38 Weeks to Get Rich
Welcome to the “38 Weeks to Get Rich”, where each week we’ll break down a section from Naval’s iconic tweetstorm and interviews on the topics of wealth, freedom, money, status, and happiness.
The full PDF is available here.
What follows is my summary & key takeaways to help you digest the 127 page document.
Week 12: Partner With Rational Optimists
Don’t partner with cynics and pessimists. Their beliefs are self-fulfilling.
Rational & Optimistic.
To create things (businesses, opportunities, etc.), you have to be a rational optimist. Rational in the sense that you have to see the world for what it really is. And yet you have to be optimistic about your own capabilities, and your capability to get things done.
Don’t partner with someone who is consistently pessimistic, who will shoot down everything. The helpful critical person who thinks they’re being helpful, but actually being critical, and a downer on everything.
That person will not only fail to do anything great in their lives, they’ll prevent other people around them from doing something great.
Action Bias.
Successful people have a very strong action bias. They just do things. The easiest way to figure out if something is viable is by doing it. At least do the first step, and the second step, and the third, and then decide.
Optimism as Fuel for Big Dreams.
You’ve got one life on this planet. Why not try to build something big? It takes just as much effort to build something small as it does to build something big. The bodega shop owner and the CEO/Founder are both working 80hr weeks. But one of them chose to build something much bigger.
Maybe it was because of education or circumstances, but they didn’t get the chance to think as big, so the outcome is not as big. So, it’s just better to think big.
Obviously, rationally, within your means, stay optimistic.
We’re descended from pessimists.
We’re genetically hardwired to be pessimists. But modern society is far, far safer. There aren’t packs of wolves wandering around the streets. It’s very unlikely that you will end up in total ruin; although you should avoid total ruin.
It made sense to be pessimistic in the past. It makes sense to be optimistic today. Especially if you have the internet and a decent computer. Your upside is unlimited, and your downside is limited. So focus on the upside (optimist), no the possible loss (pessimist).
Avoiding Ruin
You need to avoid ruin. Ruin means stay out of jail, not avoid losing some money. So, don’t do anything that’s illegal. It’s never worth it to wear an orange jumpsuit. And stay out of total catastrophic loss. That could mean that you stay out of things that could be physically dangerous or cost your life.
And stay out of things that can cause you to lose all of your money, all of your savings. Don’t gamble everything on one go. Instead take rationally optimistic bets with big upside.
Next week we’ll cover chapter 13, and discuss how to Arm Yourself With Specific Knowledge.
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