June 9, 2020

Naval Ravikant on Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of World-Class Performers

In life, you always have 3 options: change it, accept it, or leave it
Anger is hot coal you hold in your hand while waiting to throw it at someone else
Reading is the ultimate meta-skill and can be traded for anything else
All the real benefits in life come from compound interest
Earn with your mind, not your time
Free education is abundant and readily available on the Internet. It’s the desire to learn that’s scarce
If you eat, invest, and think according to what the “news” advocates, you’ll end up nutritionally, financially, and morally bankrupt
My one repeated learning in life: There are no adults. Everyone’s making it up as they go along. Figure it out yourself, and do it

Naval Ravikant (@naval) is a venture capitalist, co-founder of AngelList, and co-host of both The Naval Podcast and the Spearhead podcast
Host: Tim Ferriss (@tferriss)

The audiobook of Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss is finally up
- Tim says that the advice in this book has saved him years of effort and frustration
  - He started this new podcast to share actionable advice from Tools of Titans

Happiness is a skill that you develop
- You choose to be happy and then you work on it
“If you want to be successful, surround yourself with people who are more successful than you are, but if you want to be happy, surround yourself with people who are less successful than you are” – Naval Ravikant
To avoid conflict, avoid people who are constantly engaging in conflict
In life, you always have 3 options: change it, accept it, or leave it
You become the 5 people you spend the most time with, choose your 5 wisely
“Tell your friends that you’re a happy person. Then you’ll be forced to conform to it. You’ll have a consistency bias. You have to live up to it. Your friends will expect you to be a happy person.” – Naval Ravikant

Be present above all else
Desire is suffering
Anger is hot coal you hold in your hand while waiting to throw it at someone else
If you can’t see yourself working with someone for life, don’t work with them for a day
Reading is the ultimate meta-skill and can be traded for anything else
All the real benefits in life come from compound interest
Earn with your mind, not your time
99% of all effort is wasted
It’s almost always possible to be honest and positive
Mathematics is the language of nature

What you choose to work on, and who you choose to work with, are far more important than how hard you work
Free education is abundant and readily available on the Internet. It’s the desire to learn that’s scarce
If you eat, invest, and think according to what the “news” advocates, you’ll end up nutritionally, financially, and morally bankrupt
You get paid for being right first, and to be first, you can’t wait for consensus
My one repeated learning in life: There are no adults. Everyone’s making it up as they go along. Figure it out yourself, and do it

Naval was raised poor in an immigrant family
His name means “new man” in Sanskrit
Naval’s best $100 purchase: A teppanyaki grill
What would Naval put on a billboard:
- “Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want”
  - Recognize that your desires may be the root of your suffering