Notes
- “Understanding relationships is as important in investment matters as financial analysis.” — Peter Cundill
- Go on as many trips as you can and have wild experiences.
- Be exceptional for the sake of being exceptional.
- Mentor promising people younger than you.
- He was fat and poor growing up which made him obsessed with fitness and money.
- Make and keep friends; have rich experiences daily.
- You need to get into situations that make your gut tight.
- Only stasis is frightening.
- He climbed Mt. Everest and rappelled down waterfalls. He went on a zero-gravity flight.
- In his 30s, he decides that he wants his profession to be his main goal in life, at the expense of having a wife and kids.
- If you have a great reputation and credibility, people will buy your products and services.
- He’s a student of Benjamin Graham. Read Security Analysis.
- Peter iterated on Graham’s ideas and developed his own investment strategy.
- Details are essential.
- Build a network of like-minded people in your industry.
- He studied history extensively.
- Identify the most important activity in your work and then spend all of your time doing that.
- His dad tried to commit suicide after the market crash of 1987.
Cundill's Principles For a Good Life:
- Exercise 0.5-2 hours every day.
- Sleep a lot.
- Read even more.
- Drink once in a while.
- No cigarettes.
- Never stop learning.
- Once a year, do a marathon.
- Once a year, do something that scares the shit out of you, like bungee jumping, white water rafting, or skydiving.
- Strive for balance through contradictions.
- Own a house, enjoy hotel rooms.
- Travel a lot. Travel to extreme and obscure places.
- Don’t own a car. Use a bike, ride the subway, or rent a limo.
- Freedom is the absence of obligation.
- Be open but keep a few dark secrets.