--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How do you compete against a true…" description: "\"How do you compete against a true fanatic? You can only try to build the best possible moat and continuously attempt to widen it.\" — Charlie Munger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8f/charlie-munger-458_fanatics_how-do-you-compete-against-a-true-fanati_560202.jpg" --- # How do you compete against a true fanatic? You can only… ![“How do you compete against a true fanatic? You can only try to build the best possible moat and continuously attempt to widen it.” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8f/charlie-munger-458_fanatics_how-do-you-compete-against-a-true-fanati_560202.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8f/charlie-munger-458_fanatics_how-do-you-compete-against-a-true-fanati_560202.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8f/charlie-munger-458_fanatics_how-do-you-compete-against-a-true-fanati_560202.jpg) > “How do you compete against a true fanatic? You can only try to build the best possible moat and continuously attempt to widen it.” [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. To protect a business, create strong barriers and keep expanding them, outpacing competitors. **In simple terms:** Build and widen defenses against rivals. Key Takeaway Focus on durable competitive advantages. Themes competition strategy defense Mood strategic analytical Type business advice When to use this quote - business planning - investment decisions - product development - market positioning Key Concepts Economic moats sustainable advantage Questions to Reflect On - What moat can you strengthen today? - How do you monitor emerging threats? A Different Perspective Moats can be eroded by disruptive innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fanatics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanatics/) [Moats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moats/) ## Related quotes > [In fact I've probably never seen such a wide moat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-fact-i-ve-probably-never-seen-such-a-wide-moat/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I want a big house with a moat and dragons and a fort to keep people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-beckham/i-want-a-big-house-with-a-moat-and-dragons-and-a-fort-to-keep-people/) [Victoria Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-beckham/) > [She thought she'd put up with however many years of stonewalling for a good reason, and she'd just figured out that as far as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/she-thought-she-d-put-up-with-however-many-years-of-stonewalling-for/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [I live in a house that was built in 1480. It has a moat around it. It is like a little baby castle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wyman/i-live-in-a-house-that-was-built-in-1480-it-has-a-moat-around-it-it/) [Bill Wyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-wyman/) > [No formula in finance tells you that the moat is 28 feet wide and 16 feet deep. That's what drives the academics crazy. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/no-formula-in-finance-tells-you-that-the-moat-is-28-feet-wide-and-16/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I have built a moat around myself, along with ways over that moat so that people can ask questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/i-have-built-a-moat-around-myself-along-with-ways-over-that-moat-so/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [If you want to get to the castle, Groceries, you've got to swim the moat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-you-want-to-get-to-the-castle-groceries-you-ve-got-to-swim-the-moat/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I wonder," she said. "Does this castle have a moat?" A group of servants were busy emptying the privy buckets into the moat when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/i-wonder-she-said-does-this-castle-have-a-moat-a-group-of-servants/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [“You realize that you will never be the best-looking person in the room. You’ll never be the smartest person in the room. You’ll never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/you-realize-that-you-will-never-be-the-best-looking-person-in-the/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [Kellogg's and Campbell's moats have also shrunk due to the increased buying power of supermarkets and companies like Wal-Mart. The muscle power of Wal-Mart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/kellogg-s-and-campbell-s-moats-have-also-shrunk-due-to-the-increased/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“Katherine and the children have made paper boats and are floating them on the moat to see which one stays up the longest, contriving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-fremantle/katherine-and-the-children-have-made-paper-boats-and-are-floating/) Elizabeth Fremantle > [“He’d imprisoned himself in this castle to rot. He’d cut off all contact with the outside world. And just when he thought he’d burned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/he-d-imprisoned-himself-in-this-castle-to-rot-he-d-cut-off-all/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) > [I got myself into hot water with the press in 2014 by suggesting that the art installation of poppies in the Tower of London…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-hancock/i-got-myself-into-hot-water-with-the-press-in-2014-by-suggesting-that/) [Sheila Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-hancock/) > [There is an invisible moat around the senior royals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyles-brandreth/there-is-an-invisible-moat-around-the-senior-royals/) [Gyles Brandreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyles-brandreth/) > [You always have to evolve - the minute you start building a moat around you to keep yourself safe, you're going to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diplo/you-always-have-to-evolve-the-minute-you-start-building-a-moat-around/) [Diplo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diplo/) ## More by Charlie Munger > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I think time and time again, in reality, psychological notions and economic notions interplay, and the man who doesn't understand both is a damned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-think-time-and-time-again-in-reality-psychological-notions-and/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-have-what-i-call-an-iron-prescription-that-helps-me-keep-sane-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The tax code gives you an enormous advantage if you can find some things you can just sit with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-tax-code-gives-you-an-enormous-advantage-if-you-can-find-some/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The great lesson in microeconomics is to discriminate between when technology is going to help you and when it's going to kill you. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-great-lesson-in-microeconomics-is-to-discriminate-between-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Some years ago one oil company bought a fertilizer company, and every other major oil company practically ran out and bought a fertilizer company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/some-years-ago-one-oil-company-bought-a-fertilizer-company-and-every/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [ They \[Mc Donalds\] take people and give them a first job, which enables them to get a second job. They do a very good… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/they-mc-donalds-take-people-and-give-them-a-first-job-which-enables/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [What good is envy? It’s the one sin you can’t have any fun at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/what-good-is-envy-it-s-the-one-sin-you-can-t-have-any-fun-at/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We believe that almost all really good investment records will involve relatively little diversification. The basic idea that it was hard to find good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-believe-that-almost-all-really-good-investment-records-will/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [It is way less certain to be a wonderful business in the future. The threat is alternative mediums of information. Every newspaper is scrambling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-is-way-less-certain-to-be-a-wonderful-business-in-the-future-the/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [In the corporate world, if you have analysts, due diligence, and no horse sense, you've just described hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-the-corporate-world-if-you-have-analysts-due-diligence-and-no/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We have to have a special insight, or we'll put it in the 'too tough' basket. All of you have to look for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-have-to-have-a-special-insight-or-we-ll-put-it-in-the-too-tough/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I've heard that one-half of the students at elite schools want to go into private equity or hedge funds. They want to keep up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-ve-heard-that-one-half-of-the-students-at-elite-schools-want-to-go/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Explore all 544 Charlie Munger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) ## More Fanatics quotes > [You don't have to be Sigmund Freud to surmise that war has a perverse appeal for the human race, nor is the attraction limited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/you-don-t-have-to-be-sigmund-freud-to-surmise-that-war-has-a-perverse/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [I'm pretty much an open book. I am a fanatic golfer and golf nut. If I have three free hours any day, my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/i-m-pretty-much-an-open-book-i-am-a-fanatic-golfer-and-golf-nut-if-i/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [ Harvey \[Weinstein\] didn't want to release \[MY SON THE FANATIC\]; he held it for two years because he wanted a happy ending, although I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/harvey-weinstein-didn-t-want-to-release-my-son-the-fanatic-he-held-it/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [Very few minds are strictly normal, and all religious fanatics are marked with abnormalities of various sorts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/very-few-minds-are-strictly-normal-and-all-religious-fanatics-are/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Fanatics are picturesque, mankind would rather see gestures than listen to reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/fanatics-are-picturesque-mankind-would-rather-see-gestures-than/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Fanatics are those who, when following a doctrine becomes inconvenient, make up rules of their own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathryn-louis/fanatics-are-those-who-when-following-a-doctrine-becomes-inconvenient/) [Cathryn Louis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathryn-louis/) > [“Don't assume you understand Naskar, unless you've left your seat to the elderly on a bus, joined the religious festivities of a neighbor from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/don-t-assume-you-understand-naskar-unless-you-ve-left-your-seat-to/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Don't assume you understand Naskar (Sonnet 2972) Naskar Science is Naskar Theology is Naskar Poetry is Naskar Philosophy - and do not even dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/don-t-assume-you-understand-naskar-sonnet-2972-naskar-science-is/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I'm a London fanatic. That's my city. I love being from there, you don't appreciate it until you go out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/i-m-a-london-fanatic-that-s-my-city-i-love-being-from-there-you-don-t/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [“Fanatics don't wanna see anything from another standpoints.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/fanatics-don-t-wanna-see-anything-from-another-standpoints/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [One thing is clear, the president of North Vietnam is not a fanatic. He is a very strong and determined man, but capable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-niemoller/one-thing-is-clear-the-president-of-north-vietnam-is-not-a-fanatic-he/) [Martin Niemoller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-niemoller/) > [Fanatics can justify practically any atrocity to themselves. The more untenable their position becomes, the harder they hold to it, and the worse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/fanatics-can-justify-practically-any-atrocity-to-themselves-the-more/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [How do we deal with not just the acts of violence, but the extremist ideology that lies behind them? Because though the numbers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/how-do-we-deal-with-not-just-the-acts-of-violence-but-the-extremist/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Living more lives than one, knowing people of all classes, all shades of opinion, monarchists, republicans, socialists, anarchists, has had a salutary effect on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/living-more-lives-than-one-knowing-people-of-all-classes-all-shades/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [If you go looking for loonies and religious fanatics and dropouts and freaks, I dare say you'll find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/if-you-go-looking-for-loonies-and-religious-fanatics-and-dropouts-and/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) [Browse all 294 Fanatics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanatics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How do you compete against a true fanatic? 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