Naval

Kelly Criterion: Avoid Ruin

July 10, 2019 10:34 - 1 minute - 1.6 MB

Don't ruin your reputation or get wiped to zero. • Don't bet everything on one big gamble 0:00 • Ruining your reputation is the same as getting wiped to zero 0:54 Transcript: http://nav.al/kelly-criterion

Principal-Agent Problem: Act Like an Owner

July 08, 2019 18:13 - 6 minutes - 6.17 MB

If you think and act like an owner, it’s only a matter of time until you become an owner. • A principal is an owner; an agent is an employee 0:00 • A principal’s incentives are different than an agent’s incentives 1:08 • If you can work on incentives, don't work on anything else 2:15 • When you do deals, it’s better to have the same incentives 3:15 • If you’re an employee, your most important job is to think like a principal 4:05 • Deal with small firms to avoid the principal-age...

Envy Can Be Useful, or It Can Eat You Alive

June 28, 2019 18:23 - 3 minutes - 3.23 MB

Envy can give you a powerful boost, or it can eat you alive if you let it follow you. • Suffering through the wrong thing can motivate you to find the right thing 0:00 • Being a lawyer was not what I was meant to do 1:14 • Envy can be useful or it can eat you alive 2:28 Transcript: http://nav.al/envy

Being Ethical Is Long-Term Greedy

June 26, 2019 19:49 - 3 minutes - 3.17 MB

If you cut fair deals, you will get paid in the long run. • Ethics isn’t something you study; it’s something you do 0:00 • Trust leads to compounding relationships 0:51 • Being ethical attracts other long-term players 1:19 • Being ethical is long-term greedy 1:58 • If you cut fair deals, you will get paid in the long run 2:40 Transcript: http://nav.al/ethics

We Should Eventually Be Working for Ourselves

June 24, 2019 16:19 - 4 minutes - 4.11 MB

The goal is that we are eventually wealthy and working for ourselves. • This advice is for anybody who wants to be entrepreneurial 0:00 • Middle age can be the most fruitful time to apply this advice 0:48 • Look up the value chain to find leverage 1:58 • You will do better in a small organization 2:43 • The goal is that we are all working for ourselves 3:25 Transcript: http://nav.al/target-audience

Accountability Means Letting People Criticize You

June 21, 2019 18:00 - 3 minutes - 3.37 MB

Misunderstanding accountability, and other mistakes on the path to creating wealth. • Accountability means letting people criticize you 0:00 • The most interesting parts should be the ones you disagree with 1:06 • Get the free leverage that's available in tech 1:53 • Not doing things because other people can't do them is living in denial 2:21 • Realize your philanthropic vision by running a business 2:54 Transcript: http://nav.al/common-mistakes

Productize Yourself

May 24, 2019 19:06 - 1 minute - 3.54 MB

Figure out what you're uniquely good at and apply as much leverage as possible. • Figure out what you're uniquely good at and apply as much leverage as possible 0:00 • Find hobbies that make you rich, fit and creative 1:07 Transcript: http://nav.al/productize-yourself

There Are No Get Rich Quick Schemes

May 23, 2019 19:43 - 4 minutes - 8.6 MB

Get rich quick schemes are just someone else getting rich off you. • There are no get rich quick schemes 0:00 • We don't have ads because it would ruin our credibility 0:56 • Every founder has to lie to every employee 2:02 • Anyone giving advice on how to get rich should have made their money elsewhere 3:02 Transcript: http://nav.al/rich-quick

A Calm Mind, a Fit Body, a House Full of Love

May 21, 2019 19:18 - 4 minutes - 3.81 MB

When you're finally wealthy, you'll realize it wasn't what you were seeking in the first place. • When you're wealthy, you'll realize it wasn't what you were seeking 0:00 • A calm mind, a fit body and a house full of love must be earned 1:00 • Practical advice for a calmer internal state 1:52 • A lot of divorces happen over money, a lot of battles happen over internal anger 3:14 Transcript: http://nav.al/finally-wealthy

Reject Most Advice

May 20, 2019 19:56 - 2 minutes - 2.71 MB

Most advice is people giving you their winning lottery ticket numbers. • The best founders listen to everyone but make up their own mind 0:00 • Advice is maxims you can recall later, when you get your own experience 1:29 Transcript: http://nav.al/reject-advice

Eventually You Will Get What You Deserve

May 19, 2019 19:26 - 4 minutes - 3.82 MB

Apply specific knowledge with leverage and eventually you will get what you deserve. • On a long enough time scale you will get paid 0:00 • What are you really good at that the market values? 1:59 Transcript: http://nav.al/deserve

Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes

May 17, 2019 19:01 - 2 minutes - 2.46 MB

Competition will blind you to greater games. You're one step away from a better market. • Businesses that seem like they're in direct competition really aren't 0:00 • My first company got caught up in the wrong game 1:23 Transcript: http://nav.al/stupid-games

Escape Competition Through Authenticity

May 16, 2019 10:30 - 5 minutes - 5.18 MB

Competition can make you play the wrong game. No one can compete with you on being you. • Competition will trap you in a lesser game 0:00 • No one can compete with you on being you 1:27 • In entrepreneurship, the masses are never right 2:40 • Combine your vocation and avocation 3:45 Transcript: http://nav.al/competition-authenticity

Keep Redefining What You Do

May 13, 2019 10:46 - 2 minutes - 1.92 MB

Become the best in the world at what you do. Keep redefining what you do until this is true. • Keep redefining what you do until you're the best at what you do 0:00 • Find founder-product-market fit 1:35 Transcript: http://nav.al/redefining

Be Too Busy to “Do Coffee”

May 08, 2019 15:01 - 4 minutes - 3.78 MB

You should be too busy to “do coffee”, while still keeping an uncluttered calendar. • Be too busy to “do coffee” while keeping an uncluttered calendar 0:00 • People will meet with you when you have proof of work 2:00 • Networking is overrated even early in your career 2:09 Transcript: http://nav.al/meetings

Work As Hard As You Can

May 06, 2019 09:47 - 5 minutes - 4.75 MB

Work as hard as you can. Even though what you work on and who you work with are more important. • Work as hard as you can 0:00 • But what you work on and who you work with are more important 1:00 • Nobody really works 80 hours a week 2:22 • Inspiration is perishable 3:05 • Impatience with actions, patience with results 3:36 Transcript: http://nav.al/work-hard

Set an Aspirational Hourly Rate

May 01, 2019 16:41 - 3 minutes - 3.51 MB

If outsourcing a task will cost less than your hourly rate, outsource it. • Set and enforce an aspirational hourly rate 0:00 • You can't penny pinch your way to wealth 1:27 • My aspirational rate was $5,000/hr 1:56 • If you can outsource something for less than your hourly rate, outsource it 2:57 • Your hourly rate should seem absurdly high 3:39 Transcript: http://nav.al/hourly-rate

Judgment Is the Decisive Skill

April 29, 2019 15:55 - 6 minutes - 5.98 MB

Everything we've discussed so far has been setting you up to apply judgment. • In an age of infinite leverage, judgment becomes the most important skill 0:00 • Everything else you do is setting you up to apply judgment 1:21 • Judgment is knowing the long-term consequences of your actions 2:40 • Without experience, judgment is often less than useless 3:15 • The people with the best judgment are among the least emotional 4:05 • A lot of the top investors often sound like philosophe...

Example: From Laborer to Real Estate Tech

April 26, 2019 07:55 - 5 minutes - 4.98 MB

The continuum from laborer to real estate tech company goes from low accountability to high specific knowledge, accountability and leverage. • Laborers get paid hourly and have low accountability 0:19 • General contractors get equity, but they're also taking risk 1:20 • Property developers pocket the profit by applying capital leverage 2:14 • Architects, large developers and REITs are even higher in the stack 3:16 • Real estate tech companies apply the maximum leverage 4:05 Trans...

Pick a Business Model With Leverage

April 22, 2019 13:11 - 5 minutes - 5.33 MB

Ideally, you should pick a business model with network effects, low marginal costs and scale economies. • Scale economies: the more you produce, the cheaper it gets 0:00 • Zero marginal cost of reproduction: producing more is free 0:51 • Network effects: value grows as the square of the customers 1:34 • Network effect businesses are natural monopolies 2:26 • In a network effect, each new user adds value to the existing users 3:06 • Zero marginal cost businesses can pivot into net...

Product Leverage Is Egalitarian

April 19, 2019 09:40 - 5 minutes - 4.78 MB

Labor and capital are limited to the people who control those resources. But products reach global markets. • Product leverage is a positive-sum game 0:00 • Status goods are limited to a few people 0:57 • The best products tend to be targeted at the middle class 1:25 • Creating wealth with product leads to more ethical wealth 2:06 • You want to use the product that is used by the most people 3:06 • Capital and labor are becoming permissionless 4:24 Transcript: http://nav.al/ega...

