Lessons From the Almanack: Wealth
Today we’re going through the other half of the book, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, and we’ll be learning lessons on wealth. The books takes us through many under-the-hood paradigms that shape a money-maker. We’ll focus on things that most people don’t think about. And most importantly, we’ll see how making money is not a thing you do but a skill you learn.
Know What To Do
Naval starts off by telling us that if you don’t know what you should work on, the most important thing is to figure it out. You should not grind at a lot of hard work until you figure out what you should be working on. And then, become the best in the world at what you do. Keep redefining what you do until that is true. And when you find the right thing to do and you find the right people to work with, invest deeply.
What Society Wants
You get rich by giving society what it wants but does not know how to get it. Society will pay you for creating things it wants but society doesn’t know how to create those, because if it did, it wouldn’t need you. Think of a product or service that society wants. Deliver it and deliver it at scale. You need to have the skills that society doesn’t know how to teach other people. Learn to build and learn to sell. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable.
The Status Game
seek wealth, not money or status. Naval then goes on to define these three entities. Wealth comprises of assets that will earn in your sleep. Money is how we transfer wealth or time. Status is your place in the social hierarchy. Build or buy equity for financial freedom. The status game is horrible black hole. Lust for money is bad. Do not upgrade your lifestyle as you grow. You need to be free from the money and status mindset.
Weapons of Wealth
Arm yourself with specific knowledge, accountability and leverage. Specific knowledge is knowledge that you cannot be trained for. It cannot be outsourced or automated. Once you have that, work feels like play. Accountability is taking risk under your name. This will bring you respect and authority. Finally, fortune required leverage. These come in the form of capital, people or products with no marginal cost of reproduction (which are basically books, videos or other such content).
Be The Best Version of Yourself
Be authentic. Authenticity will allow you to escape competition. If you’re building something that is an extension of who you are, no one can compete with you on it. Be a perpetual learner. Read and read a lot. Study microeconomics, game theory, psychology, ethics, mathematics, anything. Keep learning and growing. Finally, the best version of yourself is someone who will be be paid for judgement.
The Meaning of Life
The meaning of life is to do things for their own sake. When you do that, you create your best work. Do it in a natural way. Do it yourself. If you’re born rich, you have no meaning in your life. You must also equip yourself with wisdom. Wisdom is knowing the long-term consequences of your actions. Your real resume is just the catalog of your sufferings. Learn from your sufferings and accept your reality as it is and it makes your ego change in a strong way. In the end, all you want is freedom and retirement. Naval describes retirement as when you stop sacrificing your today for tomorrow.
Decision Making
Decision making is an extremely important step when striving for wealth. The three big decisions of your life are where you live, who you’re with and what you do. Your decisions should always center around how much you value yourself. And always remember, if you can’t decide, it’s definitely a no. You should keep studying general life concepts to improve your mental models when it comes to decision making. Study science, philosophy and mathematics. Avoid news and other such useless media. And always go for the hard choices with the long-term goals in mind.
The Person You Want To Be
Be an Optimistic Contrarian. Reason independently from the ground up and resist the pressure to conform. Another cliche is not to lie, to others or or yourself. At the same time, don’t hurt others and cut toxic people out from your life. Be a clear thinker and understand the basics of everything moving forward. Patience and consistency are your best friends. Naval also believes that karma is just you repeating your patterns, virtues and flaws until you finally get what you deserve.
Before running after wealth, you need to make one thing clear. A calm mind, a fit body, a house full of love; these things cannot be bought, they must be earned. Be ready to earn things that come apart from money and wealth. Build yourself a person before building yourself as a potential-billionaire. Learn to live your life before you learn to make money. And always remember what is important.
