Charlie Munger is Warren Buffet’s right-hand man. He’s just as smart and successful, but less well known.
One of the best mental hacks he’s given us is “inversion thinking.”
The Inversion Thinking Framework is simple:
1. Establish a goal
2. Brainstorm everything you could do to completely screw it up
3. Do the opposite
So if I want to guarantee I’d NEVER own a multi-nine figure financial planning firm, I would do things like:
1. Put myself before my staff and our members
2. Help people just enough so they keep paying us
3. Be a jack of multiple demographics and master of none
4. Focus to no additional product development
5. Stop growing both my financial and business knowledge
If I do the opposite of those, then I’m feeling pretty good about our long-term prospects:
1. Put staff and members before myself. Always.
2. Overdeliver in every way I can think of
3. Focus on JUST W2 tech employees and their particular needs
4. Continually add to our service model
5. Always Be Learning
Or if we’re applying it to achieving Financial Zen, what would I do to ensure I NEVER get there?
1. Hide under the covers and cross my fingers
2. Spend more than I make
3. Bet big on speculative investments
4. Time the market
5. Endlessly kick the can on things I know I need to do.
The opposite being:
1. Focus on my money and develop, then follow a strategy
2. Spend less (much less) than I make
3. Own the racetrack, don’t bet on the horses
4. Always be invested
5. Hold myself accountable
Obviously, you can apply the framework to everything from your marriage to your career to parenting. The applications are endless
What else can you think of to apply it to?
