MBA2315 Must Read: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

Summary

The $100 MBA Show: MBA2315 Must Read: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

Release Date: May 29, 2023
Host: Omar Zenhom

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Introduction

In episode MBA2315 of The $100 MBA Show, host Omar Zenhom delves into "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" by Eric Jorgenson. This episode is categorized as a "Must Read," where Omar shares his insights and key takeaways from the book, highlighting why it is essential for entrepreneurs and those seeking to build wealth and achieve happiness.

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About Naval Ravikant

Naval Ravikant is a renowned entrepreneur, investor, and thought leader. He is the co-founder and chairman of AngelList and has invested in over 200 companies, including well-known names like Twitter, Wish.com, and Notion. Naval is celebrated for his profound insights on business, wealth, and life, which he shares extensively through his popular Twitter account and podcast.

Naval Ravikant [01:14]: "His insightful way of looking at business and life."

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Overview of "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant"

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a compilation of Naval’s thoughts, tweets, podcast snippets, and interviews, all centered around creating wealth and achieving happiness. Omar emphasizes that this book is not a traditional how-to guide but rather a collection of principles and fundamentals that shape one's mindset towards money and life.

Omar Zenhom [03:45]: "The Almanac of Naval Ravikant is a collection of different insights, different tweets, things that Naval has shared along the way over the years."

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Key Concepts and Insights

1. Wealth vs. Money

A fundamental theme in the book is the distinction between wealth and money. Naval defines wealth not merely as accumulated cash but as the ownership of time and leverage.

Naval Ravikant [04:01]: "Wealth is more about ownership of time and leverage."

Omar echoes this by explaining that wealth encompasses assets that generate income passively, allowing individuals to earn money even while they sleep.

Omar Zenhom [04:13]: "Wealth is having assets that earn you money while you sleep."

2. The Power of Leverage

Naval outlines various forms of leverage that are essential for building wealth:

• Labor: Utilizing other people's work to create products that generate income without direct involvement.

  Naval Ravikant [04:45]: "Leverage of labor, meaning that you have other people doing work for you."

• Money (Finance): Investing capital so that it continues to grow independently.

  Omar Zenhom [04:52]: "Leverage of money or finance. This is like an investor, somebody who invests money and the money makes money."

• Technology: Creating software or systems that can be replicated and sold repeatedly with minimal additional effort.

  Naval Ravikant [05:00]: "Leverage of computers or technology. This is like code. You create a piece of software, and it does its job for you while you sleep."

• Media: Building a personal or company brand that disseminates information or content widely.

  Naval Ravikant [05:24]: "Leverage of media. You can create one piece of content and it spreads across the world."

Omar illustrates the application of these leverage points by referencing successful entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, who effectively combines multiple forms of leverage to build his empire.

Omar Zenhom [05:35]: "Elon Musk leverages labor with people in the factories creating cars for Tesla... he leverages media through his prolific use of Twitter."

3. Avoiding Status Games

Naval differentiates between zero-sum status games and positive-sum wealth creation. Status games involve competition where only a few can win, such as politics. In contrast, wealth creation is a positive-sum game where one's success doesn't preclude others from succeeding simultaneously.

Naval Ravikant [06:44]: "Status games are zero-sum games, meaning there will only be one winner or there's a ranking of winners."

Omar Zenhom [07:07]: "Wealth is a positive sum game. The more wealthy you become, the more likely other people can be wealthy because you can invest in their progression."

4. Embracing Competition through Authenticity

Instead of viewing competition as a finite resource to be claimed, Naval advocates for authenticity and building a personal brand that stands out. By being genuine and responsible, individuals can create unique value that attracts wealth without directly competing against others in zero-sum scenarios.

Naval Ravikant [08:52]: "Competition by being authentic. You gotta add your personal brand."

Omar Zenhom [09:01]: "If you lose and own up to it, it's okay. When you do win, the benefit is immense because you traded on your own name and reputation."

5. Wealth as Freedom

The ultimate goal of accumulating wealth, according to Naval, is to achieve freedom—freedom of time, thought, and the ability to make impactful decisions without financial constraints.

Omar Zenhom [09:35]: "Wealth gets us freedom. Freedom of time, freedom of mind, space, being able to think clearly, make the right decisions in our life without the pressure of finances."

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Practical Recommendations

Omar highly recommends reading The Almanack of Naval Ravikant for its practical wisdom grounded in Naval's personal experiences rather than theoretical concepts. He also suggests engaging with Naval’s longer-form content, such as the podcast episode "How to Get Rich Without Getting Lucky," to deepen understanding.

Omar Zenhom [10:50]: "It's rules, it's fundamentals. It's things to govern your way of thinking about money, about life, about happiness."

Additionally, Omar encourages listeners to purchase the physical copy of the book for easier reference and application of its insights in daily life.

