Principles

One of my favorite books is Principles, by Ray Dalio. Ray Dalio is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist known for his practical approach to investing and management. He is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the largest hedge funds in the world.

In the mentioned book, Dalio shares his principles for success in life and work. He outlines the guiding principles he has developed throughout his career. As Ray says, “Principles are powerful weapons in the fight against flawed thinking”. Dalio also explains, “Without principles, you would be forced to react to circumstances that come at you without considering what you value most and how to make choices to get what you want. This would prevent you from making the most of your life.”

Here is a summary of RAY DALIO’S 5 GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR WORK:

Work for what you want, not for what others want you to do.
Come up with the best independent opinions you can conceive.
Stress-test your opinions by having the smartest people find flaws in your thinking.
Be wary about overconfidence and be good at not knowing.
Embrace reality, experience the results of your decisions, and reflect on what you did to improve.

Dalio also recommends that to reach your goals, YOU NEED TO CHANGE HOW YOU DEAL WITH THESE 5 TYPES OF CHOICES:

Embrace the pain that comes with pushing your limits. Building strength is all about enduring the painful learning process. Pain + Reflection = Progress.
Accept reality. When you don’t face reality, you don’t find ways to deal with the root cause of problems.
Worry about reaching your goals rather than looking good. You will only have some of the answers. Being humble and recognizing when you don’t know something will supercharge your learning.
Embrace first-order consequences, even when they are undesirable.
Take ownership of your outcomes. Building your ideal life is your responsibility. You are the one to blame when you fail to overcome a challenge.

I finish with a beautiful quote from Ray Dalio: