There are two main drivers of asset class returns - inflation and growth. Ray Dalio More Quotes by Ray Dalio More Quotes From Ray Dalio If you have the power to see things through somebody else's eyes, it's like going from black and white to color or two dimensions to three dimensions. Ray Dalio black-and-white eye two 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 done people needs The best advice I can give you is to ask yourself what do you want, then ask 'what is true' - and then ask yourself 'what should be done about it.' I believe that if you do this you will move much faster towards what you want to get out of life than if you don't! Ray Dalio life believe moving The expression I use: Pain + Reality = Progress. Whenever I would have a painful mistake, I started to view that as puzzles that would give me gems if I could solve the puzzle. So, it made me thoughtful - what should I do differently next time? That was the puzzle. And the gem was some principle for handling the same thing when it came along again, and then I would write it down. And by writing it down and referring to it, and also being able to show it to other people so that we could agree that that was a good way of handling that thing - that was very, very powerful. Ray Dalio pain powerful mistake Don't worry about looking good - worry about achieving your goals. Ray Dalio goal worry life 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 mistake life two I learned that everyone makes mistakes and has weaknesses and that one of the most important things that differentiates people is their approach to handling them. I learned that there is an incredible beauty to mistakes, because embedded in each mistake is a puzzle, and a gem that I could get if I solved it, i.e. a principle that I could use to reduce my mistakes in the future. Ray Dalio mistake life people I believe that one of the best ways of getting at truth is reflecting with others who have opposing views and who share your interest in finding the truth rather than being proven right Ray Dalio views life believe Successful people ask for the criticism of others and consider its merit. Ray Dalio successful life people People who confuse what they wish were true with what is really true create distorted pictures of reality that make it impossible for them to make the best choices. Ray Dalio life reality people Over the long run, the price of gold approximates the total amount of money in circulation divided by the size of the gold stock. If the market price of gold moves a long way from this level, it may indicate a buying or selling opportunity. Ray Dalio opportunity running moving To test if you are worrying too much about looking good, observe how you feel when you find out you've made a mistake or don't know something. Ray Dalio worrying-too-much mistake life When you're centered, your emotions are not hijacking you. Ray Dalio meditation-and-yoga inspiration practice I believe that the biggest problem that humanity faces is an ego sensitivity to finding out whether one is right or wrong and identifying what one's strengths and weaknesses are. Ray Dalio ego humanity believe Look at what caused people to make a lot of money and you will see that usually it is in proportion to their production of what the society wanted. Ray Dalio proportion people looks There are far more good answers "out there" than there are in you. Ray Dalio investing growth life Remember that experience creates internalization. Doing things repeatedly leads to internalization, which produces a quality of understanding that is generally vastly superior to intellectualized learning. Ray Dalio growth understanding life Evolution is the only thing that exists through time. That is true for computers, or people, or a business. We tend to see things in a static way, and so you see what is. Even in looking at ourselves, what we really are is essentially vessels for our DNA that keeps evolving through time. So seeing that and embracing that reality, and thinking of everything as kind of this perpetual motion machine in which you embrace reality - you don't wish it was different. You realize that it's your puzzle to interact with. You interact with it well, you evolve yourself. Ray Dalio reality people thinking Everyone has to decide for themselves what works for them and their organization. Ray Dalio organization People who worry about looking good typically hide what they don't know and hide their weaknesses, so they never learn how to properly deal with them and these weaknesses remain impediments in the future. Ray Dalio worry life people