1-Sentence-Summary: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant compiles the valuable lessons of Naval Ravikant, who teaches people how to build wealth and achieve long-term happiness by working on a few essential skills, all while discovering the secrets of living a good life.
Read in: 4 minutes
Favorite quote from the author:
Table of Contents
Video Summary
Naval Ravikant is a successful entrepreneur from India who grew up in the United States. Naval managed to build wealth through investments and multiple streams of income. Unlike most wealthy people, however, he also managed to grow as a person. He learned how to be happy and live a meaningful life.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a compilation of Naval’s best ideas, curated by Eric Jorgenson in a direct cooperation.
In a world where everyone and everything is connected, there’s an abundance of possibilities. Opportunity is everywhere, but that can make it hard to find your own path, let alone excel at what you do. Only when we know ourselves can we know what we are looking for.
Here are 3 of Naval’s secrets on how to “make it” both on the outside and inside, thanks to smart thinking and self-awareness:
- Use the compounding rule to build the life you want.
- A good financial status can help you unlock new levels of freedom.
- Reacting with neutrality to certain events and staying quiet can enhance our happiness.
Let’s dive in!
Lesson 1: Compounding interest can be applied to your finances and your relationships.
What is compound interest? Essentially, it’s when your money makes more money, and then that money makes even more money. Take the following example: you invest 10,000 dollars into the stock market for an interest of 10% annually. Then, you cash them out and reinvest 11,000 dollars back. Naturally, those 11,000 will be worth 12,100 dollars next year.
Albert Einstein once said that compound interest is the eighth world wonder. As such, this concept is definitely worth implementing in your life, and not just from a financial point of view. Sure, investing in the stock and bond market is a one way ticket to success, as long as you manage the risk with extreme care and reinvest the gains to grow exponentially. However, compounding can be used in your relationships as well.
Successful people worldwide are viewed as reliable and trustworthy. When they are recommended by their peers, their network grows. Once they prove what they’re worth, their value grows in the network. In other words, they use the compound rule to build their reputation and integrity.
Lesson 2: Money is the ultimate tool for freedom.
Don’t be the person who says that money is the root of all evil, that you don’t need them to be happy, or that you’re not interested in building wealth. Sure, these affirmations are true, up to a certain point. However, many use them to justify not growing their mindset and accepting the status-quo in their life. Truth be told, money is a great thing to have, especially if you know how to use it.
To change this mentality, you must first accept that money is something you can have and that they can give you freedom. Essentially, this is what you’ll use them for, to buy time. It is the tool you need to experience the real values of life. As such, the meaning you give to it can alter the course of your life. If your end goal is to simply build more and more wealth, money will get you nowhere.
However, if you want to acquire freedom, the chance to spend more time with your family, help those in need, dance more, or whatever it is that your spiritual self craves, you’re on the right path. For that, you’ll need to learn how to play the money game right. Fearing that you’ll lose what you’ve earned and being unhappy with what you have is an unhealthy approach. Moreover, the end goal isn’t more money, so keep that in mind.
Instead, actively engage in conversations, listen to educational videos, and look up ways to build wealth while living a meaningful life. Don’t lose sight of the present, yet keep an eye on the future. More importantly, don’t inflate your lifestyle as you earn more money. Save and invest them to build a future out of the rat race, instead of upgrading your treadmill.
Lesson 3: To become happy, learn how to be neutral and quiet.
Contrary to popular belief, in order to be happy, we don’t need much. Just look at children playing. They don’t stress much about the future, nor the past, but rather explore the present moment and immerse themselves into whatever they’re doing at that time. Pausing our human ability to judge, we’ll find new ways of becoming happier.
Why? Just think of a tree. A tree doesn’t know right or wrong, it just feels the wind, the sun, and whatever else is going on in nature. A tree is neutral, and so you should be. Judging the present moment, whether it feels right or wrong, is only making our subconscious compare it to other moments in our life or someone else’s. Rather than doing so, it’s best to just let it be. Acknowledge each moment, but don’t judge it. Make neutrality work in your favor.
Another way to become happier is to quiet down your mind. Your subconscious and mind chatter make it quite difficult for you to find a moment for yourself, even while alone. That is why many of us fear loneliness, preferring the wrong company over no company. Still, sitting alone as monks do can be a blissful moment, so in order to find peace and happiness, you ought to try that and also meditate for a little while. Face your thoughts and let go of them in a peaceful way.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a remarkable piece of writing on two subjects that may seem antithetical at first sight, building wealth and living a meaningful life, but in fact have a lot in common. Naval offers its readers advice in how to build wealth, and more importantly, how to use it correctly. With a strong focus on the end means, which are living a good life, having freedom and helping those around you, the author delves into the secrets of a well-off life both financially and spiritually. The book is available for free online, by the way.
The 25-year-old person who wants to advance in their career without losing sight of their true persona, the 30-year-old entrepreneur who wants to find a balance between their work and what matters to them in their personal life, or the 40-year-old life coach who wants to expand their knowledge in the field and offer better advice.
Last Updated on June 15, 2023
