đ 22/52 ~ The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
genre: nonfiction, business, philosophy
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a collection of thoughts and tweets of Naval Ravikant compiled into a book by Eric Jorgenson. Itâs a manual on wealth and life, and it also has some philosophical thoughts. If youâre new to the business world or want to learn a bit about how to be happy and successful at the same time, this can be a great start.
Spoiler Alert: No spoilers, ever.
1. Why this, why now đ€
Naval Ravikant is a big name in the Venture Capital world, but I got to know him through AngelList Talent (Wellfound now), his job board. It is a great place to find startup jobs that pay well and offer great growth opportunities. In fact, I found my current job there, and so did some people I referred after that. Itâs still one of the best, if not the best, places to look for startup jobs.
Naturally, I wanted to learn more about the person behind this, and I eventually found and put this book on my to-read list.
2. Quotes of the book đ
âEarn with your mind, not your time.â
âLearn to sell. Learn to build. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable.â
âThe three big ones in life are wealth, health, and happiness. We pursue them in that order, but their importance is reverse.â
âThe hardest thing is not doing what you wantâitâs knowing what you want.â
âThe reality is life is a single-player game. Youâre born alone. Youâre going to die alone. All of your interpretations are alone. All your memories are alone. Youâre gone in three generations, and nobody cares. Before you showed up, nobody cared. Itâs all single player.â
âDoctors wonât make you healthy. Nutritionists wonât make you slim. Teachers wonât make you smart. Gurus wonât make you calm. Mentors wonât make you rich. Trainers wonât make you fit. Ultimately, you have to take responsibility. Save yourself.â
âI would combine radical honesty with an old rule Warren Buffett has, which is praise specifically, criticize generally.â
3. Going deep đ§
As the cover of the book says, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a guide to wealth and happiness. It is a collection of tweets, articles, and interviews of Naval Ravikant, mostly on making money and being happy.
The book contains many nuggets of wisdom written in an easily understandable manner. Navalâs advice comes from his personal experience and is also very practical and easy to follow. He has an unreal ability to explain thoughts in simple words and phrases.
Some parts may feel repetitive if youâve read or listened to other nonfiction work around wealth, business, and happiness. If not, it is a great place to start. Even if youâve come across quite a few self-help books like this, you will still end up learning some interesting insights into the world of dollars and smiles.
For me, the part I really liked was when he explained that âmaking money is not a thing you doâitâs a skill you learn.â He follows it up by saying, â[âŠ]if I lost all my money and you dropped me on a random street in any English-speaking country, within five or ten years Iâd be wealthy again because itâs just a skillset Iâve developed that anyone can develop.â
The real struggle lies in finding and acquiring the skills that weâre good at and like doing it simultaneously. Once we find that, we must practice it, repeat it, and get better at it until we master it. This knowledge never dies, even if your house is damaged in a flood or you lose all your savings in crypto. You can still stand up and grow again.
4. The author đ
Naval Ravikant was born in New Delhi, India, and moved to New York along with his mother and brother when he was 9. At Dartmouth, Naval graduated in Computer Science and Economics. He interned for a law firm and worked at BCG for a while before moving to Silicon Valley.
Navalâs first success was with Epinions, a product review site he co-founded in 1999. They merged with Dealtime to become Shopping.com. After that, he was active in the venture capital world investing in hotshot startups like Twitter and Uber, while also co-writing a blog called Venture Hacks. The blog evolved into AngelList, a platform for startups to raise funds from angel investors. He still actively invests, writes, and hosts podcasts.
5. Reviews đ€©
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Also, a huge thanks to my wife, Luisa, who proofreads my writings and makes them sound less foolish.
Book 23/52: Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson.
Read about my thoughts on it next week.
Happy new month! âš
(Disclaimer: Some of the links are affiliate links, and I will make a few cents from your purchase. I only link to books Iâve personally read and think youâd like too.)