Naval's Latest Interview: Don't Waste Your Time on This

Source of content: Joe Rogan Podcast interview with Naval Ravikant.

Guest speaker: Naval Ravikant, the founding CEO of AngelList and a well - known angel investor in Silicon Valley.

The 9224th in - depth article: 9241 words | 17 - minute read

Note - taker says:

Modern people are always chasing success but often get lost in wealth figures and social comparisons.

As a well - known angel investor in Silicon Valley, Naval Ravikant shared a completely different perspective in the Joe Rogan Podcast: Happiness is not a result but a prerequisite; wealth is not a goal but a by - product.

This investor, who came from a poor family in Queens, New York, is unique in that he not only understands the way of creating wealth but also has a thorough understanding of a happy life.

He believes that most of us are trapped by the desires we set for ourselves, while ignoring the ancient wisdom that "desire is suffering."

Perhaps what is most touching about Naval is his insistence that "happiness is a choice." As he said, "The greatness of life largely stems from suffering", and we can choose how to face it.

Perhaps the biggest trap for young people today is not lack of effort but wrong direction. We are implanted with "mimetic desires" by society, pursuing the success defined by others and getting caught in endless competition and internal strife.

Naval proposed that the key to getting out of competition is to find something that "feels like play to you but work to others."

It is hoped that this article today can inspire you if you are in anxiety or confusion.

I. Redefine Success

Diverse Lives and the Beginner's Mindset

1. There is more than one path in life, and you should try everything

There is more than one path in life, and you can try all kinds of things. As a friend of mine said, only insects specialize, so everyone should try everything.

To some extent, everyone is diverse. However, in life, we are often simply generalized. Deep in our hearts, we all know that this generalization is inaccurate. In fact, everyone can have various experiences and generate diverse ideas.

You are not only a commentator for the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), a comedian, and a podcast host, but also far more than that. You are also a father, a lover, a thinker, etc.

I like the way of life of the ancients, such as the Greeks and the Romans. When you were young, you went to school; then you went to war; then you ran a business; after that, you served in the Senate or the government; finally, you became a philosopher.

This is like the metaphor of climbing a mountain. When you choose a mountain and spend your whole life climbing it, when you reach two - thirds of the way up, although you are already at a high place, you find that the summit is still out of reach.

At this time, if you want to continue, the only way is to go back to the foot of the mountain and find another possibly more effective path.

In fact, no one wants to do this. After all, no one wants to give up the height they have achieved and start over. Especially as you get older, the sense of urgency of time makes "starting over" even more painful.

But sometimes, this seemingly "backward" choice may actually be the necessary way to reach the goal.

2. Being willing to be a fool is the key to preventing mental aging

Great creators all have the ability to start over.

For example, Elon Musk will be called a fool and then start doing something brand - new that he doesn't seem to be good at;

When Madonna, Paul Simon, or the U2 band releases a new album, their old fans usually don't like it because they adopt a brand - new style learned from elsewhere and are often completely unacceptable.

So you have to be willing to be a "fool", maintain a beginner's mindset, and go back to the starting point to start over. If you don't do this, you're just getting old.

II. The Underlying Logic of Wealth Creation

From Selling Time to Owning Assets

1. You can't get rich by selling your time

We often mistakenly think that the world is linear, believing that putting in 8 hours of work will yield an equal 8 - hour output. However, this is not the case.

The owner of the corner grocery store works as hard as we do, or even harder, but how much output do they have?

Therefore, what you do, who you do it with, and how you do it are far more important than how hard you work.

Output is not linear but depends on the quality of work. The correct way to work should be like a lion hunting. You and I are not cows that just graze all day.

As modern knowledge workers, or knowledge athletes, you should be like real athletes: Train hard, sprint with all your might, rest at the right time, evaluate carefully, get feedback, and then repeat the cycle.

The idea that working at a fixed time and intensity every day can lead to stable output is actually the working mode of a machine.

