20 Advices from World’s ‘best Advisor,’ Naval Ravikant

20 Advices from World’s ‘best Advisor,’ Naval Ravikant

Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur, investor, and podcaster known for his insightful views on startups, investing, and life philosophy. He is the co-founder and former CEO of AngelList, a platform that connects startups with investors. Naval has made a significant impact in the tech industry through his investments in companies like Twitter, Uber, and Yammer.

Naval is also well-regarded for his thoughts on personal development and happiness, often shared through his Twitter account and his podcast, “Naval.” He emphasizes the importance of self-education, mental clarity, and financial independence. His ideas have resonated with a broad audience, making him a prominent figure in both the tech and self-improvement communities.

He has world-wide admirers and followers. One of the persons who benifitted from his advice, wrote- “I’m 33. When I was young, I wasted years drinking, smoking, and being a degenerate. Then I discovered Naval Ravikant and he changed my life forever.”

Here are 20 teachings from the wisest person of this century (that will change your life too):

1. Desire Is Your Enemy Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want. It’s a bottomless pit meant to keep you enslaved.  
   To lead a happy life, you must detach from your desires. The man who isn’t content with little won’t be content with more.

• Say No Time is life’s currency. That’s why you must guard it like your most precious asset. The best way to do that is by saying ‘No’ more often than you say ‘Yes’. If you don’t, you’ll always be over-committing.

• Never Stop Learning When you stop learning, you stop earning. That’s why you must develop an appetite for reading. Read what you love until you love to read. Only dive into books that fascinate you. Learn for deep understanding, not trivia. Read with passion, not pressure.

• Escape The Competition Through Authenticity. Lean into what makes you different. The best way to stand out is by having specific knowledge—a skill set that is uniquely yours. No one can compete with you on being you.

•  Play The Long Game All greatness comes from compound interest. Instead of switching jobs frequently, pick an industry where you can play long-term games with long-term people. When you earn their trust over decades, these relationships will compound.

• Use New Leverage There are only two types of leverage that let you scale without marginal costs: Code and Media. Code lets you command an army of robots. Media lets you command attention. If you want to be wealthy in the modern age, you must master these two.

• Get Rich Slow Get-rich-quick schemes are the fastest way to get poor. Ignore them. They only profit the people running the schemes, not you.

• Embrace Accountability. Learn to take business risks under your name. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. When things go wrong, you’ll get blamed. But when they go right, society will reward you with responsibility, equity, and leverage.

• Seek Wealth, Not Money or Status. Status is your ranking in the social hierarchy. Money comes from giving value to society. Neither is what you want. What you want are assets that earn in your sleep and the freedom to say ‘No’. Only wealth can give you that.

1. Choose The Right Partners or people to surround you. Never partner and be with cynics and pessimists. Their beliefs are self-fulfilling failures. Instead, align yourself with optimistic rationalists. Have a few deep connections over many shallow ones.

1. Productize Yourself. The most successful businesses are those that are true reflections of their owners. Focus on what you naturally enjoy and are good at. Then apply as much leverage as possible to scale. Without personal interest, you won’t be able to do any of these.

1. Reject Most Advice. There’s no such thing as universal advice. Most counsel is situational. When asked, people only give advice that fits their situation—not yours. That’s why it’s important to question everything. Choose discernment over blind adherence.

1. Define Your Domain. Once you find your specific knowledge, always make time to invest in yourself It’s not enough to define your domain. You must also conquer it. Hone your skills with the Illimitable Men until you’re the best in the world.

1. Supply At Scale. Not all scarcity is created equal. To succeed, you must figure out what society wants but doesn’t yet know how to get. The secret to wealth creation lies in providing that solution at scale.

1. Work Hard On The Right Things. Not everything deserves your 100% output. Work hard only on important things that move the needle. Sprint intensely when inspiration strikes. Then rest to reflect. Work in sprints, not marathons.

1. Spend Time Making The Big Decisions. The three decisions you must get right if you want to be wealthy: • Where you live • Who you are with • What you are doing Getting these right automatically sets you up for a successful life.
2. Don’t Break Your Bad Habits. Abruptly cutting out your bad habits is the quickest way to relapse. Instead of quitting cold turkey, find ways to substitute your vices with better choices. Don’t drop. Replace.

1. Own Equity No one ever created wealth by renting out their time. To achieve wealth, you must build or buy equity. The only scenario where you should rent out your time is while apprenticing. It’s the only way to gain specific knowledge.

1. Learn To Be Happy The biggest mistake people make is deferring happiness to the future, instead of being happy now. Happiness is a skill that can be trained. Choose it at every moment. Practice the art of joyful living.
2. Be Ruthless. Lastly, Naval advocates that the best way to predict the future is to create it. If you want to know what the future holds, don’t sit back and wait for life to happen. Instead, do the reverse and happen to life.

Taking action increases your odds of success. That’s why you must be ruthless in creating the future that you want. Be the architect of your fate.