Principles your father should have taught you

Author

Alex Zoo
February 22, 2024

Welcome to Burning Anchor: the masculine lifestyle optimization newsletter

Welcome to Burning Anchor.

Want to know what separates boys from men in life?

Principles.

Here's a excerpt from a book called Poor Charlies Almanack to help illustrate:

“On the last day of a family ski vacation in Sun Valley when I was fifteen or so, my dad and I were driving back in the snow when he took a ten-minute detour to gas the red jeep we were driving.

​He was pressed for time to have our family catch the plane home, I was surprised to notice as he pulled into the station that the tank was still half-full.

​I asked my dad why we had stopped when we had plenty of gas.

​He said:
​
“Charlie, when you borrow a man’s car, you always return it with a full tank of gas.”

​We had been staying at my dads friend Rick's house, and driving Rick's Jeep. Rick was one of my dad’s friends who, on his return to Sun Valley, certainty wouldn’t have been troubled, and was unlikely to notice if his jeep had less gas than we he left it.

​My dad still didn’t skip a point of fairness and consideration. So I was taught that day not only how to get a good friend, but also how to keep one.”

Charlies father was a man with Principles

And he passed those principles down onto Charlie (the author of that book)

In case you didn't realize I'm talking about Charlie Munger…

…The billionaire investing partner of Warren Buffet.

And part of the success of Warren and Charlie when it came to building wealth came down to....

Yep….strong principles.

What principles did your father hand down to you?

Hopefully he gave you something.

But if not; don't worry:

Its not your fault and its never to late to start building your own principles.

Doing so will transform your life.

Principles are the foundations for building strong relationships, wealth, and an interesting life.

They make up your compass for when things in life get tough.

Here's a list of 10 more principles that masculine fathers pass down to their sons

10 core principles of the masculine:

  1. If you borrow another mans car always return it with a full tank of gas. No matter how little you used it.This is one way to build strong lifelong friends

  2. Never ask a women what she wants to do on the first date. Tell her what time you'll pick her up and what to wear. Indecisiveness kills polarity

  3. When shaking someones hand: stand up. Look him in the eyes. Firm grip. Chin up Your handshake says a lot about your internal world

  4. NEVER put the first offer on the table in a negotiation. And never be so tied to the outcome that you get emotional Negotiations are won by the party who cares less

  5. Never vomit your anger onto a women, a child, or an elderly person. A man who can't control his anger can't be trusted

  6. Never apologize for who you are. If the people around you don't accept you for who you are it just means they are the wrong people. You don't need to change…you need to find new people.

  7. When you're speaking with another human give them your full undivided attention. Put your phone out of site. There's nothing more unattractive than a man who is glued to his phone in another persons presence

  8. Lift heavy weights. Eat clean food. Compete in something. Sleep well. This is the 80/20 of testosterone optimization. Low testosterone will rob you of your masculinity.

  9. When in doubt about what to wear; overdress. Being overdressed is a good thing. Being under dressed is not.

  10. Always err on the side of assertiveness when dating. If you wait around for the safer and less bold opportunity to make a move on her the attraction will disappear. Choose the bolder action.

That’s it for today.

- Alex

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