Therefore, if you want to make money, you first need to understand that you can't get rich by selling your time.

Even lawyers and doctors who charge three or four hundred or even five hundred dollars per hour find it difficult to get rich. As their income increases, their lifestyle also upgrades, and they can't save enough money, so they don't have the capital to retire.

So, you first need to own shares in a business, whether as a business owner, an investor, a shareholder, or by building a personal brand, so as to achieve financial freedom.

2. High - end jobs in the future will present a "Hollywood model"

① The hunting - gathering era

In the process of human evolution, in the hunting - gathering era, we all worked for ourselves. We communicated and cooperated in tribes, but each hunter and gatherer was an independent individual, and then they pooled their resources into family units. At that time, there were no bosses and no hierarchical systems.

② The agricultural era

In the agricultural era, in order to run farms, hierarchical systems gradually emerged, but most were still family farms.

③ The industrial era

It was not until the industrial era that the rise of factories made thousands of people work on one job. Bosses, work schedules, and the mode of setting working hours appeared.

But in fact, no matter how rich you are, even if you are a top Wall Street banker, as long as someone can decide your working hours, dress code, and behavior, you can't be called free or truly rich.

Now, we are trapped in a mindset that everything is related to employment and work, assuming that we must work for others. However, the information age is breaking this pattern.

The economist Ronald Coase has a famous "Coase theorem", which mainly discusses why companies are of a certain size. Why do some companies have only one person, some have 10, 100, or even 1000 people? This is related to internal transaction costs and external transaction costs.

For example, if I am a developer building a house and need someone to supply wood, should I incorporate the wood - supplying business into my company or find an external supplier? This largely depends on the difficulty of conducting this transaction with external partners.

If it is troublesome to sign a contract with an external party every time, I will internalize this business; if external cooperation is simple and one - time, I will prefer to outsource it.

The development of information technology has made external transactions easier, communication more convenient, and the gig economy has also developed.

I can transfer a small amount of money to you, hire you through an app, and then rate you. So, we see that companies are constantly being refined, and the optimal size of companies is shrinking.

This is most obvious in Silicon Valley, where a large number of startups are emerging, seizing some businesses from large companies and then developing into huge markets. Just like the once - insignificant vacation rental business on Craigslist, which has now developed into a giant like Airbnb.

④ The Hollywood model era

I believe that in the future, whether it is ten, twenty, fifty, or a hundred years from now, high - quality job opportunities will appear in the form of gigs.

Here, it doesn't refer to jobs like driving for Uber, but very high - end jobs.

When you wake up in the morning, your phone will receive a prompt that there are five different job opportunities, perhaps from people you've worked with before or recommended by others.

It's a bit like the current project - operation model in Hollywood. You can decide whether to accept the project. The contract is right in front of you, the payment is clear, there will be evaluations every day or week, and the money will be directly transferred to your account.

After the work is done, you can turn off your phone and go to Tahiti or other places you want to go for three months.

I think smart people have begun to realize that the Internet has made this work model possible. They are increasingly working remotely, according to their own schedules, in places they like, with their friends, and in their own way. This is the most efficient way of working.

The information revolution has made communication, connection, and cooperation easier, bringing us back to the mode of working for ourselves. This is my greatest dream.

III. Happiness Is a Skill That Can Be Cultivated

People have an instinct to be consistent in words and deeds.

For example, if you want to quit drinking and aren't serious about it, you might say, "I'll drink less, only one glass a night and only on weekends."

But if you're serious, you'll announce it on social media and tell all your friends and your wife, "I've quit drinking. I've thrown away all the alcohol at home, and you'll never see me drink again."

We all know this situation. The power of social contracts is great. When you say so, you know you're serious. I think many things are our choices, and happiness is one of them.

I mean, just as fitness, health, nutrition, and working hard to make money can be choices, so can happiness.

The world is actually neutral. It makes no judgments. For a tree, there is no right or wrong, good or bad.

