Alex Hormozi, owner of acquisition.com and host of a business-focused podcast, shares his unconventional approach to financial success through "inversion thinking," a method inspired by Charlie Munger. Hormozi suggests that by actively seeking to avoid 28 common behaviors that keep people poor, such as procrastination, taking poor advice, fearing discomfort, and prioritizing appearances over actual wealth, individuals can inadvertently achieve success. He emphasizes the importance of learning from failures, making and keeping promises, seeking discomfort, and spending less than one earns. Hormozi argues that success is a choice and a process, advocating for a mindset shift that values personal standards and continuous improvement over societal opinions and superficial benchmarks.
"You have to prioritize being rich, which means spending less, because you are not valuing the opinion of other people over your own, which, because you respect your own approval more than that of other people, you have to be willing to die to the opinion of others rather than dying to the opinion of yourself."
This quote emphasizes the importance of prioritizing personal financial goals and self-approval over seeking the approval of others, which is a fundamental mindset for achieving wealth.
"Charlie Munger, my personal hero, had a seminal talk that he gave multiple times on how to live a miserable life. And the reason he gives it that way is that he believes in a process called inversion thinking, which is where you solve problems in reverse."
Alex Ramosi references Charlie Munger's use of inversion thinking as a strategy for problem-solving, which involves contemplating how to create negative outcomes to better understand how to achieve positive ones.
"And if you don't know who I am, my name is Alex Ramosi. I own acquisition.com. It's a portfolio of companies that is over $100 million a year, and I have nothing to sell you."
The quote provides context about Alex Ramosi's professional background and clarifies that his content is meant to be informative and enjoyable rather than a sales pitch.
"I'm going to talk to you about the 28 ways to stay poor."
This quote sets the stage for a discussion on behaviors that hinder financial success, with the aim of encouraging listeners to avoid these pitfalls.
"So the first and best way to stay poor is to start tomorrow."
The quote identifies procrastination as a primary obstacle to financial success, suggesting that deferring action is detrimental to achieving one's goals.
"The next one is to read lots of books and then do nothing."
This quote criticizes the common practice of acquiring knowledge without subsequent action, which can lead to a lack of progress despite being well-read.
"Number three, take advice from poor people on how to be rich."
Alex Ramosi points out the irony and ineffectiveness of seeking financial wisdom from those who have not achieved financial success themselves.
"Number four, pick a spouse who will make you feel guilty for working."
The quote highlights the importance of having a supportive partner who encourages rather than hinders one's professional and financial efforts.
"Number five, fail once, quit forever."
Alex Ramosi describes how misinterpreting failure as a sign to give up can prevent one from pursuing success, emphasizing the importance of resilience.
"Number six is think that the world is fair."
This quote challenges the notion that the world is just and suggests that accepting its unfairness is a more practical approach to life and financial success.
"Number seven of how to stay poor is blame your circumstances and complain."
The quote advises against blaming external factors for one's situation, advocating for a proactive and appreciative stance instead.
"Number nine, expect the government to save you."
Alex Ramosi criticizes the expectation that external entities will provide financial rescue, emphasizing the importance of self-sufficiency.
"Number ten, value the opinion of others over your own."
The quote encourages listeners to trust their own judgment and beliefs over external opinions, particularly in the context of defining personal success.
"There are people who are billionaires who don't feel like they are successful, and there are people who have almost no money and absolutely think that they're an amazing success."
This quote highlights the subjectivity of success and how it varies from person to person, regardless of their financial status.
"Success is a process rather than an outcome. And so you can be successful in that you are living your values of pursuit."
Alex Ramosi emphasizes that success is not just about the end result, but about the journey and living according to one's values.
"Avoid discomfort, all right? A lot of us, we have new things. You have to take risks, you have to learn things."
Alex Ramosi points out that avoiding discomfort, which is necessary for learning and taking risks, can lead to stagnation.
"The discomfort that they're feeling is the judgment they impose upon themselves about not being good at something they've never done before."
The quote explains that the discomfort often comes from self-judgment rather than the actual task at hand.
"Tolerate mediocrity from yourself and others. [...] If you tolerate mediocrity from others, you will beget more mediocrity."
Alex Ramosi warns that accepting mediocrity leads to a culture of low performance and further mediocrity.
"They themselves stay above, which means you must raise your own standard so that you can model what it looks like for other people around you to hold themselves."
This quote underscores the importance of leading by example and maintaining high personal standards to inspire others.
