I recently discovered an incredible book called “The Almanack of Naval Ravikant” by Eric Jorgenson. This book collects and curates the wisdom of entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant from his tweets, podcasts, and essays over the past decade.
About Naval Ravikant
For those who may not be familiar, Naval is a Silicon Valley icon. He is the co-founder and chairman of AngelList, an online platform for startups to raise money from angel investors. Naval is also a successful angel investor, investing early in companies like Twitter, Uber, and Notion.
Beyond his impressive investment track record, Naval is known for being an incredible thinker and sharing philosophical ideas about startups, wealth creation, happiness, health, and more. He distills complex concepts down to their essence and actionable principles.
Overview of the Book
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a collection of Naval's wisdom, curated and edited beautifully by Eric Jorgenson. The book covers Naval's thoughts on a variety of topics, including:
- How to build sustainable wealth
- The importance of specific knowledge
- Making good judgments and decisions
- The value of reading and lifelong learning
- Finding happiness and meaning
The format of the book is simple yet powerful. Eric organizes Naval's ideas into clear sections with memorable quotes and supporting evidence from Naval's tweets, podcast interviews, and essays.
There are no gimmicks or “get rich quick” schemes here. Instead, Naval focuses on timeless principles, mental models, and developing knowledge and skills that create a lifetime of value.
My Key Takeaways
Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from this fantastic book:
- Wealth vs. money – Wealth is having assets that you earn while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Focus on building assets.
- Specific knowledge matters – Learn something very deeply that most people don't take the time to learn. Specific knowledge is tough to automate or replace.
- Reading is essential – Reading books allows you to tap into the knowledge accumulated by humanity. It unlocks opportunities and builds judgment.
- Happiness is a skill – Happiness comes from a sense of progress in meaningful work. Practices like gratitude and meditation help you appreciate what you have.
No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial or personal development journey, you will find tremendous value in this book. Naval's wisdom applies to so many aspects of life.
The best news is that digital copies of the book are available for FREE at Navalmanack.com. There is no excuse not to read this!
I hope you enjoy exploring the ideas and insights in The Almanack of Naval Ravikant as much as I have. Let me know what you think in the comments below!