Getting rich is not just about luck, and happiness is not merely a trait we are born with. Both are skills that can be learned.
Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur, philosopher, and investor. In The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, author Eric Jorgenson compiles interview transcripts, tweets, and talks by Naval, exploring the principles guiding the acquisition of wealth and the creation of long-term happiness. This collection doesn’t offer a simple how-to or step-by-step gimmick. Instead, through Naval’s wisdom and experience, readers are guided to walk their unique paths towards a happier, wealthier life, delving into the essential skills needed and what progress truly means.
Here are my favorite twelve takeaways:
Permissionless leverage
“Code and media are permissionless leverage. They’re the leverage behind the newly rich. You can create software and media that works for you while you sleep. ↓ An army of robots is freely available—it’s just packed in data centers for heat and space efficiency. Use it. ↓ If you can’t code, write books and blogs, record videos and podcasts.”
99% of effort is wasted
“you should be very thoughtful and realize in most things (relationships, work, even in learning) what you’re trying to do is find the thing you can go all-in on to earn compound interest. When you’re dating, the instant you know this relationship is not going to be the one that leads to marriage, you should probably move on. When you’re studying something, like a geography or history class, and you realize you are never going to use the information, drop the class. It’s a waste of time. It’s a waste of your brain energy. I’m not saying don’t do the 99 percent, because it’s very hard to identify what the 1 percent is. What I’m saying is: when you find the 1 percent of your discipline which will not be wasted, which you’ll be able to invest in for the rest of your life and has meaning to you—go all-in and forget about the rest.“
Spend more time making the big decisions
“There are basically three really big decisions you make in your early life: where you live, who you’re with, and what you do.“
History remembers the artists
“Whether in commerce, science, or politics—history remembers the artists.“
Short-term pain, but long-term gain
“If I’m faced with a difficult choice, such as: Should I marry this person? Should I take this job? Should I buy this house? Should I move to this city? Should I go into business with this person? If you cannot decide, the answer is no. And the reason is, modern society is full of options… If you find yourself creating a spreadsheet for a decision with a list of yes’s and no’s, pros and cons, checks and balances, why this is good or bad…forget it. If you cannot decide, the answer is no… If you have two choices to make, and they’re relatively equal choices, take the path more difficult and more painful in the short term… So you generally want to lean into things with short-term pain, but long-term gain.“
What to read
“When it comes to reading, make sure your foundation is very, very high quality. The best way to have a high-quality foundation (you may not love this answer), but the trick is to stick to science and to stick to the basics. Generally, there are only a few things you can read people don’t disagree with. Very few people disagree 2+2=4, right? That is serious knowledge. Mathematics is a solid foundation… Another way to do this is to read originals and read classics. If you’re interested in evolution, read Charles Darwin. Don’t begin with Richard Dawkins (even though I think he’s great). Read him later; read Darwin first. If you want to learn macroeconomics, first read Adam Smith, read von Mises, or read Hayek. Start with the original philosophers of the economy. If you’re into communist or socialist ideas (which I’m personally not), start by reading Karl Marx. Don’t read the current interpretation someone is feeding you about how things should be done and run.“
How to get anything
“You can get almost anything you want out of life, as long as it’s one thing and you want it far more than anything else.“
Tips for cultivating happiness
“I try to get more sunlight on my skin. I look up and smile…
Every time you catch yourself desiring something, say, “Is it so important to me I’ll be unhappy unless this goes my way?” You’re going to find with the vast majority of things it’s just not true…
I think dropping caffeine made me happier. It makes me more of a stable person…
I think working out every day made me happier. If you have peace of body, it’s easier to have peace of mind…
The more you judge, the more you separate yourself. You’ll feel good for an instant, because you feel good about yourself, thinking you’re better than someone. Later, you’re going to feel lonely. Then, you see negativity everywhere. The world just reflects your own feelings back at you…
Tell your friends you’re a happy person. Then, you’ll be forced to conform to it. You’ll have a consistency bias. You have to live up to it. Your friends will expect you to be a happy person…
Recover time and happiness by minimizing your use of these three smartphone apps: phone, calendar, and alarm clock…
The more secrets you have, the less happy you’re going to be…
Caught in a funk? Use meditation, music, and exercise to reset your mood. Then choose a new path to commit emotional energy for rest of day…
Hedonic adaptation is more powerful for man-made things (cars, houses, clothes, money) than for natural things (food, sex, exercise)…
No exceptions—all screen activities linked to less happiness, all non-screen activities linked to more happiness…
A personal metric: how much of the day is spent doing things out of obligation rather than out of interest?…
It’s the news’ job to make you anxious and angry. But its underlying scientific, economic, education, and conflict trends are positive. Stay optimistic…
Politics, academia, and social status are all zero-sum games. Positive-sum games create positive people…
Increase serotonin in the brain without drugs: Sunlight, exercise, positive thinking, and tryptophan.“
Life-hack
“When in bed, meditate. Either you will have a deep meditation or fall asleep. Victory either way.“
There is no later
“When you say, ‘I’m going to do this,’ and ‘I’m going to be that,’ you’re really putting it off. You’re giving yourself an out. At least if you’re self-aware, you can think, ‘I say I want to do this, but I don’t really because if I really wanted to do it, I would just do it.’ Commit externally to enough people. For example, if you want to quit smoking, all you have to do is go to everybody you know and say, ‘I quit smoking. I did it. I give you my word.’ That’s all you need to do. Go ahead, right? But most of us say we’re not quite ready. We know we don’t want to commit ourselves externally. It’s important to be honest with yourself and say, ‘Okay, I’m not ready to give up smoking. I like it too much, it is going to be too hard for me to give up.’ Say instead, ‘I’ll set a more reasonable goal for myself; I’ll cut down to the following amount. I can commit to that externally. I’m going to work on that for three or six months. When I get there, I’ll take the next step, as opposed to beating myself up over it.’… Anything you have to do, just get it done. Why wait? You’re not getting any younger. Your life is slipping away. You don’t want to spend it waiting in line. You don’t want to spend it traveling back and forth. You don’t want to spend it doing things you know ultimately aren’t part of your mission. When you do them, you want to do them as quickly as you can while doing them well with your full attention. But then, you just have to be patient with the results because you’re dealing with complex systems and many people… As Nivi said, inspiration is perishable. When you have inspiration, act on it right then and there… If there’s something you want to do later, do it now. There is no ‘later.’“
A foundational value
“I don’t believe in any short-term thinking or dealing. If I’m doing business with somebody and they think in a short-term manner with somebody else, then I don’t want to do business with them anymore. All benefits in life come from compound interest, whether in money, relationships, love, health, activities, or habits. I only want to be around people I know I’m going to be around for the rest of my life. I only want to work on things I know have long-term payout.“
Life formulas
“Happiness = Health + Wealth + Good Relationships
Health = Exercise + Diet + Sleep
Exercise = High Intensity Resistance Training + Sports + Rest
Diet = Natural Foods + Intermittent Fasting + Plants
Sleep = No alarms + 8–9 hours + Circadian rhythms
Wealth = Income + Wealth * (Return on Investment)
Income = Accountability + Leverage + Specific Knowledge
Accountability = Personal Branding + Personal Platform + Taking Risk?
Leverage = Capital + People + Intellectual Property
Specific Knowledge = Knowing how to do something society cannot yet easily train other people to do
Return on Investment = “Buy-and-Hold” + Valuation + Margin of Safety“
Disclaimer: links to Amazon.com in this article are affiliate links. That means Amazon gives you the same low price, but they share a few pennies of any profits with me. Thanks in advance!
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