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Conclusion

Omar Zenhom's episode on The Almanack of Naval Ravikant offers a comprehensive overview of the book's key principles on wealth creation and personal freedom. By emphasizing leverage, avoiding zero-sum status games, and building an authentic personal brand, the episode provides actionable strategies for listeners to apply in their entrepreneurial journeys.

For those seeking to transform their mindset towards wealth and happiness, Omar's insights make a compelling case for adding this book to their reading list.

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Notable Quotes:

• Naval Ravikant [04:20]: "You'll never get wealthy by trading your time for money."
• Naval Ravikant [05:08]: "Can sell that software over and over."
• Naval Ravikant [07:33]: "Wealth is a positive sum game."

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Further Resources:

• Book: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
• Podcast: Naval’s episode "How to Get Rich Without Getting Lucky"

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Learn More:
Visit The $100 MBA Show for more episodes packed with actionable business insights.

Transcript

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Omar Zenhom]

Welcome to the $100 MBA Show. Powerful business insights on a Silver platter. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher Omar Zenholm. I'm also the co founder of Webinar Ninja, an independent software company I started back in 2014 and today's episode is.

[Naval Ravikant]

A must read Episode.

[Omar Zenhom]

On our Must Read Episodes, I share with you a book that I've read that has influenced me as an entrepreneur. I share with you its takeaways, its insight and why you should read it too. Today's must read is the Almanac of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgensen. If you're not familiar with Naval, he's very popular on Twitter and has a very popular podcast and it's because of.

[Naval Ravikant]

His insightful way of looking at business and life. He's a co founder and chairman of Angellist.

[Omar Zenhom]

He's invested in over 200 companies, probably.

[Naval Ravikant]

Many of them you've heard of before.

[Omar Zenhom]

Like Twitter and wish.com, notion and more. And in this book, the Almanac of.

[Naval Ravikant]

Naval Ravikant, it gathers all the insights that he's shared along the way on.

[Omar Zenhom]

How to create wealth and be happy. In my opinion, this book is one of those books you just have to read.

[Naval Ravikant]

This is why it's a must read. It's going to rewire your mindset the.

[Omar Zenhom]

Way you think about money, wealth and happiness in life. I'm going to share with you why. Why does Naval do this in this book? Why does his concepts, his thoughts, his insights make such an impact on you when you read it? Share with you some of my favorite takeaways, some of my favorite thoughts, and.

[Naval Ravikant]

Why you should pick it up and read it immediately.

[Omar Zenhom]

Let's get into it. Let's get down to business. This episode of the $100 MBA show is brought to you by this is.

[Naval Ravikant]

Small Business, an original podcast from Amazon.

[Omar Zenhom]

It's all about what it takes to be a successful small business owner today. I've been listening to the show and what I love about it is that it's so practical.

[Naval Ravikant]

The show explores the journey to success for small business owners.

[Omar Zenhom]

It dives deep into pivotal moments they had to face. Along the journey, you'll learn about topics like how to attract investors, how to manufacture your own product, and the pros and cons of business partnership. Season two of this is Small Business is out now, so go ahead and.

[Naval Ravikant]

Listen to this Is Small Business wherever.

[Omar Zenhom]

You get your podcast. Again right after this show. Search this Is Small Business on your favorite podcast app and subscribe and listen a little bit about this Book the Almanac of Naval Ravikant this is a collection of different insights, different tweets, things.

[Naval Ravikant]

That Naval has shared along the way over the years.

[Omar Zenhom]

Some bits are from his Twitter feed.

[Naval Ravikant]

And Twitter storms that he has published.

[Omar Zenhom]

Some bits are from his podcast, some bits are from interviews and it's kind of collected in one volume. This is why the book is so great. I'm a big fan of Naval, so.

[Naval Ravikant]

I've listened to everything, read everything.

[Omar Zenhom]

So even though a lot of this.

[Naval Ravikant]

Stuff is not new to me, I still love the book. It's all in one place. I'd also recommend buying this book in physical form.

[Omar Zenhom]

I have it on Kindle, but I'm ordering it on physical form because when.

[Naval Ravikant]

I read it in Kindle it's not.

[Omar Zenhom]

Easy just to flip through chapters and easily just grab a piece or insight.

[Naval Ravikant]

Or look for something that you read before.

[Omar Zenhom]

So I'm getting the actual physical copy because I want it in front of me on my coffee table so I can pick it up and wherever I want an insight or two.

[Naval Ravikant]

So what is this book all about?

[Omar Zenhom]

Well, it's mostly about how to become wealthy.

[Naval Ravikant]

Not in the info marketing way.

[Omar Zenhom]

It's not a hype or cheesy. He actually talks about wealth as a concept where wealth comes from in the first place. And how do you create wealth?

[Naval Ravikant]

And that wealth is more than just.

[Omar Zenhom]

Cash in the bank.

