8 Lessons from Naval Ravikant
The secret rules that will improve your Wealth and Happiness
Naval Ravikant is undoubtedly one of the most intelligent people alive and his advice on living a good life will blow your mind away.
I like him because he:
- Questions the world around him
- Love to change his mind
And
- Think long term
For a bit of background, Naval was born in India and went to the US when he was really young. As a poor immigrant, he started at the bottom and had to go through a lot of hardship. But by maintaining faith, he eventually became ultra-successful in the startup scene of Silicon Valley.
Apart from his numerous ventures, Naval is also super famous for his deep wisdom on wealth and happiness that he shares on Twitter.
His ideas are ultra-relevant to the world we live in.
In this post, I will present you my 8 favorites ideas from Naval:
1. Seek wealth not money or status.
We often confuse wealth creation with status-seeking. They are not the same.
Long-term wealth creation is about creating products that people want. It is a positive sum game where society’s welfare improves because of you, and as a consequence, you get rewarded with money that allows you to live life on your own term.
On the other, status is about your place in the societal hierarchy. Ultimately, it is a zero-sum game because if you are better than me, then I must be worse than you. It is an ever-ending game that will cost you your peace of mind.
Avoid playing this game at all costs.
2. Beat competition through authenticity.
As the world gets more and more interconnected, it is nearly impossible to become successful if you do what everyone else is doing.
But guess what, no one can compete with you on being you. Don’t try to copy someone and create your own path.
Spend a lot of time finding what is unique about you. When you find it, leverage it as much as you can.
If you do it with 100% effort consistently, you will get what you deserve.
3. In life, foundations are super important.
Simple basic knowledge is super important. Don’t seek to understand the most advanced topic if you are not strong enough on the foundation.
Learning ordinary English is way more important than writing poetry.
Basic maths is way more useful than complex calculus.
For instance, don’t try to understand how a complex economic system works if you don’t even know what is money and how it is created.
Master the basics first.
4. Learn to sell, Learn to build.
The two main things a business does are: building and selling.
They go hand in hand.
You can have the best product in the world, but if you don’t know how to sell it, you will be miserable.
Similarly, if you sell a shitty product, over time people will lose respect for you.
Master these two skills and you will be unstoppable.
5. It is not about having correct judgment. It is about avoiding incorrect judgment.
We love to get advice on what to do.
New York Time Best Sellers are always about “the 5 things you need to do to become a successful person”, and never about what are the things to avoid.
Because who would buy that, right?
This might seem counterintuitive but reality works in the opposite way: it is more important to avoid bad decisions than to make good ones.
For instance, it is better to know what not to eat, rather than what to eat for optimal performance.
Similarly, a good trader is focused on how to avoid losing money rather than trying to make money.
Society is lost in trying to find the best tips and tricks to be a successful person.
Don’t be like that.
Instead, focus on avoiding living a mediocre life.
6. You are a combination of your habits and the people you spend the most time with.
This one is straightforward. You are a product of your environment. This is the action you do repeatedly, as well as the people that surround you.
Those two variables will shape your personality.
Your personality will in turn shape your perception of life.
And your perception will determine your reality.
Your only power in this life lies in choosing your habit and your friend.
Do it wisely and choose something that will serve you in the long term.
7. Value your time. It is all you have. It’s more important than your money.
We often forget that our time on this earth is limited.
We spend way too much time sacrificing it for some futile things that we do not really care about.
And we forget that sooner or later, we will be gone.
Realize that time is your most precious asset. Use it consciously.
8. If you can’t decide, the answer is no.
Decision-making makes up a lot of our minds.
Sometimes, we think for hours about what should be the correct decision.
Naval has a unique way to deal with it: “If it’s not a fuck yes, then it’s a no.”
Adopt this philosophy and I am sure that you will have way more peace of mind (and you will also make better decisions).
If you like Naval’s perspective on life, I highly encourage you to read “The Almanack of Naval Ravikant” and follow this genius on Twitter.
Also, don’t forget to subscribe.
