It’s not often you stumble across a person overflowing with wisdom. Their outlook on life, in line with your own but lightyears ahead and writing how you think but couldn’t quite put into words. This week it’s Naval Ravikant.
Naval’s an entrepreneur and investor. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a free collection of his ideas. Based on Poor Charlies Almanack by Charle Munger, the business partner of Warren Buffett. Which itself was based on Poor Richards Almanack, by Benjamin Franklin. Is rightly in line with these other great thinkers.
The beauty of any great book or blog, is part escape, part education. Escape from the confines of your own world view and educating in ways that allow you to upgrade the periscope through which you look at the world. I really can’t put the words better than the man himself. I really urge you to download the book (it’s free and overflowing with amazing nuggets) and follow him on twitter. It’s easy to read and applicable to many areas of life (you don’t have to be an investor or tech nerd to get benefit.)
5 thoughts from Naval
It’s really important to be able to uncondition yourself, to be able to take your habits apart and say, “Okay, this is a habit I probably picked up when I was a toddler trying to get my parent’s attention. Now I’ve reinforced it and reinforced it, and I call it a part of my identity. Does it still serve me? Does it make me happier? Does it make me healthier? Does it make me accomplish whatever I set out to accomplish?
It’s actually really important to have empty space. If you don’t have a day or two every week in your calendar where you’re not always in meetings, and you’re not always busy, then you’re not going to be able to think. It’s only after you’re bored you have the great ideas. It’s never going to be when you’re stressed, or busy, running around or rushed. Make the time.
One definition of a moment of suffering is “the moment when you see things exactly the way they are.” This whole time, you’ve been convinced your business is doing great, and really, you’ve ignored the signs it’s not doing well. Then, your business fails, and you suffer because you’ve been putting off reality. You’ve been hiding it from yourself.
The good news is, the moment of suffering—when you’re in pain—is a moment of truth. It is a moment where you’re forced to embrace reality the way it actually is. Then, you can make meaningful change and progress. You can only make progress when you’re starting with the truth.
You have to put in the time, but the judgment is more important. The direction you’re heading in matters more than how fast you move, especially with leverage. Picking the direction you’re heading in for every decision is far, far more important than how much force you apply. Just pick the right direction to start walking in, and start walking.
You cannot hide anything from yourself. Your own failures are written within your psyche, and they are obvious to you. If you have too many of these moral shortcomings, you will not respect yourself. The worst outcome in this world is not having self-esteem. If you don’t love yourself, who will?