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You should be a better person in the second half of your life

Buffett & Munger2022-05-02video2:48Open original ↗

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SpeakersWarren2Questioner1Charlie1
QuestionerI don't know about you, but I've slightly improved since I was 17.
WarrenYeah, well, that's a really interesting point because if fortune has just showered you with all kinds of good things, you ought to be a better person in the second half of your life than the first half. I mean, that really should not be asking too much of people if they've won the ovarian lottery and all kinds of, you know, they're born in the United States, and all kinds of good things have happened to them. And you've had a chance to see how stupid you were and all kinds of things you did. You know, why not have the second half of your life be better than the first half? I mean, I would say, working from a very low base, but I mean, I'm not nearly by any intelligence test or ability to do any of that. You know, I haven't learned anything, but you do learn certain things only by any. interacting with people. And you don't know when you're two years old, no matter how much you're picking up all kinds of knowledge from the world, the learning machine that's going on in a two-year-old's head is just unbelievable. But it's not the same as having 30 or 40 years of experience with actually how the human animal behaves, which is that you're learning all the time about it. But that should make. you a better person in the second half of your life in the first half. And I would say that if you say you're a better person in the second half, I've got reason to say it in the first half, you know, forget about the first half, enjoy the second half. And I think both Charlie and I've had the luxury of a living a long time, so we get to play what we would regard as the hopeful and expectable second half. And we have had enough sense to figure out, well, we figured out what makes us happy. And we've gotten somewhat more sensitive to what can make other people unhappy and all that sort of thing. And I'd rather be judged by the second half of my life than the first half. And so would Charlie?
CharlieYeah, of course. Okay. I'm very, I don't even look at what I did when I was young because it would embarrass me. Okay.
WarrenOkay. Any of you wish to quench, Charlie? on specifics can do so later.