[Naval Ravikant]

It's more than just money. Wealth is more about ownership of time and leverage.

[Omar Zenhom]

Naval says seek wealth, not money or status. Wealth is having assets that earn you.

[Naval Ravikant]

Money while you sleep.

[Omar Zenhom]

One of the early concepts that he.

[Naval Ravikant]

Shares is that you'll never get wealthy by trading your time for money.

[Omar Zenhom]

Even the most successful doctors in the world, lawyers in the world, highly paid professions, they're never going to get really.

[Naval Ravikant]

Wealthy or be independent or be financially.

[Omar Zenhom]

Free because they always have to do.

[Naval Ravikant]

The work, meaning they have to trade their time to earn their money.

[Omar Zenhom]

There's obviously exceptions here, but generally you're not Going to be rich by just having a job.

[Naval Ravikant]

You need leverage. And he lists all kinds of leverages.

[Omar Zenhom]

Leverage of labor, meaning that you have.

[Naval Ravikant]

Other people doing work for you to.

[Omar Zenhom]

Produce a product that can earn you.

[Naval Ravikant]

Money even if you're not involved.

[Omar Zenhom]

He talks about leverage of money or finance. This is like an investor, somebody who.

[Naval Ravikant]

Invests money and the money makes money.

[Omar Zenhom]

It talks about you need leverage of computers or technology. This is like code. You create a piece of software, you.

[Naval Ravikant]

Can sell that software over and over.

[Omar Zenhom]

And it's doing its job for you while you sleep. That's how people get wealthy. If you look at the richest people in the world, this is what they've done. And the ones that are really successful.

[Naval Ravikant]

Are the ones that combine them all in one.

[Omar Zenhom]

One of the other leverage points is.

[Naval Ravikant]

The leverage of media.

[Omar Zenhom]

And today with the Internet, you can.

[Naval Ravikant]

Create one piece of and it gets.

[Omar Zenhom]

Spread across the world like a podcast, like this one.

[Naval Ravikant]

So if you look at, let's say, the richest man in the world, Elon.

[Omar Zenhom]

Musk, he leverages all these things, right?

[Naval Ravikant]

He leverages labor with people in the.

[Omar Zenhom]

Factories creating cars for Tesla. He's able to leverage technology. All his companies are technology companies, whether It's Tesla or SpaceX or Solar City or PayPal back in the day or X.com and now being the owner of Twitter and being prolific on Twitter, he leverages media. So you can get wealthy by just leveraging one of these, but you become more likely and more wealthy by leveraging a multitude of these things. This is why some companies like ProfitWell.

[Naval Ravikant]

That just recently sold for $200 million.

[Omar Zenhom]

Had such a high valuation, is because they've leveraged the technology of software and computers. But they also were a media company. They were producing a crazy amount of shows on YouTube and podcasts and really.

[Naval Ravikant]

Leveraging their brand through media. This is a bootstrapped, self funded company, but they understood the power of leverage.

[Omar Zenhom]

This is a concept that's very strong in the book how to use these.

[Naval Ravikant]

Forms of leverage to help increase your.

[Omar Zenhom]

Chances and your velocity to become wealthy. One of the other concepts he drives home in this book is don't play status games.

[Naval Ravikant]

Status games are zero sum games, meaning there will only be one winner or there's a ranking of winners.

[Omar Zenhom]

Politics is a classic status game.

[Naval Ravikant]

There only can be one president or vice president or a certain number of congressmen or women.

[Omar Zenhom]

The point here is, is that there's a limit to how many people can be successful. You don't play those games. You want to play games where you can Win, and it doesn't matter if somebody else is successful, they can win too.

[Naval Ravikant]

Wealth is a positive sum game. The more wealthy you become, the more.

[Omar Zenhom]

Likely other people can be wealthy because.

[Naval Ravikant]

You can invest in their progression.

[Omar Zenhom]

Status, on the other hand, is a zero sum game.

[Naval Ravikant]

It's a very old game. We've been playing it since the beginning of time. And it doesn't really work in our.

[Omar Zenhom]

Favor because we're always trying to find out who's number one, who's number two, who's number three.

[Naval Ravikant]

So don't play zero sum games, play non zero sum games. And that leads to a lot of.

[Omar Zenhom]

People thinking, well, what about competition?

[Naval Ravikant]

There's only a certain amount of money.

[Omar Zenhom]

Or wealth out there. We all have to go get it. And Naval debunks this idea by proving the point that we're all a lot.

[Naval Ravikant]

More wealthy no matter where we are in the world. Even if we're on minimum wage, we are wealthier than somebody who's living 300.

[Omar Zenhom]

Years ago where they didn't have all the amenities or all the knowledge on their fingertips, or healthcare or vaccines. And that leads to the next point about what about competition? Isn't there a certain amount of money that we all have to go and grab?