Product and Media Are New Leverage

April 17, 2019 11:05 - 5 minutes - 4.89 MB

Product and media are the leverage of new wealth. Create software and media that work for you while you sleep. • Product and media are the new leverage 0:00 • Product leverage is where the new fortunes are made 0:55 • Combining all three forms of leverage is a magic combination 1:28 • Product and media leverage are permissionless 2:03 • The robots army is already here—code lets you tell them what to do 2:59 Transcript: http://nav.al/product-media

Labor and Capital Are Old Leverage

April 15, 2019 11:06 - 4 minutes - 4.33 MB

Wealth requires leverage. Labor and capital are older forms of leverage that everyone is fighting over. • Our brains aren't evolved to comprehend new forms of leverage 0:00 • Society overvalues labor leverage 1:08 • You want the minimum amount of labor that allows you to use the other forms of leverage 1:56 • Capital has been the dominant form of leverage in the last century 2:40 • You need specific knowledge and accountability to obtain capital 4:52 Transcript: http://nav.al/lab...

Take Accountability to Earn Equity

April 13, 2019 08:36 - 4 minutes - 4.55 MB

If you have high accountability, you're less replaceable and you can get a piece of the business. • Accountability is how you're going to get equity 0:00 • Taking accountability is like taking equity in all your work 0:29 • The downside of accountability is not that large 2:11 • Accountability is reputational skin in the game 4:30 Transcript: http://nav.al/accountability-equity

Embrace Accountability to Get Leverage

April 11, 2019 09:47 - 4 minutes - 4.15 MB

Embrace accountability. Society will reward you with leverage. • You have to have accountability to get leverage 0:00 • Take business risks under your own name 0:54 • A well-functioning team has clear accountability for each position 2:09 • People who can fail in public have a lot of power 3:47 Transcript: http://nav.al/accountability-leverage

There's No Actual Skill Called Business

April 08, 2019 15:11 - 5 minutes - 5.11 MB

There's no actual skill called business. Avoid business schools and magazines. • There's no actual skill called business 0:00 • Doing is faster than watching 0:55 • The number of “doing” iterations drives the learning curve 2:49 • If you're willing to bleed a little every day, you may win big later 3:53 Transcript: http://nav.al/skill-business

The Foundations Are Math and Logic

April 05, 2019 14:34 - 3 minutes - 3.07 MB

If you understand mathematics and logic, you have the basis for understanding everything else. • The ultimate foundations are math and logic: 0:00 • It’s better to read a great book slowly than to fly through a hundred books quickly: 1:22 • Learn persuasion and programming: 2:08 Transcript: http://nav.al/math-logic

Read What You Love Until You Love to Read

April 03, 2019 11:37 - 4 minutes - 4.43 MB

You should be able to pick up any book in the library and read it. • Read what you love until you love to read: 0:00 • Read the original scientific books in a field: 1:44 • Don't fear any book: 2:43 • The means of learning are abundant, the desire to learn is scarce: 3:54 Transcript: http://nav.al/love-read

Learn to Sell, Learn to Build

March 31, 2019 10:03 - 5 minutes - 5.17 MB

Learn to sell. Learn to build. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable. • Learn to sell, learn to build 0:00 • The Silicon Valley model is a builder and seller 1:07 • If you can do both you will be unstoppable 1:52 • I'd rather teach an engineer marketing than a marketer engineering 2:48 • Building is better when you're starting out, sales scales better over time 4:33 Transcript: http://nav.al/build-sell

Specific Knowledge Is Highly Creative or Technical

March 28, 2019 17:10 - 5 minutes - 5.09 MB

Specific knowledge tends to be creative or technical. It's on the bleeding edge of technology, art and communication. • Specific knowledge can be taught through apprenticeships 0:00 • Specific knowledge is often highly creative or technical 0:45 • Specific knowledge is specific to the individual and situation 2:02 • You can't be too deliberate about assembling specific knowledge 3:01 • Build specific knowledge where you are a natural 4:44 Transcript: http://nav.al/creative-techni...

Arm Yourself With Specific Knowledge

March 25, 2019 18:35 - 6 minutes - 5.84 MB

Arm yourself with specific knowledge. It can't be trained but it can be found by pursuing your genuine curiosity. • Arm yourself with specific knowledge 0:00 • Specific knowledge can't be trained 1:47 • Specific knowledge is found by pursuing your curiosity 2:34 • Building specific knowledge will feel like play to you 3:53 Transcript: http://nav.al/specific-knowledge

Partner With Rational Optimists

March 22, 2019 13:44 - 5 minutes - 5 MB

Don't partner with cynics and pessimists. Their beliefs are self-fulfilling. • Don't partner with pessimists 0:00 • Partner with rational optimists 1:20 • We're descended from pessimists 2:28 • BOCTAOE 4:13 Transcript: http://nav.al/rational-optimists

