The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a collection of Naval Ravikant's best ideas, thoughts or we can say wisdom from Twitter and Podcasts created by Eric Jorgenson.
But who are these people? Naval Ravikant is an Indian entrepreneur and investor and co-founder of AngelList. He has invested in over 200 companies including Uber, Twitter, Stack Overflow and Yammer etc. A few years back he stormed Twitter with his appealing tweets about getting wealthy and that is the raw material for this book.
Eric Jorgenson is an entrepreneur, writer, and investor and one of the people who created Zaarly. He is a well-known person in the technology world. Eric has compiled and organized Naval's mindset into different categories.
What I Like about this Book
I think The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a very unique book. Because, It is all about the concept of creating wealth and achieving happiness with a meaningful life (and I never found these combined anywhere.) Often writers do not interpret these topics in a single book but this book blends these two ideas and that's what makes it unique.
It focuses on a successful life financially and spiritually also. (Not with too much gravity)
You can skip some parts if you want to and still won't get lost.
Best thing I think about this book is that when you get lost in reading it, it feels as if you are listening to a direct conversation between two people and not reading a book.
In some places there is a smooth shift between wealth and happiness and that shows that these two concepts are not very distinct.
My Best Takeaways from Book
- Understand How To Create Wealth
- Learn to Love to Read
- Happiness is a Choice
- Money is Omnipotent
- Be neutral and quiet.
Understand How To Create Wealth
Create wealth, not money. Wealth is having assets that earn while you do not work, while you sleep.
Pursue your genuine passion rather than whatever is trending. Specific knowledge is often highly technical or creative and cannot be outsourced or automated. To create wealth, you have to give society value, you have to give something that society needs but they don’t know yet.
Learn to Love to Read
One thing I love the most from this book is how it emphasizes reading. To build specific knowledge, read what you love until you love to read.
If you’re a slow reader, read one hour per day. If you’re a fast reader, slow down, it’s not a race. The better the book, the slower it should be absorbed.
If a book doesn’t interest you at first speed read. If it still doesn’t interest you after the first chapter, drop the book. Most books have one point to make. Once you get the main idea of a book, put it down.
Happiness is a Choice
Happiness is neither about positive thoughts nor is it negative thoughts. Happiness is the absence of desire.
In any situation in life, you always have three choices: you can change it, you can accept it, or you can leave it. If you want to change it, then it is a desire. To avoid distraction, pick one desire in your life at a time to give yourself purpose and motivation.
If you want to accept it, trace the growth and improvement that’s come from previous experiences you’ve had in your life. Or, ask yourself, “What is the positive of this situation?” There’s almost always something positive.
Money is Omnipotent
Money is omnipotent means it is a great power/influence. Practically, money gets you the freedom. Freedom in the sense building your wealth.
In my opinion, to create wealth you need money. Look ahead and keep the wealth graph high. People say that you don't need money to be free or to be happy. Do not be that person or think in this way. I am not saying it is not true at some point but you have to understand that money is a great thing you can have.
Be Neutral and Quiet
Quiet down your mind. Your subconscious and continues thoughts make it quite difficult for you to find a moment for yourself, even when you are alone.
To find peace and happiness, you might meditate for some time in a day. Face your thoughts and let go of them in a peaceful way.
My favourite Lines from the Book
Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.
Happiness is there when you remove the sense of something missing in your life.
If you cannot decide, the answer is no.
You’re never to get rich renting your time.
Getting rich is about knowing what to do, who to do it with, and when to do it.
Code and media are permissionless leverage.
Seek wealth, not money or status.
It's only after you're bored you have the great ideas.
But most of us don't really want to change-we don't want to go through the pain just yet.