After Buffett shared his thoughts, Charlie chimed in: “Don’t do cocaine. Don’t race trains. And avoid AIDS situations.” Many would dismiss his seemingly flippant answer as merely humorous (which it certainly was), but in fact it faithfully reflects both his general views on avoiding trouble in life and his particular method for avoiding missteps in investing. Often, as in this case, Charlie generally focuses first on what to avoid—that is, on what not to do—before he considers the affirmative steps he will take in a given situation. “All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there” is one of his favorite quips. In business, as in life, Charlie gains enormous advantage by summarily eliminating the unpromising portions of the chessboard, freeing his time and attention for the more productive regions. Obviously, the methods described to this point can’t be learned in a university classroom or on Wall Street. They were developed by Charlie, from scratch, to satisfy his own exacting requirements. They probably deserve a title of their own, something like “𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨; 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬; 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫.” Charlie Munger