Top 50 Rolf Dobelli Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Dwight Eisenhower said, “Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.”

— Rolf Dobelli

2. “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone,” wrote Blaise Pascal.”

— Rolf Dobelli

3. “News is to the mind what sugar is to the body.”

— Rolf Dobelli

4. “If you spend fifteen minutes in a shopping mall, you will pass more people than our ancestors saw during their entire lifetimes.”

— Rolf Dobelli

5. “It’s not what you add that enriches your life – it’s what you omit.”

— Rolf Dobelli

6. “Assume that your worldview is not borne by the public. More than that: Do not assume that those who think differently are idiots. Before you distrust them, question your own assumptions.”

— Rolf Dobelli

7. “How do you curb envy? First, stop comparing yourself to others. Second, find your “circle of competence” and fill it on your own. Create a niche where you are the best. It doesn’t matter how small your area of mastery is. The main thing is that you are king of the castle.”

— Rolf Dobelli

8. “Accepting reality is easy when you like what you see, but you’ve got to accept it even when you don’t – especially when you don’t.”

— Rolf Dobelli

9. “In psychology, this phenomenon is called reactance: when we are deprived of an option, we suddenly deem it more attractive. It is a kind of act of defiance. It is also known as the Romeo and Juliet effect: because the love between the tragic Shakespearean teenagers is forbidden, it knows no bounds.”

— Rolf Dobelli

10. “In daily life, because triumph is made more visible than failure, you systematically overestimate your chances of succeeding.”

— Rolf Dobelli

11. “Excel spreadsheets might as well be one of the most dangerous recent inventions.”

— Rolf Dobelli

12. “Survivorship bias can become especially pernicious when you become a member of the ‘winning’ team. Even if your success stems from pure coincidence, you’ll discover similarities with other winners and be tempted to mark these as ‘success factors’. However, if you ever visit the graveyard of failed individuals and companies, you will realise that its tenants possessed many of the same traits that characterise your success.”

— Rolf Dobelli

13. “No matter how much you have already invested, only your assessment of the future costs and benefits counts.”

— Rolf Dobelli

14. “If you ever find yourself in a tight, unanimous group, you must speak your mind, even if your team does not like it.”

— Rolf Dobelli

15. “In conclusion: when it comes to pattern recognition, we are oversensitive. Regain your scepticism. If you think you have discovered a pattern, first consider it pure chance. If it seems too good to be true, find a mathematician and have the data tested statistically. And if the crispy parts of your pancake start to look a lot like Jesus’ face, ask yourself: if he really wants to reveal himself, why doesn’t he do it in Times Square or on CNN?”

— Rolf Dobelli

16. “A mathematician is afraid of flying due to the small risk of a terrorist attack. So, on every flight he takes a bomb with him in his hand luggage. ‘The probability of having a bomb on the plane is very low,’ he reasons, ’and the probability of having two bombs on the same plane is virtually zero!”

— Rolf Dobelli

17. “Steve Chandler and Duane Black present an approach to management that promises to lower your stress level, increase your happiness and allow everyone in your organization to be more creative and productive.”

— Rolf Dobelli

18. “Rational decision making requires you to forget about the costs incurred to date. No matter how much you have already invested, only your assessment of the future costs and benefits counts.”

— Rolf Dobelli

19. “Do your best to get by with the bare facts. It will help you make better decisions. Superfluous knowledge is worthless, whether you know it or not.”

— Rolf Dobelli

20. “If you have nothing to say, say nothing.’ Simplicity is the zenith of a long, arduous journey, not the starting point.”

— Rolf Dobelli

21. “It’s okay to be envious – but only of the person you aspire to become.”

— Rolf Dobelli

22. “The human brain seeks patterns and rules. In fact, it takes it one step further: If it finds no familiar patterns, it simply invents some.”

— Rolf Dobelli

23. “Only the best will do? In this age of unlimited variety, rather the opposite is true: ‘good enough’ is the new optimum.”

— Rolf Dobelli

24. “To fight against the confirmation bias, try writing down your beliefs – whether in terms of worldview, investments, marriage, healthcare, diet, career strategies – and set out to find disconfirming evidence. Axeing beliefs that feel like old friends is hard work, but imperative.”

— Rolf Dobelli

25. “Verbal expression is the mirror of the mind. Clear thoughts become clear statements, whereas ambiguous ideas transform into vacant ramblings.”

