THE ALMANACK OF NAVAL RAVIKANTH – KEY TAKEAWAYS

INTRODUCTION

“The Almanack of Naval Ravikanth” by “Eric Jorgenson” is a treasure trove and a practical guide for readers when it comes to topics of building wealth and achieving happiness in life. This book consists of Naval’s ideas, philosophies, approaches, etc., to achieve great things and have a large impact on life through small, persistent steps. The author, Eric Jorgenson, wrote this book collecting the wisdom shared by Naval on Twitter, blog posts, and podcasts. Naval Ravikanth is an icon in Silicon Valley and start-up culture around the world. He is an Angel investor in companies like Uber, Twitter, Postmates etc.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

“The Almanack of Naval Ravikant” is a book for entrepreneurs, investors, self-help enthusiasts, professionals, students, and anyone seeking clarity, wisdom, and guidance on entrepreneurship, personal development, and the pursuit of happiness.

SUMMARY AND KEY TAKEAWAYS

The Almanack is split into 2 parts: Building Wealth and Happiness.

PART 1 – BUILDING WEALTH

Wealth, according to Naval is “having assets that earn while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth.” He urges everyone to seek wealth, not money or status. To achieve financial freedom, he says, we must own equity – a piece of a business.

Naval asks users to identify a “specific skill/knowledge” – like learning to sell, build, create etc. Arm yourself with specific knowledge, accountability, and leverage. These will make you unstoppable. Specific knowledge is found by pursuing your genuine curiosity and passion. It feels like playing when you are interested in something, and you work on it.

“When you embrace accountability, take calculated risks on the knowledge you acquired regarding the specific skill – society will reward you with responsibility, equity, and leverage.”

Coding is one specific skill that Naval recommends for this current generation. This skill – he calls having permissionless leverage. You can create any software that people could be interested in, like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, etc. You are not dependent on huge capital, labor, etc., like a factory that manufactures goods. If you can’t code, he suggests writing books, writing blogs, recording videos, and podcasts.

He emphasizes working hard is important to create wealth. But who you work with and what you work on are more important than how hard you work. Applying all the above steps – applying specific knowledge with leverage, and eventually, you will get what you deserve.

Naval says, you can escape competition through “authenticity”. When you’re competing with others, you try to do something similar and you’re copying them. He says to be authentic and don’t copy as no one can be like you.

“If you are fundamentally building and marketing something that is an extension of who you are, no one can compete with you on that.”

TIPS FOR BUILDING WEALTH

Specific knowledge is found much more by pursuing your innate talents, your genuine curiosity, and your passion.
You can find your audience on the internet for a product you built – you can create a business, sell your product, build wealth by making everyone happy while consuming or using your product or media etc.
The most important skill is to become a perpetual learner. One needs to know how to learn anything they want to learn in life. It’s a great skill to have for personal growth. It starts with building the right foundations.

“You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you’re going to have a strong superstructure.”
Going all-in on something that you’re obsessed about. This helps in achieving mastery in life. If not, you’ll be mile wide and inch deep in various skills. This often doesn’t lead to success.
Take compound effect/interest very seriously in life. This counts towards various in life. This counts towards various aspects of life – relationships, work, learning, health, reputation, etc.

” When you find the right thing to do, with the right people to work with invest deeply. Sticking with it for decades is really how you make the big returns in your relationships and in your money.”
Need to own a piece of business to grow wealth. Ownership is very important. But identifying a good business takes skill too. You can either start a business or invest in one for equity. Like stocks, silent partnerships, etc. You don’t have to work hourly (like a job) to earn money and build wealth.
Naval says, “Do something for their own sake”, that’s how you create your best work. Even if you’re just trying to make money, you will be successful.
Become the person who delivers a product or service that society wants but doesn’t yet know how to get. This is how you make money and learn how to scale it too.

“Learn to sell, learn to build. If you can do both, you will be stoppable.”
“Earn with your mind, not your time.”
Naval says to stay out of things that can cause you to lose your capital/savings. Instead of gambling on only one idea or venture, try to take rationally optimistic bets with big upsides.
Getting paid for your judgement is also very valuable instead of working and getting paid by the hour. CEOs and business consultants are paid heavily because of their judgment and capability.

“Judgement – especially demonstrated judgment, with high accountability and a clear track record – is crucial.”
Spend more time making big decisions. 3 of the big ones in life include where you live, who you’re with, and what you do.
Naval says: “Money is not the root of all evil; there’s nothing evil about it. But the lust for money is bad.” Because it is a bottomless pit. He says freedom is his number one value. Only to the extent money buys freedom – it’s great. We shouldn’t upgrade our lifestyle as we make more money. This, he says, is the best way to stay away from a constant love of money.

