“The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness” is a book authored by Eric Jorgenson and published in 2020. The book is a compilation of wisdom from Naval Ravikant, who is a renowned entrepreneur, philosopher, and investor. He is best known as the CEO and a co-founder of AngelList.
The book is not a traditional narrative. Instead, it’s a collection of Naval’s wisdom and experience from the last ten years. It’s organized into sections providing advice on topics like wealth creation, happiness, and personal growth.
Here are some of the main points:
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Wealth Creation: Naval emphasizes that wealth is created by not renting out your time. It’s about owning a piece of a business and creating products that people love.
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Specific Knowledge: This is knowledge you cannot be trained for. If society can train you, it can train someone else and replace you. Specific knowledge is found by pursuing your genuine curiosity and passion rather than whatever is hot right now.
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Accountability: Naval mentions that embracing accountability and taking business risks under one’s own name leads to wealth creation.
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Leverage: He suggests using leverage (like labor, capital, code, and media) to multiply the output. However, it can also multiply the risk if not used properly.
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Happiness: According to Naval, happiness is a state that can be chosen and developed as a skill. He believes that happiness is found in the present moment and that it comes from peace, not from possessions or achievements. He suggests that happiness is an inside job, meaning it’s about your internal state and not external circumstances. He advocates for practices such as meditation to cultivate a state of mindfulness and presence, which can lead to happiness. He also believes that the desire to control what cannot be controlled leads to suffering, so letting go of these desires can lead to happiness. He encourages readers to find happiness in simplicity and to understand that it’s a choice that we have the power to make every day.
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Desire: He maintains that the cause of suffering is too much desire and the need to control the uncontrollable.
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Reading and Learning: Naval is an advocate for lifelong learning and reading. He suggests reading what you love until you love to read.
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Health: He talks about the importance of physical health, including exercise and diet, and mental health, including meditation and mindfulness.
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Decision Making: Naval presents the idea of making decisions that feel like playing long-term games with long-term people. This means it’s better to make decisions that might not pay off immediately but will be beneficial in the long run. He advises against short-term thinking and encourages readers to build long-term relationships and make decisions that will have lasting positive impacts. He also emphasizes the importance of integrity and trust in these long-term relationships. The people you associate with and the projects you choose to undertake should align with your long-term goals and values.
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Perspective: He encourages readers to view life as a single-player game, where it’s your own internal state that matters, not external competition.
“The Almanack of Naval Ravikant” is often praised for its clear, concise, and insightful advice. It’s considered a must-read for entrepreneurs and anyone interested in exploring the intersections of wealth, happiness, and personal growth.
It’s important to note that the book doesn’t provide a step-by-step guide to wealth and happiness. Instead, it offers principles that individuals can apply in their own lives. It’s a compendium of thoughts and philosophies that have guided Naval in his own journey, shared with the hope that others may find them useful in their own pursuits.