19 Ray Dalio Audio Quotes on Life, Work, Investing Success Principles

“ Great is better than terrible, and terrible is better than mediocre, because terrible at least gives life flavor.” – Ray Dalio

“ People with good work habits have to-do lists that are reasonably prioritized, and they make themselves do what needs to be done. By contrast, people with poor work habits almost randomly react to the stuff that comes at them, or they can’t bring themselves to do the things they need to do but don’t like to do (or are unable to do).” – Ray Dalio

“ Remember that most people are happiest when they are improving and doing the things that suit them naturally and help them advance. So learning about your people’s weaknesses is just as valuable (for them and you) as is learning their strengths.” – Ray Dalio

“ Most fundamental work principle: Make your passion and your work the same and do it with people you want to be with.” – Ray Dalio

“ For every mistake that you learn from, you will save thousands of similar mistakes in the future, so if you treat mistakes as learning opportunities that yield rapid improvements, you should be excited by them. But if you treat them as bad things, you will make yourself and others miserable, and you won’t grow.” – Ray Dalio

“ Success is achieved by people who deeply understand reality and know how to use it to get what they want. The converse is also true: idealists who are not well-grounded in reality create problems, not progress.” – Ray Dalio

“ He who lives by the crystal ball will eat shattered glass.” – Ray Dalio

“ I believe there is an infinite number of laws of the universe and that all progress or dreams achieved come from operating in a way that’s consistent with them. These laws and the principles of how to operate in harmony with them have always existed. We were given these laws by nature. The man didn’t and can’t make them up. He can only hope to understand them and use them to get what he wants.” – Ray Dalio

“ More than anything else, what differentiates people who live up to their potential from those who don’t is a willingness to look at themselves and others objectively.” – Ray Dalio

“ Recognize that having an effective idea meritocracy requires that you understand the merit of each person’s ideas.” – Ray Dalio

“ Time is like a river that carries us forward into encounters with reality that require us to make decisions. We can’t stop our movement down this river, and we can’t avoid those encounters. We can only approach them in the best possible way.” – Ray Dalio

“ It is far more common for people to allow ego to stand in the way of learning.” – Ray Dalio

“ I think so many people are reactive … they see things in a short term way when they’re right up against it. If it didn’t happen in your life before, then you’re not paying attention, you don’t think it’s possible. But almost all the important events never happen in your life before.” – Ray Dalio

“ I think that the first thing is you should have a strategic asset allocation mix that assumes that you don’t know what the future is going to hold.” – Ray Dalio

“ Never say anything about a person you wouldn’t say to them directly, and don’t try people without accusing them to their face. Badmouthing people behind their backs shows a serious lack of integrity and is counterproductive. It doesn’t yield any beneficial change, and it subverts both the people you are badmouthing and the environment as a whole.” – Ray Dalio

“ And then everything else I basically view as just a case at hand. So how does the machine work that you have a financial crisis? How does deleveraging work – what is the nature of that machine? And what is human nature, and how do you raise a community of people to run a business?” – Ray Dalio

“ Do not feel bad about your mistakes or those of others. Love them! Remember that one: they are to be expected; two: they’re the first and most essential part of the learning process, and three: feeling bad about them will prevent you from getting better.” – Ray Dalio

“ I think I did everything right, he said. I did well when others didn’t. I happen to earn one-fifth of the profits. I pay about a third in taxes, I give away about a third, and I follow the law. And if I’m doing something they think is incorrect, I’d like to know that.” – Ray Dalio