one rooted in respect, honesty, and rigor, is one that anyone in business should strive to replicate.

Here are some tips for finding your Charlie Munger.

1. Know yourself. Be crystal clear about your goals, your own personal skills and strengths– and the qualities you lack. This will help you define what you need in a partner.
2. Put yourself out there. Make yourself findable for a potential partner, by sharing your story and philosophy online. Make connections, both online and at events. Follow up diligently.
3. Say yes to the dinner. Buffett and Munger’s meeting was happenstance. If one had decided not to go out that night, the partnership would never have been born. Get out there and open yourself to opportunities.
4. Deserve one. Be great at what you do, and build a reputation for being trustworthy and responsible. Embody what you are looking for in a partner.
5. Assemble one. You can identify talent around you and work with them on their skills and attributes over time.
6. Be Charlie Munger. It is easy to resist a partnership in which one member gets more notoriety than another (Buffet overshadowed Munger in the public eye). But do not let ego deter you– maybe you are the Charlie Munger to a potential partner who plays the more prominent Buffett role.

A good partnership can open you and your business up to opportunities that were previously unimaginable, just as Buffet and Munger’s did. Don’t be afraid to be intentional and diligent in your search for one.

By Frederik Geischen for The Alchemy of Money Newsletter
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Three takeaways:

Surveys of parents consistently show that the top two desires of parents is that their kids grow up to be a) good people and b) happy people. The concern is: what is the best way for a parent to make this happen?

The classic debate is nature vs. nurture: What has a greater effect? Are children born blank slates, or is personality biological and inherited? Recent studies have shown that it is the latter. These findings would suggest that the overall effect of parenting, good or bad, is drastically overestimated.

However these surveys showed two notable exceptions, in two dimensions of personality: conscientiousness and agreeableness. Children were more conscientious when parents were more involved in their lives. They were more agreeable when their parents raised them with more structure and goals.

The research gives us three distinct parenting rules to better assure that your child grows up to be both good and happy. These are:

1. Even a mess can be a good parent: While some habits will be learned, don’t let a fear of passing along problems or bad habits keep you from having kids. The single greatest thing a parent can do to benefit their child is be present/involved.
2. When you don’t know what to do, be warm and loving: Warmth and affection trump all. Your reaction to your kids worst behavior will define their paths forward, and provide a blueprint for how they eventually parent as well.
3. Be the person you want your kids to become: Kids are walking BS-detectors. They notice when there is a difference between what you say and what you do. This is simple. If you do not want them to grow up to drink heavily, don’t drink heavily in front of them. If you want them to be warm people, be warm to them.

One last tip: if you wish to stop complaining so much, let those you are around commonly about your intention– you’ll find that they’ll be more than happy to call you out when you go back to your complaining ways!

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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