The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
In The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, Eric Jorgenson distills Naval’s most enduring ideas on wealth, happiness, and living with intention. Through Naval’s reflections, we’re reminded that clarity, self-knowledge, and deliberate choice are what lead to a truly meaningful life. The excerpts below reflect his belief that freedom is built from the inside out, and that a thoughtful mind and well-designed habits can shape an extraordinary future.
Quotes to Consider from The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
“Spend more time making the big decisions. There are basically three really big decisions you make in your early life: where you live, who you’re with, and what you do.”
“Retirement is when you stop sacrificing today for an imaginary tomorrow. When today is complete, in and of itself, you’re retired.”
“My definition of wisdom is knowing the long-term consequences of your actions. Wisdom applied to external problems is judgment.”
“It’s really important to be able to uncondition yourself, to be able to take your habits apart and say… ‘Does it still serve me? Does it make me happier? Does it make me healthier? Does it make me accomplish whatever I set out to accomplish?’”
“There are no permanent solutions in a dynamic system.”
“If you can’t decide, the answer is no.”
“A happy person isn’t someone who’s happy all the time. It’s someone who effortlessly interprets events in such a way that they don’t lose their innate peace.”
“The most important trick to being happy is to realize happiness is a skill you develop and a choice you make. You choose to be happy, and then you work at it. It’s just like building muscles. It’s just like losing weight. It’s just like succeeding at your job. It’s just like learning calculus. You decide it’s important to you.”
“You always have three options: you can change it, you can accept it, or you can leave it. What is not a good choice is to sit around wishing you would change it but not changing it, wishing you could leave it but not leaving it, and not accepting it.”
“Inspiration is perishable—act on it immediately.”