Ray Dalio is best known for starting Bridgewater — one of the largest and best performing hedge funds in the world. The book was then a handbook for Bridgewater employees, but was really a how-to guide to becoming effective at life — that is, achieving your goals, no matter how difficult things might be. In 2017, Dalio published a paper edition of the book with publisher Simon & Schuster.
Both versions of Principles contain a mix of rationalist ideas on being effective, advice on good decision making, and some self-helpy bits about self control and self regulation.
Dalio’s Story — a condensed version of Dalio’s personal history.
Life Principles — Dalio’s approach to life.
Work Principles — Dalio’s approach to building Bridgewater.
The Principles Sequence is centered around Parts One and Two, the two most valuable parts of the book. Dalio intended Part Three to be a reference — you were supposed to read Parts One and Two sequentially, and then jump around to the bits that most interested you in Part Three. For good reason: not all the ideas in Part Three are universally applicable.
