Second, “Watch out for momentum.” That’s to say, proceed with extreme caution “when you see markets going crazy,” either because the herd is panicking or charging into stocks at irrational valuations.

Second, to achieve resilience, it’s imperative to reduce or eliminate debt, avoid leverage, and beware of excessive expenses, all of which can make us dependent on the kindness of strangers.

They focus almost exclusively on what they’re best at and what matters most to them. Their success derives from this fierce insistence on concentrating deeply in a relatively narrow area while disregarding countless distractions that could interfere with their pursuit of excellence.

What I failed to learn from Templeton two decades ago is the supreme importance of this inner game.

The more distracted others become, the more of an advantage it is to subtract mental clutter, technological intrusions, and overstimulation.

“You need to do some independent thinking, especially about the important things, and try to work them out for yourself. Check the evidence. Check the basis of conventional beliefs.”

“you want to keep reminding yourself of how difficult this business is.… Humility is extremely important in investing. Always, always think about your own limitations.”

Following Buffett’s lead, we should always keep enough cash in reserve so we’ll never be forced to sell stocks (or any other beleaguered asset) in a downturn. We should never borrow to excess because, as Eveillard warns, debt erodes our “staying power.” Like him, we should avoid the temptation to speculate on hot stocks with supposedly glorious

“It is far easier to figure out if something is fragile than to predict the occurrence of an event that may harm it.”