— Rolf Dobelli

26. “We attach too much likelihood to spectacular, flashy or loud outcomes. Anything silent or invisible we downgrade in our minds. Our brains imagine show-stopping outcomes more readily than mundane ones. We think dramatically, not quantitatively.”

— Rolf Dobelli

27. “The Pope asked Michelangelo: ‘Tell me the secret of your genius. How have you created the statue of David, the masterpiece of all masterpieces?’ Michelangelo’s answer: ‘It’s simple. I removed everything that is not David.”

— Rolf Dobelli

28. “We are obsessed with having as many irons as possible in the fire, ruling nothing out and being open to everything. However, this can easily destroy success. We must learn to close doors.”

— Rolf Dobelli

29. “There are two kinds of forecasters: those who don’t know, and those who don’t know they don’t know,” wrote Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith.”

— Rolf Dobelli

30. “We are drunk on our own ideas. To sober up, take a step back every now and then and examine their quality in hindsight. Which of your ideas from the past ten years were truly outstanding? Exactly.”

— Rolf Dobelli

31. “Stories attract us; abstract details repel us. Consequently, entertaining side issues and backstories are prioritised over relevant facts.”

— Rolf Dobelli

32. “Emotions form in the brain, just as crystal-clear, rational thoughts do. They are merely a different form of information processing – more primordial, but not necessarily an inferior variant. In fact, sometimes they provide the wiser counsel.”

— Rolf Dobelli

33. “Mirroring is a standard technique in sales to get exactly this effect. Here, the salesperson tries to copy the gestures, language, and facial expressions of his prospective client. If the buyer speaks very slowly and quietly, often scratching his head, it makes sense for the seller to speak slowly and quietly, and to scratch his head now and then, too.”

— Rolf Dobelli

34. “If you ever find yourself in a tight, unanimous group, you must speak your mind, even if your team does not like it. Question tacit assumptions, even if you risk expulsion from the warm nest. And, if you lead a group, appoint someone as devil’s advocate. She will not be the most popular member of the team, but she might be the most important.”

— Rolf Dobelli

35. “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored,’ said writer Aldous Huxley.”

— Rolf Dobelli

36. “Become your own toughest critic.”

— Rolf Dobelli

37. “There’s nothing more idiotic than slogging away at a job that earns you lots of money but brings you no joy – especially if you’re investing that money in items rather than experiences.”

— Rolf Dobelli

38. “We need no extra cunning, no new ideas, no unnecessary gadgets, no frantic hyperactivity – all we need is less rationality.”

— Rolf Dobelli

39. “Therefore, any knowledge that stems from an untrustworthy source gains credibility over time. The discrediting force melts away faster than the message does.”

— Rolf Dobelli

40. “Live in such a way that you can still look at yourself in the mirror.”

— Rolf Dobelli

41. “English novelist W. Somerset Maugham’s wise words: “If fifty million people say something foolish, it is still foolish.”

— Rolf Dobelli

42. “The most common misunderstanding I encounter is that the good life is a stable state or condition. Wrong. The good life is only achieved through constant readjustment.”

— Rolf Dobelli

43. “The fear of losing something motivates people more than the prospect of gaining something of equal value.”

— Rolf Dobelli

44. “General Electric, Jack Welch. He once said in an interview: ‘You would not believe how difficult it is to be simple and clear. People are afraid that they may be seen as a simpleton. In reality, just the opposite is true.”

— Rolf Dobelli

45. “Charlie Munger has observed, “If you won’t attack a problem while it’s solvable and wait until it’s unfixable, you can argue that you’re so damn foolish that you deserve the problem.”

— Rolf Dobelli

46. “Whoever hopes to think clearly must understand the difference between risk and uncertainty.”

— Rolf Dobelli

47. “News is to the mind what sugar is to the body: appetising, easily digestible and extremely damaging.”

— Rolf Dobelli

48. “So before I read a book or a long article, I take a few minutes and force myself to come up with my own ideas about the issue under discussion.”

— Rolf Dobelli

49. “Because problems aren’t like great Bordeaux wines – they don’t improve with age.”

— Rolf Dobelli

50. “Those who set the agenda wield power over the discussion. If you let news journalists decide what you should think about, you’re giving them far too much power over your life.”

— Rolf Dobelli