Just finished “The Almanack of Naval Ravikant”. Lots of good stuff in there. It’s a quick read, but I’ll definitely need to go through it again to really get it all.

Some key things that stuck with me:

  1. Leverage is super important for making money. Naval says earning money can be its own skill, not just a side effect of being good at something.

  2. He talks a lot about “specific knowledge”. I’ve always been more of a generalist, so that made me think. Specializing feels risky with how fast tech changes, but he makes some good points about it.

  3. Loved his take on reading: “read what you love until you love to read”. Made me feel better about all the fiction I read. Turns out finishing big series like Wheel of Time actually helped me tackle harder non-fiction stuff.

  4. The idea that happiness is a skill you can work on really hit home. He talks about desire being a deal we make to stay unhappy until we get what we want. I’m totally guilty of always chasing the next thing instead of enjoying what I’ve got.

Naval also gets into some deeper stuff about life, money, and happiness. He’s got thoughts on making decisions, investing, and making money ethically. There’s also good reminders about health, learning, and how small things compound over time.

He also really drives home that coding is a superpower with unlimited leverage. Made me think I should be using my skills better.

Some of the startup advice didn’t really apply to me, but overall, it was a great read with lots to think about.