Pick Partners With Intelligence, Energy and Integrity

March 22, 2019 13:18 - 4 minutes - 4.37 MB

Picking partners with high intelligence, energy and integrity is the three-part checklist that you can't compromise on. • Pick business partners with high intelligence, energy and integrity 0:00 • Motivation of the people you work with has to come intrinsically 1:18 • Integrity is what someone does, despite what they say they do 2:18 Transcript: http://nav.al/intelligence-energy-integrity

Play Long-term Games With Long-term People

March 19, 2019 14:29 - 6 minutes - 6.61 MB

Pick an industry where you can play long-term games with long-term people. All returns in life come from compound interest over many turns of the game. • Play long-term games with long-term people 0:00 • When you switch industries, you're starting over from scratch 2:21 • Long-term players make each other rich 4:02 • Returns come from compound interest in iterated games 4:49 Transcript: http://nav.al/long-term

The Internet Has Massively Broadened Career Possibilities

March 19, 2019 13:17 - 4 minutes - 5.36 MB

The Internet has massively broadened the possible space of careers, by allowing you to scale any niche obsession. • The Internet has massively broadened the possible space of careers 0:00 • The Internet allows you to scale any niche obsession 1:22 • Escape competition through authenticity 3:33 Transcript: http://nav.al/possible-careers

Give Society What It Doesn't Know How to Get

March 14, 2019 13:01 - 2 minutes - 3.59 MB

Society will pay you for creating what it wants, but doesn’t know how to get, and delivering it at scale. • Give society what it wants, but doesn't know how to get—at scale 0:00 • Figure out what product you can provide and then figure out how to scale it 0:57 Transcript: http://nav.al/product-scale

Live Below Your Means for Freedom

March 11, 2019 15:18 - 2 minutes - 3.27 MB

People living far below their means enjoy a freedom that people busy upgrading their lifestyles just can't fathom. • People living below their means have freedom 0:00 • The most dangerous things are heroin and a monthly salary 0:38 • Ideally, you'll make your money in discrete lumps 1:17 Transcript: http://nav.al/salary-freedom

You Won't Get Rich Renting Out Your Time

March 08, 2019 15:17 - 4 minutes - 5.37 MB

You won't get rich renting out your time, because you can't earn non-linearly. • You won't get rich renting out your time 0:00 • Renting out your time means you're essentially replaceable 1:23 • You must own equity to gain your financial freedom 2:17 • You want a career where your inputs don't match your outputs 2:41 Transcript: http://nav.al/renting-time

Make Luck Your Destiny

March 07, 2019 16:00 - 4 minutes - 5.3 MB

Build your character in a way so luck becomes deterministic. • Build your character so luck becomes your destiny 0:00 • Build your character so opportunity finds you 1:12 • You have to be a little eccentric to be out on the frontier by yourself 2:39 Transcript: http://nav.al/luck-destiny

Making Money Isn't About Luck

March 06, 2019 17:33 - 5 minutes - 5.98 MB

Making money isn't about luck. It's about becoming the kind of person who makes money. • Making money isn't about luck 0:00 • Blind luck 0:46 • Luck from hustling 0:55 • Luck from preparation 1:35 • Luck from your unique character 1:51 • In 1,000 parallel universes, you want to be wealthy in 999 of them 2:54 • Wealth stacks up one chip at a time, not all at once 4:11 Transcript: http://nav.al/money-luck

Free Markets Are Intrinsic to Humans

March 06, 2019 17:07 - 4 minutes - 4.89 MB

We're the only animals who cooperate across genetic boundaries, because we can track credits and debits in voluntary exchanges. • Free markets are intrinsic to the human species 0:00 • Too many takers and not enough makers will plunge a society into ruin 1:48 Transcript: http://nav.al/capitalism-intrinsic

Make Abundance for the World

March 05, 2019 15:00 - 3 minutes - 4.2 MB

Wealth isn't about taking something from somebody else—it's about creating abundance for the world. • Ethical wealth creation makes abundance for the world 0:00 • Everyone can be wealthy 1:28 Transcript: http://nav.al/ethical-wealth

Seek Wealth, Not Money or Status

March 05, 2019 14:00 - 6 minutes - 6.69 MB

The difference between wealth, money and status. • Wealth is assets that earn while you sleep 0:56 • Money is how we transfer wealth 2:28 • Status is your rank in the social hierarchy 3:08 Transcript: https://nav.al/seek-wealth This is the first interview between Naval and Nivi on How to Get Rich. These interviews are based on Naval's tweetstorm at https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002103360646823936.

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