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The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

A guide to wealth and happiness

  • A philosopher is someone who falls down a well while gazing up at the stars
  • If you're unsure about a decision, then the answer is no
  • A good reputation is an invaluable asset
  • If you secretly despise wealth, it will elude you
    • Money can't buy happiness or make all your problems disappear, but it will solve your money problems.
    • Zero-sum game have its uses. Take Politics. If we didn't play it, we wouldn't be able to tell who was in charge of things. Fundamentally, though, it's no more than a necessary evil. That's why you should seek to avoid it in your life. Play it too often and you'll become an angry, combative, and resentful person dedicated to putting others down
    • The money game is different. It's not zero-sum, it's positive-sum. You can win without someone else losing, or become wealthy without condemning someone else to poverty.
  • Money can give you freedom - unless you love it for its own sake
    • Money fixes a lot of external problems. It removes obstacles that stop you from doing the things you really want to do.
    • It you love money, there's never enough - it's a bottomless pit
  • Happiness is a choice to remain in the present moment
    • Happiness is understood as the absence of judgements, which is associated with the absence of desire. The fewer desires you have, the greater your ability to accept the way things are right now. This brings inner calm.
    • The more you live in the present, the happier you'll be
    • Think of young children. On balance, they're pretty happy. Why? Easy! They're immersed in the moment rather than caught up in their own heads.
  • A quiet mind is a happy mind
    • To sit still for 30 minutes is happiness. The reason this is so hard to achieve is that we're distracted by our desires
    • Happiness we think, is "out there" in the external world
    • Monkey Mind - Thoughts, the Buddha said, are like branches, and the conscious mind is like a monkey swinging from one branch to the next
    • The answer to this problem is to train the monkey. Meditation - quieting the simian chatter that prevents us from being present
    • Meditation comes in different forms. Hiking is Walking meditation, Journaling is Writing meditation, prayer is gratitude meditation. Even showering can be a kind of accidental meditation
  • Discovering what calms your mind and building good habits are keys to happiness
    • Happiness isn't innate - it's a skill
    • Try different things and find out what works for you
    • If it works, use it; if it doesn't, look for something else
    • Cutting down on alcohol, caffeine and sugar will keep your mood more stable. So will avoiding social media
    • Regular exercise is a good habit for both your body and your mind
  • Actionable advice - Lean into short-term pain (ex - working out)

Wealth / Money​

Myth​

  1. Money is not everything
  2. Money does not give happiness
  3. Money changes people
  4. Money gives stress
  5. Money makes people distant from relations
  6. Kids will get spoiled if we give money
  7. Money brings respect

Mythbusters​

  1. Money is not everything but everything requires money
  2. Money does not give happiness, but poverty also does not guarantee peace
  3. Money does not change people, it shows people by amplifying their character
  4. If you have love for bikes, you will buy costlier bikes
  5. If you have love for donation, you will donate more
  6. Your arrogance will be amplified if you were arrogant
  7. Money does not give stress, the way we earn money can cause stress
  8. Money distant people is inability to handle money or relations
  9. Kids will learn accountability if we give them money
  10. Proper CONDUCT with money brings respect

Bonus​

  • Lakshmi Mata Aarti - Sab kuch sambhav ho jata man nahi ghabrata
  • Nepotism is normal, don't fight it

Seven Wrong Mindset About Money Which You Need To Crush - YouTube