My takes and lessons on The Angel Philosopher with Naval Ravikant

In this wide-ranging interview, AngelList CEO Naval Ravikant and Shane Parrish, talk about Reading, Happiness, Decision Making, Habits, and Mental Models.

Build the habit of reading - Books are investments, not expenses. You’ll find the good reads for you. You should aim for reading from which you’ll learn new things.
Habits are what they are - They allow to background things, good or bad. Step back time to time to reevaluate.

👉 Make habits deliberate


Deprogramming a habit (they speak of alcohol - available & desireable) - Once the habit unpacked, it’s easier.
Deprogramming a habit takes a pattern - Take other strong good habits that will weaken the first one. Also, a layer of « why » will help become conscious of it.


Naturally, you want to set yourself in a position to avoid a bad habit.
Best habit for @naval:morning workout. So much good implications (health, alcohol, sleep) - it’s a number one priority, above everything else.


Happiness - is an evolving thing. Naval was seeing it as a « default state »- when nothing’s missing.
I’d say that’s a litteral Epicurian state. Epicure used to call it « tetrapharmakon ». Things are perfect the way they are. Perfection is reality.

Taking decisions - is a matter of priorities and focus. To be more effective is to focus in the moment, lose yourself in the moment. Don’t waste energy #awareness


👉 You’re more than a mind - you’re a body - a level of awareness


We live too much in this eternal monologue in our heads, pushed by society.
We should work on controlling on our moods. The mind is a muscle and can be trained.
How great would it be to be able to do genuinely smtg like:
- « I want to be in a curious state. »
- *curious mode on*


The first thing to realize : notice that you can observe you own mental state. In that, there’s liberation.


Values - is a set of things you would not compromise on.
Compounding - Work on long-term things. Health, love, relationships.
Honesty - it starts with yourself. You’re the easiest person you can fool.
A regret shared - do things with less emotions. Less anger.

👉 Do things with a long-term view and remove emotion out of it


Life is a single player game - even if we’re social creatures.
Stick to reliable and experimental science. Avoid macro-economics, which are abstract political patterns applied to societies. Game Theory and Micro-Economics are essential though.


Future & singularity - We (humans) only started to scratch the surface of nature. We can’t model complex systems. We can’t tell the weather next week. A lot of chronic diseases are still not cured.
To believe we’re going to a world a perfection thanks to tech is far-fetched. (AI)


Instead of predict or worry on the future, be grateful of the present. Be in the moment - there’s nothing (or nowhere) else to be, for your body and your mind. For your awareness.


Education - should be about learning the basics over and over. We don’t teach cooking, meditation, health, nutrition, happiness. Maybe we should.
Project - create a cheap and solid android tablet with langages and learning apps pre-installed. Then distribute them around the world


Average - if you wan’t to perform above average, don’t do like everyone else.
Decision making - build principles and mental models. Read Munger, Taleb, Evolution, Game Theory. Being successful is about avoiding bad judgements.
If ethical was profitable, every one would do it.

👉 Be the best version of yourself while working the least hard possible.


👉 Be worthy of worth.
👉 Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life.


Preconceived notions clouds us from the reality. When you’re in pain, then you can change and progress through the truth. Put you ego aside.

👉 Be skeptical


Two factor authentication - « Present me » commits to « Future me ». « Future me » is always more dynamic (so true!)
Either write down to the commit - or more extreme - don’t.


Common mistake: You’re not gonna be happier thanks to external circumstances (back to Epicure again :) ) - that’s delusional.
Meaning of life - find your piece of wisdom. There’s none. You’re dead for the history of universe. Everything you do will fade. Create your own meaning.

👉 If there was a meaning of life, we’d ask why.


After life, it will be just like before you’re born! Remember that?

Auteur : 
Mehdi BOUFOUS
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