“In a long-term game, it seems that everybody is making each other rich. And, in a short-term game, it seems like everybody is making themselves rich.”
Developing judgment is a vital skill for anyone trying to become wealthy. It requires wisdom. Wisdom is knowing the long-term consequences of your actions. Wisdom applied to external problems is judgment.
Analyze situations rationally without ego – this allows you to reduce your desires that you have about the outcome you want, hence seeing the reality while taking decisions. Take time every week for a day or two to think – this is how you get great ideas.

“The more desire I have for something to work out a certain way, the less likely I am to see the truth – especially, in business.”
“What you feel tells you nothing about the facts – it merely tells you something about your estimate of the facts.”
Shedding your identities to see reality: We might have to shed the habits and identities we developed as a kid. They lock you in and keep you from seeing the truth. To be honest, speak without identity.

“Facebook redesigns, Twitter redesigns. Personalities, careers, and teams also need redesign. There are no permanent solutions in a dynamic system.”
Develop mental models to recall what you learned. It helps you remember deep-seated principles as the brain’s space is finite.
If you’re evenly split on a difficult decision, take the path that is more painful in the short term.
Reading science, math, and philosophy one hour per day will likely put you at the upper echelon of human success within 7 years.

” Read what you love until you love to read.”
When solving problems: the older the problem, the older the solution.

PART 2 – HAPPINESS

According to Naval, Happiness is the state when nothing is missing. When nothing is missing, your mind shuts down and stops running into the past or future to regret something or to plan something. It is really embracing the present moment and the reality of what is, and the way it is.

” The three big ones in life are wealth, health, and happiness. We pursue them in that order, but their importance is reversed.”

“If you ever want to have peace in your life, you have to move beyond good and evil.”

TIPS FOR A HAPPY LIFE

Happiness is a choice you make and a skill you develop. Living in the past or trying to focus too much on the future burdens us and prevents us from living freely in the present moment. A lot of unhappiness comes from comparing things from the past to the present.

“You choose to be happy, and then you work at it.”
Always chasing the next thing creates anxiety. Don’t compare your life with someone else’s. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Try to have not more than one desire at a given time in life – this should be the only area where you can be unhappy until you get what you want. Strive to achieve it.

“Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.”
Happiness is internal, not external. Try working more on your internal self rather than external circumstances.
Don’t be jealous of others. Pave your own path. Get inspiration from others but don’t compare your first step to their 10^th step. Be authentic and be yourself.

“If you’re not willing to do a wholesale, 24/7, 100 percent swap with who that person is, then there is no point in being jealous.”
Don’t hang around people who constantly engage in conflict and gossip, and don’t spread positivity.

“The enemy of peace of mind is expectations drilled into you by society and other people.”
The more secrets you have, the less happy you’re going to be.
Acceptance of life and working towards changing it for the better leads to happiness. Hacks for practicing acceptance:
1. Take a step back and look at previous bits of suffering, make a note of what they were, and trace the growth and improvement that came from it years later.
2. Ask yourself “What is the positive of the situation?”
3. Embracing death: You’re going to die one day, and none of this is going to matter. So, enjoy your life and the present moment. Love, laugh, help, and do your work.
Taking care of yourself in terms of health should be a high priority for anyone. It includes physical, mental, and spiritual health. A few approaches to achieve these, include:
1. Cold exposure: Cold showers, Cold plunges. It kickstarts your immune system.
2. Diet: Quality of food, reduce consumption of processed foods, try intermittent fasting.
3. Exercise: Yoga, Weight Training, etc.
4. More sunlight.
5. Meditation
6. Reduce fear-based thoughts by increasing awareness. Think rationally and take calculated risks.
Anything you have to do, just get it done. Don’t procrastinate.
Set up systems instead of goals for success. Set up routines in life and follow them.

“Grind and sweat, toil and bleed, face the abyss. It’s all part of becoming an overnight success.”
Choosing to free yourself. Freedom from reaction, anger, being sad, being forced to do things etc.
Value your time. It is all you have.
Surround yourself with people with whom you can be honest.
Don’t spend time making other people happy. It’s not your problem. If you are happy, it makes other people happy.
Live by your core values.
Try everything, test it for yourself, be skeptical, keep what’s useful, and discard what’s not.

CONCLUSION

“The Almanack of Naval Ravikanth” provides beautiful insights into building health, wealth, and happiness in their lives. Following these timeless principles, philosophies, and practical advice outlined along with taking small and consistent steps every day compounds. This book serves as a roadmap for living a fulfilling and meaningful life.

EXCELLENT READ…HIGHLY RECOMMEND…!!!

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THE GROWING RICH

THE GROWING RICH