How to Live Your Truth: Lessons from Angel Investor Kamal Ravikant
I love reading books about self-improvement. Some might think it’s cheesy and that the space is overcrowded with individuals who have not earned the right to tell people how to make their lives better. I think it’s great as we all need guidance to figure out how to live a good life and become the best versions of ourselves. Nobody has it completely figured out.
While I agree that the space is flooded with individuals who think they’re the next best thing, you can pick and choose who you want to follow and whose teachings you want to try to put into practice. Personally, I’ve come across different businessmen in recent years whose content, voice, and style really resonate with me. While many of them have their own unique backstory and set of teachings, they all seem to know each other and push one another to greater heights.
One such individual whose gotten my attention is angel investor Kamal Ravikant. I was introduced to his work by author and entrepreneur James Altucher, one of my heroes of late. The two of them have become friendly in the past decade through James’ blog, The Altucher Confidential. Every now and then, I’d see Kamal’s name pop up in Altucher’s writing until one day he was one of the first guests on the The James Altucher Show podcast. It was at that moment that I really got a deeper look into Kamal’s origin story and how he viewed the world. As a result, I jotted down the names of a couple of books and found myself purchasing Live Your Truth a short time later.
In a nutshell, the book is about Kamal’s personal journey to find his truth and help others unlock and live theirs. Below is a list of the main lessons I learned through reading the book. Enjoy!
1. MASTER YOUR MIND
Your thoughts are everything. No matter the situation, Ravikant says you can always choose who you want to be and how you want to feel. The more you work on the inside and the less you let outside circumstances define you, the better your life will be. You’ll not only make better decisions but you’ll also attract the right people and opportunities.
Each and every day, try to be present with your thoughts and make conscious decisions that reflect what you truly want. You’re not going to always get things right, but each time you do, you’re reinforcing the habit and getting closer to freedom.
2. YOU ARE MORTAL
Life is short. Kamal encourages us to stop living our lives as if we’ll be here forever and live each day as if it was our last. We can’t keep putting things off with the hope that they’ll be more time to do them later. We need to minimize our regrets and choose to do what we want instead of what we should. Not knowing when your time will come should be the biggest motivator to live life more on your own terms, which is the key to living a fulfilling life.
Ravikant recommends reminding yourself daily of this fact and being grateful for another opportunity to impact the world. Think of all things you keep telling yourself that you’ll do and ask yourself, “What am I waiting for?”
3. WRITE OUT THE TRUTH WHEN YOU’RE STUCK
The best piece of writing advice Kamal has discovered came from Ernest Hemingway. Whenever Hemingway was stuck in his writing, he would encourage himself to write out one true thing and then repeat the process to keep his momentum going.
Ravikant believes this practice can be extended to any area of life where you want to break through your thoughts and become unstuck. Getting it all out on paper requires you to face your fears and see how you’re really feeling about things. It will help you let go of things that are on your mind.
4. PUT ADVICE TO THE TEST
When it comes to learning, Ravikant discovered an important lesson courtesy of Miyamoto Musashi, legendary Japanase swordsman who wrote The Book of Five Rings. While the book is about swordsmanship and strategy, it’s one of those texts that can teach you a lot about life, including mastering your fears. Kamal’s chief takeaway from the book was the one sentence that Musashi repeated throughout, “You should investigate this thoroughly.”
When it comes to applying the lessons we learn from others, Ravikant believes that simply knowing something and acting upon it in a way that you’re told is not enough. You need to test theories out, get in the trenches, throw out what doesn’t work, keep what does, and add some flair of your own. That’s where the magic happens.
5. FILL YOUR BUCKETS DAILY
What are the habits you’ve latched onto every day that make you better? Kamal specifically highlights the daily practice of one of my favorite authors, James Altucher. It involves checking the box on your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual buckets each day. Another successful entrepreneur he knows focuses daily on health, wealth, relationships and self-expression.
When it comes to designing an amazing life for yourself, it’s not something that happens by chance. Ravikant believes you need to commit to self-improvement continuously.
6. JUMP OFF THE CLIFF / CROSS THE THRESHOLD
According to Ravikant, even the best people doubt themselves and think they’re not good enough. What sets them apart from average people is that they always “jump off the cliff” in spite of their fears and figure things out on the way down. If you want to be the best and take the leap, you need the desire to do so and the confidence that you’ll make it work no matter what. That’s how you push yourself to greater heights.
