What I’ve Learned from Naval Ravikant

Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur and investor who co-founded AngelList. He became widely known for his 2018 thread “How to Get Rich (without getting lucky)” and his podcast conversations. Eric Jorgenson collected his ideas in The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, published in 2020 and free to read online.

His ideas are simple to say and hard to live. That is why they are worth learning.

Wealth

Assets that earn while you sleep, such as businesses, products, and investments

Money

How we transfer wealth

Status

Your rank in a social hierarchy, which is a zero-sum game

The lesson: play games where everyone can win, by creating things people want.

Specific knowledge is what you know that cannot easily be taught or trained, because it comes from your curiosity, talents, and experience. It often feels like play to you and work to others.

• Notice what you do for fun that others find hard
• Combine two or three unusual skills
• Follow your curiosity more than trends

Labor

People working for you. The oldest and hardest to manage

Capital

Money working for you

Code and media

Products and content that work for you with no one’s permission, at almost no extra cost

Naval argues that code and media are the leverage of the modern era. With AI tools, they are more available than ever.

Put your name on your work and take responsibility for results. Accountability carries risk, but it also earns trust, credit, and rewards.

• Compounding works in relationships, knowledge, and money
• Work with people you would work with forever
• Choose integrity, because reputation compounds too

In a world of leverage, being right matters more than working more hours. Good judgment comes from experience, reading, and thinking clearly, often alone.

• Read what you love until you love to read
• Read the foundations: maths, science, economics, and philosophy
• Reread great books
• Skip books that do not hold your interest

Naval describes happiness as a choice and a skill you can practise. He sees desire as a choice to be unhappy until you get what you want, so choose your desires carefully.

• Fewer, deeper desires
• Meditation and time alone
• Less comparison with others
• Being present

• Exercise daily and eat simply
• Protect your sleep
• Peace of mind matters more than winning arguments
• Health is the foundation for everything else

• List what feels like play to you but work to others
• Start one piece of code or media that can work while you sleep
• Put your name on something you make
• Read for an hour on a topic you love
• Spend ten minutes a day doing nothing but noticing your thoughts

Read the original How to Get Rich thread and The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, which is free online. His ideas are best understood in his own words, and judged against your own life.