The Almanac of Naval Ravikant - A Guide to Wealth and Happiness (my first book of 2023)

The perfect book to start the year. My original intention this year; as a sort of resolution anyways, even though I don't do resolutions, was to read more books this year. I planned on reading a book each week of the year, summing up to about 52 books but I think it is safe to say I failed woefully, lol. I started well, but then ironically, the first book of the year(the above), had a portion about reading books out of curiosity and interest and not just trying to achieve some vain metric. I actually know this, but I wanted to read more, but then I settled to reading at my own pace while enjoying the book, and if I find the book uninteresting, I abandon it. Well, I finished this one and I am Glad I did.

Naval Ravikant is the founder and CEO of angel list. He was born in Delhi, India, and raised by a singer mother with his brother after his parents split up. At a young age, his family moved to the United States where he attended an IVY League school and studied computer science and economics. He has since then risen up the ranks through different investments and startups, with a number of accolades to his name. He has a podcast and runs a blog; and also his Twitter account where he shares his insights and thoughts. This book was actually written by someone who encountered him on social media and thought it would be ideal to have all his recent ideas compiled into one place- an Almanac.

After a significant encounter with Naval Ravikant, the author, Eric Jorgenson decided to compile all the thoughts and ideas of Naval from recent years, into a book for easy access. He compiled this as a form of public service as tweets and other content can easily get lost and buried in this generation of information overload. This book is a gem for posterity. Naval Ravikant is a wealthy and successful entrepreneur and throughout recent years he has shared his knowledge with the public. His apt and insightful takes and philosophy on life are profound and very practical and one could learn a lot from them. His works have the potential to change someone's life. He is famous for his ideas on wealth creation and simple but effective ways of leading a happy life

It is only just the beginning of the second month of 2023 and this is already one of the best books of 2023 for me. So there is an idea that self-help books are stale and boring with a load of crap, and that they usually have just one great idea which is buried inside a ton of irrelevant words and that is not entirely wrong. Its the main reason people usually don't read the self-help genre. Its cliche and generic information can be very irrelevant sometimes. But in recent times, we have seen some standout self-help books. Ones that defied narrative and proved that there is more to the self-help genre. Books like Subtle art of not giving a f*ck by Mark Manson, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Think and grow rich by Napoleon Hill, how to win friends and influence others by Dale Carnegie. etc. One thing all these books have in common is their practicality. The fact that they have actionable plans and nuggets. The Almanac of Naval Ravikant also shares this same feature. What truly makes it unique is that it is a compilation of thoughts of one person, by another. This means these were nuggets of wisdom from different sources, summed into one whole gem. It's like assembling a robot. You get all the best parts from the finest craftsman to produce the ultimate Zeus. The book is littered with so many words of wisdom and ideas that I can't even begin to write them. One of my favorites is this;

A true Gem of a book. I'd rate it a solid 4.6 out of 5 and I will strongly recommend it to all and sundry. It's a book you can consult at any point in your life due to its specific and straight-to-the-point nature. I will be completing the above book next so stay tuned for my next share. Till next time. Cheers.