Ray Dalio Quotes

...never let a passion for the perfect take precedence over pragmatism.

You don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, but you want to get rid of the bathwater so the baby can swim the next couple of days and be OK.

So the pie isn't perfect? Cut it into wedges. Stay in control, and never panic.

You know, the whole philosophy of ad hoc combinations has its strengths and its weaknesses.

There are always great dangers in letting the best be the enemy of the good.

Politics is the science of the second best.

I’m very outcomes-oriented—what’s the best way to get there? Sometimes it’s being diplomatic and sometimes it’s being harsh…. So you just have to calibrate and figure out what is the end state you’re trying to get to…. It depends on what you are trying to achieve.

Power shifts your thinking from what is right and wrong to what is necessary

Not every pass-rush move is going to work to perfection, so therefore, you've got to figure out what's best for you.

I have realised that life is never perfect.

But that's how life is. You never know how it's going to turn out, and you can't plan for everything. You just have to do your best dealing with things as they come and hope people forgive you when you make a mistake.

When people insist on perfection or nothing, they get nothing.

When it's impossible, it's better to stoop to compromise, without resisting and without complaining. People who complain are selfish.

Some people are pragmatists, taking things as they come and making the best of the choices available. Some people are idealists, standing for principle and refusing to compromise. And some people just act on any whim that enters their heads. I pragmatically turn my whims into principles.

Trust is always a factor. You've just got to look at the big picture, and you've got to look at the small picture - the small picture in the sense that you've got to make every scene work and you've got to deal with what people are presenting you with, too.

Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. Failures make their decisions slowly and change their minds quickly.

You can wait forever for perfect conditions or you can make do with what you have.

Whenever serious and competent people need to get things done in the real world, all considerations of tradition and protocol fly out the window.

I'm a great believer in compromise. I know it's not popular among young idealists. Compromise is not popular. It's not at all popular among young people who these days call themselves "activists." They think compromises are dishonest, opportunistic, humiliating. Not in my vocabulary. In my vocabulary, the word "compromise" is synonymous to the word "life".

I don't want to hurt people's feelings if I can help it. I don't want anyone unnecessarily humiliated, but I say whatever stands between you and justice must give way; and if you have to walk over reputations — and if they become pavement you cannot help it.

Realism in foreign policy means careful consideration of all aspects pertinent to the issue, before taking a decision. This is the only way you can move from where you are to someplace else.

Don't think you are unstoppable or foolproof. Don't think that the only way your business will work is through perfection. Don't aim for perfection. Aim for success.

The leader needs to create an environment in which people can analyze the situation and develop a good response.

The only people without problems are those in cemeteries. It is not what happens to us that separates failures from successes. It is how we perceive and what we do about what happens that makes the difference.

Make a game plan and stick to it. Unless it's not working.