"Make promises, break promises. [...] But the one that's the hardest one to fix is the reputation you have with yourself."
Alex Ramosi discusses the damaging effects of breaking promises, particularly to oneself, and how it can erode self-respect.
"Wait for perfect conditions. [...] There are never going to be perfect conditions."
This quote by Alex Ramosi expresses the futility of waiting for perfect conditions, as they will never occur.
"If you can prove success when things get bad, when they get bad again, which is guaranteed, you will still remain successful because you have learned how to do it in this time, in this circumstance."
Alex Ramosi explains that success achieved under difficult conditions is more resilient to future challenges.
"Prioritize looking rich over being rich. [...] You have to prioritize being rich, which means spending less for a long period of time."
Alex Ramosi criticizes the emphasis on appearances and stresses the importance of genuine wealth accumulation through frugality.
"Be willing to die to the opinion of others rather than dying to the opinion of yourself."
This quote highlights the significance of valuing one's own opinion and goals above those of others when it comes to financial success.
"Avoid working on what matters most, all right? [...] They're doing the right stuff and they're making sure, better stated, making sure the right stuff gets done in general, whether or not it's them or someone else."
Alex Ramosi emphasizes the importance of focusing on tasks that truly matter and have the greatest impact on one's goals.
Say you're going to do something and then don't do it. This is just like making and breaking promises to others himself.
This quote emphasizes the importance of keeping one's word, and how failing to do so is akin to breaking a promise to oneself, affecting personal integrity.
Great way to stay poor is do what everyone else is doing, right? Because if you're doing what everyone else is doing, most people are not in the 1%.
The quote suggests that to achieve exceptional financial success, one must diverge from the common path taken by the majority.
Real quick, guys, you guys already know that I don't run any ads on this and I don't sell anything.
The quote indicates that the podcast's growth relies on listener support rather than traditional monetization methods like ads or product sales.
Do your best, not what it takes. Because the reality is a lot of times your best may suck and what is required is what is required.
This quote highlights the difference between putting in effort and achieving the actual requirements; one must strive to exceed just "doing their best" to succeed.
Talk more, do less. Post about your goals. Post about your affirmations.
The quote criticizes the tendency to focus on talking about work rather than engaging in the actual work needed to achieve goals.
Start something new today, start something new tomorrow. Repeat.
The quote describes a pattern of behavior where individuals perpetually start new endeavors without seeing them through, leading to a lack of completion and success.
Believe what other people think about you more than what you think about you.
This quote warns against allowing the opinions of others to dictate one's self-worth or actions, suggesting it can lead to poor outcomes.
Make a mistake, then wait, repeat the mistake.
The quote points out the counterproductive nature of repeating mistakes and the importance of learning from them to avoid staying in a state of poverty or failure.
Be replaceable. All right? This is a great way. Just poor.
The quote implies that being easily replaceable is a surefire way to limit one's financial potential and remain in a lower economic status.
Find something that works. Dear God, find something that works and then stop doing it.
This quote underscores the folly of discontinuing a proven successful strategy, which can lead to financial instability or failure.
"Most people know what to do to achieve their goals. Most people do know what to do."
This quote underscores the idea that knowledge of the steps to achieve goals is widespread, but the gap lies in the execution of that knowledge.
"Hire dumb people. Excellent way to stay poor and have a bad business."
Alex Ramosi sarcastically recommends hiring incompetent people as a strategy for failure, highlighting the importance of smart hiring decisions for business success.
"Assume you are always right. How many people here you're watching this know someone who always just think they're right and they're not successful?"
This quote points out the flawed mindset of always believing oneself to be right, which can hinder learning and growth.
"Make money, period. Spend more than you make."
Alex Ramosi emphasizes the simple yet destructive habit of spending more than one earns as a path to poverty, regardless of one's income.
"Think about the ways to destroy it. I just gave you 28 different ways that you can be poor, right? When you reverse them and you make those the rules for living that you have, then what happens is you succeed by accident because you avoid the pitfalls."
The quote explains how inversion thinking can be applied to various aspects of life, such as business or personal finance, to achieve success by avoiding failure.
"Start today. Read books. Do the stuff that's in the books. Take advice from rich people on how to be rich. Pick a spouse who makes you feel awesome about working. Fail once, try again."
This quote is part of a longer list where Alex Ramosi flips the script on behaviors that lead to poverty, offering a comprehensive set of guidelines for achieving success and wealth.