[Naval Ravikant]

Well, Naval debunks this.

[Omar Zenhom]

He says that no wealth is infinite.

[Naval Ravikant]

And to prove this point, wealth increases over time. Meaning if you look at 300 years.

[Omar Zenhom]

Ago, we're all living a lot better than even the Kings and Queens 300, 400, 500 years ago.

[Naval Ravikant]

We live longer.

[Omar Zenhom]

We have all the world's information in our pocket.

[Naval Ravikant]

We live in safer environments.

[Omar Zenhom]

We're not threatened by death every five seconds. We live in cleaner spaces.

[Naval Ravikant]

Even if you're on minimum wage, your.

[Omar Zenhom]

Quality of life is a whole lot wealthier than somebody living 500 years ago.

[Naval Ravikant]

Who was considered wealthy like a king. That means wealth begets wealth. It means that wealth grows. That means there's no finite amount of dollars in the world. We make more wealth in the world.

[Omar Zenhom]

So this kind of leads down the path of people thinking, well, okay, I.

[Naval Ravikant]

Still have competitors in marketplace. How do I stand out?

[Omar Zenhom]

Well, he talks about how to be.

[Naval Ravikant]

Competition by being authentic.

[Omar Zenhom]

You gotta be different. You gotta be yourself.

[Naval Ravikant]

You gotta add your personal brand.

[Omar Zenhom]

And he talks a lot about putting.

[Naval Ravikant]

Your name on the line, taking responsibility, and leveraging your own personal brand for gain and loss.

[Omar Zenhom]

You see, if when you lose and you own up to it, it's okay. Because when you do win, the benefit.

[Naval Ravikant]

Is immense because you traded on your own name, your own reputation, that's why most big companies have big personal brands.

[Omar Zenhom]

Whether it's Oprah or Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson or whatever it might be.

[Naval Ravikant]

They trade on their own name.

[Omar Zenhom]

And at the end of the day, what he discusses in this book is that the reason why we want wealth is because wealth gets us freedom.

[Naval Ravikant]

Freedom of time, freedom of mind, space, being able to think clearly, make the.

[Omar Zenhom]

Right decisions in our life without the pressure of finances, and allows us to.

[Naval Ravikant]

Make a bigger impact in our lives.

[Omar Zenhom]

And the lives of others. This episode of the $100 MBA show is brought to you by this Is.

[Naval Ravikant]

Small Business, an original podcast from Amazon.

[Omar Zenhom]

It's all about what it takes to be a successful business owner. Today I listened to episode 15 of.

[Naval Ravikant]

Season two where Deidre Williams, co founder of Darling and Company, talks about her personal relationship with money and some real.

[Omar Zenhom]

Helpful tips on bootstrapping loans and her personal favorite and current funding method, pitching for grants.

[Naval Ravikant]

If you're looking for more practical advice that you can use in the real.

[Omar Zenhom]

World of business, then go ahead and search this Is Small Business on your favorite podcast app and subscribe to the podcast again. Listen to this Is Small Business Season 2 is out now go ahead and check it out on your favorite podcast app. What makes this book different? The Almanac of Naval Ravikant is It's not a how to book. It's not a step by step. This is how you build wealth. It's better than that. It's rules, it's fundamentals. It's things to govern your way of thinking about money, about life, about happiness.

[Naval Ravikant]

This is much more useful because you.

[Omar Zenhom]

Can apply it to your own life and circumstances by seeing it as a set of fundamentals. I highly recommend you pick up this book. It's incredible and once you do, a great piece of sentimental material is a podcast episode on Naval's podcast that's called how to Get Rich Without Getting Lucky. It's about a three hour episode, but it's a good resource that I've listened to several times, not just once. That wraps up today's episode. I hope you loved it. If you love this podcast, the best way to say thank you is to share it with other people.

[Naval Ravikant]

Just send them over to 100- MBA-NET.

[Omar Zenhom]

So they can listen to the podcast themselves. They can go ahead and add it to their favorite podcast app there. Thank you in advance for doing that. Before I go, I want to leave.

[Naval Ravikant]

You with this Naval did not come from money.

[Omar Zenhom]

He came from India as a young kid with his family. They moved to Canada and they were very, very poor. In fact, one of his first jobs was at Burger King, where he had to do the night shift. It was rough, and let's just say he had to clean up a lot of people who were not feeling well after 2am drinks. In that moment, he realized, this is not for me. I can't work at Burger King for my life. There's got to be a better way to earn a living, to make money.

[Naval Ravikant]

And that's when he started his journey on studying wealth.

[Omar Zenhom]

Slowly but surely, he became wealthy. And this is why this book is so impactful, because it's rooted in practice. It's rooted in his own experience. It's not theory. It's advice you can count on. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll check you in Wednesday's episode Q& A. Wednesday I'll see you then. Take care.