A related theme that Kamal discusses is crossing the threshold, which is basically the idea of finishing and shipping something you’ve been working on rather than waiting for the perfect timing or conditions (and possibly not shipping at all). Since your time is short on this planet, you must cast your fears aside, reach within yourself, and create something in the world that might not work.
For Ravikant, it was writing the book he wanted to read and putting it out there. The person you become in the process of crossing the threshold helps you better understand and define who you are. The times when you do cross it will be the pivotal moments you remember for a lifetime. The more you decide to take new risks, commit to them and cross the threshold, the easier it’ll get and the more confident you’ll become.
7. YOU ARE THE EFFORT, NOT THE OUTCOME
Ravikant is a firm believer that outcomes are outside of your control. What really counts is giving it your all and remaining true to yourself. Sometimes you’ll succeed, and other times you’ll fail. When you fail, the world isn’t going to end. They key thing is to apply the lessons you learned and continue to put in the effort.
8. PAY ATTENTION TO PERSONAL TRAGEDY
Kamal believes that too many people are just going through life’s motions. At some point, those people will experience some sort of tragedy that makes them realize just how short life is.
In this realization, they will question their current situation and wonder why they aren’t doing the thing they most want to do. Some will capitalize on this moment and go after their dreams, while others will let the moment pass by and return to their normal lives until tragedy strikes again. The choice is yours.
9. PICK ONE THING
When it comes to success, Ravikant believes that the secret is simple: pick one thing that is important to you and commit to it. Literally take out a piece of paper, write down the one thing you want to do / be, and vow to pursue it wholeheartedly.
While anyone can write out their #1 goal, it’s the deep commitment to it that truly matters. Start by putting that piece of paper somewhere you’ll see it daily; read it aloud to yourself; envision what it will feel like to have accomplished your goal; and most importantly, DO THE WORK. If you do this for your truth, doors will open and magic will start to happen.
10. LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT
According to Kamal, life is “whatever we wish to make it be.” At any moment, you can hit the reset button, regardless of your past. While we’re alive, our actions matter. Ravikant wants everyone to make their time count and live to become the best versions of themselves. Pursue a life well lived.
11. FIGURE OUT AND LIVE YOUR TRUTH
In order to discover your truth, Kamal recommends asking yourself what is it at your core that would make your fears irrelevant. The answer to that question needs to empower you and make you better in all facets of life. It doesn’t really matter where your truth comes from (e.g. book, movie, passing remark, etc.) so long as it feels right for you.
Once you figure out your truth, you need to commit to living it fully. That means fierce action and staying dedicated no matter what. That’s how you become the greatest version of yourself and make the world a better place.
12. SHARE YOUR TRUTH
Once you figure out your truth, Ravikant recommends sharing it with someone who will hold you accountable. As you start to live it and see incredible results, it’s also important to tell others how you did it. In fact, Kamal believes showing others how to make their lives better is the biggest public service one can do.
If you want to check out an example of someone who did exactly that, Ravikant recommends taking a look at author James Altcuher’s blog post, How to be THE LUCKIEST GUY ON THE PLANET in 4 Easy Steps.
13. GO DEEPER
When it comes to living your truth, Kamal recognizes that negative things are going to happen that will make you question it. In these distances, he encourages you to strip away your ego, be vulnerable and go deeper. Revert back to your truth and use it as a guide to get better and grow.
The way you do that is to consciously set aside time periodically to reflect on your truth and explore how you can lean into it even further. For example, famous comedians George Carlin and Louis CK threw out their material at the end of the year and started fresh with new content the next. Since people are already familiar with their jokes, they looked inside themselves further and further to discover new layers of their truths.
14. GET AWAY TO GO WITHIN
If you need to do some serious thinking, Ravikant recommends traveling somewhere away from your normal residence so you can be with your thoughts with less distraction. After a few days, you’ll start to hear a version of yourself that you never knew existed speak. The feelings and insights you’ll experience will be profound. However, it’s important to remember that they will be useless unless you act upon them. You should give that gift to the world, or you’ll live with regret.
What do you think your truth is? More importantly, have you been living it?
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