Naval Ravikant Tweets on Success and Wealth
“The ultimate purpose of money is, ‘you don’t have to be in any specific place at any specific time, doing anything you don’t want to do.'” – Naval Ravikant
“Seek wealth, not money or status. Wealth is having assets that earn while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Status is your place in the social hierarchy.”
Naval draws a clear distinction between what we say we want, and what we actually want. When people seek success, most of the time it is the lifestyle that they seek, not the actual money. If lifestyle is the aim, then security is the objective. Security is found through the diversification of assets (real estate, index funds, equity in a company, a business, affiliates, etc.). True wealth is about knowing that you always have enough to be okay, that you don’t have to worry. That is why Naval says wealth is about having assets that earn while you sleep — your money is not tied to you. It does not stop coming if you decide to take a vacation, or sleep in an extra hour.
Money, or rather cash, is the liquid version of wealth. It is how we acknowledge and trade value. There is no inherent value in money. Money is what we make it. With that said, money, in and of itself, as an ambition, is very limiting. A person’s ambition needs to be about more than just money.
Status has nothing to do with wealth nor money. It is just about the way that other people perceive you. Money as an ambition is too limiting, and so is status. Status confines you to societal norms. It is inconsistent and provides no real internal fulfillment.
“Understand that ethical wealth creation is possible. If you secretly despise wealth, it will elude you”.
Hating wealth is a waste of time. It’s not wealth that compels a person to act selfishly. Wealth is not innately good or bad. It is morally neutral. Wealth is an amplifier. If you decide to be an altruistic person, you will be capable of more altruism. If, on the other hand, you would rather cling to your riches, your greed becomes magnified. I would also like to note that greed and altruism should not simply be measured by non-profit donations. Instead of only thinking about altruism in terms of money, I think we should begin to think about giving in terms of making things better. In my opinion, an ethical company is not necessarily a company that donates the largest sum, rather it is a company that improves the lives of its communities — work communities, local communities, consumer communities, etc.I don’t think altruism should be confined to money donated. True altruism lies in desiring and investing in lasting improvement.
“Ignore people playing status games. They gain status by attacking people playing wealth creation games.”
This is great advice. Recognize you’re playing a different game than other people, and stop competing. Life is not a zero-sum game. The more that people win in life, the better the world becomes. Instead of fearing the scarcity of success, focus on creating more success.
“You’re not going to get rich renting out your time. You must own equity – a piece of a business – to gain your financial freedom.”
If you want to maximize your ability to make money, your income should not be directly tied to the work you do, nor the limited amount of time in the day. Building true wealth is about investing your time into long-lasting, efficient systems that can run properly without much effort. Within a business, you do not have to be limited by your humanity. You have the compounded effort of many people working with you, as well as access to technologies that allow you to be more efficient.
Ownership increases incentive. In the future, I believe there may be a better way to increase employee ownership over a company… For now, though, equity can either be sought through stock market investing, becoming an accredited investor, or creating a business.
“You will get rich by giving society what it wants but does not yet know how to get. At scale.”
With the use of social media, digital marketing, and the plethora of technologies, scaling is easier than it has ever been. You just have to learn how to utilize those technologies.
Society has a lot of pain points — areas that bring about unnecessary frustration. Find solutions for those frustrations. That is where the opportunity lies. You need to choose a platform that fits the solution you are solving, and could aptly address your target market. For example, you wouldn’t start a Facebook group if you were trying to reach Gen-Z.
“Pick an industry where you can play long-term games with long-term people.”
You want to scale in an industry that is not merely a fad. Fidget spinners are an example of a bad long-term industry. They came and went. Investing your time and energy into fads will just waste the time you could use elsewhere. Time is your most valuable asset.
When you choose an industry, the goal is to pick something that can adapt to changing environments. If it’s not adaptable, it will eventually become inconsequential. Another factor to consider is your personal development; you do not want to have to fear the inflexibility of a field. You want to choose something that can grow with you, and that will also allow you to grow.
“The internet has massively broadened the possible space of careers. Most people haven’t figured this out yet.”
This has to do with fear. There is comfort within the norm, and there is ambiguity inside of the internet. The predictability of a 9-to-5 is almost worth the stagnancy.
If you could do anything, and you knew you wouldn’t fail, would you still choose the path you’re on right now?