You are born, experience various sensory experiences, such as light, colors, and sounds, and then die. How to interpret all this depends on you. You have the right to make this choice.

This is what I mean by happiness is a choice. If you believe it's a choice, you can start working on it.

1. Identify core desires: Choose the most important one to focus on achieving

What is desire? I think desire is like signing a contract with yourself. You won't be happy until you get what you want.

I've always kept this in mind. So when I'm unhappy about something, I'll think about what the unmet desire deep in my heart is.

It's normal to have desires. We are living beings. We have to do something when we come into this world, so we will definitely have desires and our own missions. But don't have too many desires. Don't generate desires unconsciously and randomly. Don't let yourself be troubled by countless desires.

For example, "My coffee is too cold and doesn't taste right. I'm not sitting comfortably. I wish it were warmer. My dog pooped on the lawn. I don't like that," etc.

Choose the most important desire. It's okay to work hard and endure some pain for this desire, but for other desires, you need to learn to let go. Only in this way can you stay calm, peaceful, and relaxed and do things better.

Confucius had a famous saying: "A man has two lives, and the second begins when he realizes he has only one."

When I read this, I was really touched, as if I'd been "slapped in the face." Confucius was really wise, and he had many such golden sayings.

There is another one. You can think about it the next time you're sick - A healthy person has ten thousand desires, while a sick person only wants one thing, which is health.

So, it is our endless desires that disrupt our inner peace and happiness. As living beings, it's normal to have desires, to want to act, resist, and survive, but we need to be cautious about our desires.

This is the oldest and most common wisdom. Desire is suffering, and every desire is the root of your suffering.

So don't focus on too many desires at the same time. Just focus on one at a time. It seems that the law of the universe is that as long as you focus on one thing, you are very likely to achieve it, and for other desires, you need to learn to let go.

2. Re - orient your thinking: Interpret events from a positive perspective until it becomes an instinct

I used to be a pessimist. Later, I started trying a new method, such as trying to see the positive side of things in every moment of life.

At first, I forced myself to do it, but gradually, it became an instinct.

For example, a friend of my wife came to our house. When we were dating, she took hundreds of photos and then sent them all to us.

My initial reaction was: "Why did she send so many photos? I don't need so many. Can't she have some sense of proportion?"

But soon, I thought from another perspective: "She's so thoughtful. She sent so many photos. I can pick one I like from them."

Almost everything has two sides. Of course, some things bring too much pain and it may be difficult to stay optimistic, but at least they can be regarded as an opportunity for growth.

In this way, I gradually changed my view of all negative things. Now, looking at things from a positive perspective has become my instinct. I also realized that what we really need is to clear our minds and let go of all kinds of distractions. Happy thoughts often come and go quickly, while negative thoughts always linger.

Therefore, if we can quickly interpret things from a positive perspective, we can let them go faster.

3. Physiology affects psychology: Change your emotional state through behavior

Get closer to nature. These are all simple methods.

For example, get more sun, smile more, and hug more. These behaviors are not only external manifestations of happiness but also promote the body to secrete serotonin, forming a feedback loop of happiness.

Warren Buffett plays bridge all day, takes walks in the sun, and doesn't fill his brain with all kinds of information all day long. He doesn't get excited about small things.

We live in an era full of infinite possibilities. What I mean by this is that one of your actions may have a thousand - fold impact, whether through podcast dissemination, investment, getting others to work for you, or writing code.

Now, making the right decision has a much greater impact than before because you can influence thousands or even millions of people through your decisions or code. A happy, calm, and peaceful person will make better decisions and achieve better results.

So, if you want to perform at your best, you must learn to control your mind, just as you learn to control your body.

4. Meditation training: Achieve a state of calm mind

Now, we are faced with various information interferences, and everyone is trying to influence others. So what should we do? The only solution is to turn off these interferences, focus on your breathing, and meditate.

What is meditation? Meditation is not just sitting down and closing your eyes. It's about observing your own thoughts as