Naval Ravikant on Happiness Hacks and the 5 Chimps Theory
Naval Ravikant By Kris Krüg | CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
“I actually think happiness is the absence of suffering. It comes from peace. That comes from being careful about desire, judgment, and reaction.” – Naval Ravikant
When a guest is nominated for “Podcast of the Year,” that’s usually a good sign to bring them to the show for more. That’s why Naval Ravikant (@naval) is back, and this time, he’s answering your questions. For those of you that missed round 1, Naval is the CEO and a co-founder of AngelList. He has invested in more than 100 companies, including more than a few “unicorn” mega-successes.
Maybe most importantly, he has developed a diverse set of skills and knowledge that are invaluable. Even if you have no interest in startups or investing, this will be well worth your time. In this episode, Naval answers your top 10 questions from Reddit, including topics such as:
Artificial intelligence
Most recommended books
Happiness hacks
Conflict resolution
Startup tips
And much, much more…
Enjoy these fascinating insights from Naval.
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as”.
Want to hear another podcast from a world class philosopher-entrepreneur? — Listen to my conversation with Derek Sivers. In this episode, we discuss developing confidence, finding happiness, and saying “no” to multi-million dollar exits (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last 2 years and now has more than $2.5B under management. In fact, some of my good investor friends in Silicon Valley have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.
Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim.
This podcast is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “if you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. Get 50% off your order at Athletic Greens.com/Tim.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: In terms of making or saving money, what are your biggest frustrations or areas where you struggle most? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Enjoy!
Selected Links from the Episode
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It and Live Your Truth by Kamal Ravikant
Distress by Greg Egan
by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson
Genome, The Red Queen, The Rational Optimist, The Origins Of Virtue and The Evolution Of Everything by Matt Ridley
The Essential Writings by Mahatma Gandhi and Judith Brown
The Tao of Philosophy by Alan Watts
Illusions by Richard Bach
The Bed of Procrustes by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track by Richard Feynman
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Falling into Grace by Adyashanti
God’s Debris and How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes
Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel M. Ingram
Total Freedom by Jiddu Krishnamurti
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
The Lessons of History by Will Durant and Ariel Durant
Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Gordon Livingston
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Do you need help with your US visa? Check out Unshackled
Show Notes
Thoughts on the AI industry [6:41]
The future of work [9:26]
An overview of how Naval would change the education system [14:51]
How Naval Ravikant manages conflict and anger [22:05]
What insight about life seems obvious to you but not to others [23:47]
The books on Naval Ravikant’s Kindle [29:46]
What do you do on a regular basis to make your life more efficient? [38:43]
More book recommendations [40:55]
Money making questions and startup success [43:08]
Advice for ambitious 18-year-olds who want to be successful in startups and investing [46:34]
Advice for a talented software engineer [48:52]
Advice for engineers seeking US visas [51:02]
How do you protect your own time while not offending people or damaging relationships [51:45]
The best lesson learned from investing [57:25]
People Mentioned
Charlie Munger
T. Boone Pickens
