#27 Books: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

Timeless advice on how to build wealth and be happy

It’s the season of almanacks. Last week, I wrote about Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin and today I want to share a couple of insights from The Almanack of Naval Ravikant.

Naval is one of the most thoughtful entrepreneurs of our time. He built companies like AngelList, invested in prominent tech startup like Uber and Postmates, and made a name for himself. The book is a collection of his writings, tweets and interviews, compiled nicely into two core themes: building wealth and being happy.

Naval goes into great details about how to build wealth. And it’s not just get-rich-quick advice. It’s about principles that stood the test of time. If I were to summarize in a sentence - to build wealth, you need to combine specific knowledge with leverage and do it for long enough time frame with people who smart, energetic, and have high integrity. Specific knowledge is something you are uniquely good at. It can be one skill or a combination of several. Specific knowledge can be learned, but cannot be taught. Leverage comes in 3 forms: capital, labor, and media/code. Play long-term games with long-term people; avoid debt, jail, addiction, disgrace, and shortcuts.

You can be rich but unhappy. That’s what the second section is about. Good health, a loving family, and a calm mind cannot be bought - they have to be earned. Naval advices to focus on physical, mental, and spiritual health. Working out regularly and meditating for an hour a day, and reading all the time helps with achieving physical and mental calm.

No matter how hard I try, it's impossible to convey all the wisdom of the book in one short essay. I highly recommend giving it a read. This book is a treasure trove of wisdom that will make you think for days. And if you apply his advice, it might make you rich as well.

And the book is free. Grab your copy here. If you want more book recommendations, ❤️ this essay. Even better - share it with friends.