When Mohnish Pabrai sat down with The Money Mindset, he was asked how he would best describe himself, Pabrai reflected, “I had a couple of industrial psychologists do a bunch of tests on me now like maybe I think 26 years ago,” Mohnish Pabrai shared.
“And their conclusion was that he likes to play games. Even though, like, you put up all those different kinds of words to describe me, I would say probably the most accurate would be that I like to play games. But then they qualified that — they said that you like to play games, but you like to play games where you think you have some edge to win. And so you pick the games, and you are a single-player game player.”
He added, “Life for the most part doesn’t have a lot of meaning. You know, we’re randomly here on some blue dot and we’re here for some time then we’re gone… so I try to make the most of it in that time and try to have the most fun.”
Speaking about his famous charity lunch with Warren Buffett, Pabrai explained: “If you lived at the time of Gandhi or Newton or Einstein and if there was an opportunity to meet them for a meal would you take that opportunity? For me, Warren Buffett would be in the same genre.”
“I think in 2007 probably more than 70 million of my net worth was directly attributable to learnings I got from Warren… I felt like here was an opportunity to actually thank my hero in person and not only do I get to thank him but I get to break bread with him.”
Reflecting on Buffett’s lessons, he shared: “If you’re even a slightly above average investor and you spend less than you earn and you use no leverage you cannot help but get rich over a lifetime.”
Another big takeaway? The importance of the inner scorecard: “Do you want to be known as the best lover in the world but internally know that you’re the worst? Or do you want to be known as the worst lover in the world but internally know that you’re the best? If you know how to answer that question you’re very far along towards being a success.”
On adversity, Pabrai turned philosophical: “To encounter misfortune and overcome it is good fortune… when I look back, there has never been a case in my life where any of those adverse things did not lead to greater growth.”
He smiled, saying, “When I hit challenges or adversity, I’m actually smiling through it… I know what’s going to happen on the other end.”
When it comes to living well, Mohnish kept it simple: “A life well-lived is you leave planet earth better than you found it… pursue your passion, do the best you can… and be a great parent.”
You can watch the entire interview here:
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