Spiritual Bookshelf Episode 44 : How to Build Financial Wisdom – Part 11

Hi everyone, how’s your week going?

Welcome back to our series on Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Today, we’re diving into Chapter 10 — Charlie Munger’s Common Sense.

This chapter is based on a speech Munger gave in 2007 at the University of Southern California Law School. In that talk, he shared with the graduating class how to succeed in life and even how to build world-class wealth. His central point was this: gaining wisdom is a moral duty. And to do that, you need more than book knowledge. You need cross-disciplinary learning, and you also need to avoid falling into rigid, extreme ideologies.

So, what did Munger highlight? Let’s break it down.

1. Value of Filial Piety

Munger openly admired Confucius and especially the idea of filial piety — respecting and caring for your parents and elders. He said it’s both a natural instinct and something that has to be taught and passed down from one generation to the next.

Now, why does this matter?

Because filial piety is really about gratitude, responsibility, and respect. These qualities build the foundation of trustworthiness and discipline — the same traits you need in investing: patience, long-term thinking, and reliability.

 2. To Harvest the Fruit, First Cultivate the Roots

 Munger once said he was lucky to learn very early that the best way to get what you want is to make yourself worthy of it.

Think about it:

                  •  The “fruit” is money, fame, or success.

                  •   The “root” is character, ability, and integrity.

If the roots are weak, even if you get the fruit, you won’t be able to keep it.

He connected this idea to the Golden Rule — do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. If you treat people fairly, you earn trust. And trust, whether in law, business, or investing, is one of the most valuable assets you can ever have.

So, his core insight here is: Don’t chase the rewards directly. Focus on becoming the kind of person who naturally attracts them.

3. The Right Kind of Love

Munger also talked about love — but not in the way most people do. He said we should aim for what he called “worthy love.”

That means giving your admiration and affection to people who are better, wiser, and more inspiring than you are. When you love or admire someone like that, it lifts you up, challenges you, and helps you grow.

On the other hand, he warned against toxic or dependent kinds of love, like what Somerset Maugham described in Of Human Bondage — a love that consumes you, traps you, and drags you down. Munger bluntly called it “a disease.” His advice? If you find yourself in that kind of love, cut it off fast.

4. Wisdom as a Moral Responsibility

Finally, Munger drove home his biggest point: wisdom itself is a moral duty.

And how do you gain wisdom? Through lifelong learning. He said you can’t just rely on what you already know when you graduate. The world changes. What worked in one decade may not work in the next. That’s why both he and Warren Buffett have become “learning machines.”

Buffett, for example, spends half his waking hours reading. The rest of his time he spends in deep conversations with smart people he trusts. Every day, he tries to go to bed just a little wiser than when he woke up.

Munger said this habit of continuous learning is what separates those whose lives get better and better from those who get stuck.

But he also stressed: knowing is not enough. You have to practice. Just like a pianist can’t play well by only reading sheet music — they have to rehearse, over and over.

And that’s where we’ll wrap up today’s episode.

See you next time!