The Greatest Podcast Episode You Haven't Heard - Yet

I have a confession to make. My name is Jamie Jackson and I am a personal development junkie.

I've had a serious, self-help habit since 2014, and it shows no signs of abating.

It all started in the wake of my divorce, I was feeling low and vulnerable so I thought I’d try a bit of therapy, nothing hardcore, just the usual one on one stuff, once a week, out of curiosity.

Well, it turned out it was good; really good.

With my appetite whet, I moved onto group therapy, and that was even better. Looking back, I think that's when I became addicted. It had cleared my head and I felt great. I couldn't stop.

I went looking for another hit, something bigger, something new.

I found Tony Robbins performance coaching. I was on it for a year and even after I finished I started some sessions with a hypnosis coach to deal with limiting thought patterns.

It all just snowballed, you know? It didn’t feel like I was doing anything unusual, working on myself just became what I did.

To top up my habit I was reading books like ‘The Road Less Travelled’ by M Scott Peck, ‘Conversations with God’ by Neale Donald Walsh and ‘12 Rules for Life' by Jordan Peterson.

I stopped listening to music on my commute to work and started listening to podcasts. It’s not my fault, there was so much information, so much wisdom, I couldn’t help myself; Tim Ferriss, London Real, Impact Theory, James Altucher. The list goes on.

My addiction changed my life. I now understand myself more, I’m aware of my limitations, my anxieties, and my strengths. I’m finally pursuing my passion for stand up comedy and writing and even earning some money from them.

Life can still be hard of course, but these days, I feel like I'm fighting obstacles, rather than myself.

Oh, and I have another confession. One more secret for you.

Somehow, I’ve become a dealer. I keep trying to get other people hooked on self-help like I am. I push quotes and books on them and I extol the virtues of therapy. I've given people details of the coaches I used so they can try them too.

Don’t judge me, I’m not crazy or controlling, I just want to help.

In fact, I think I’ve got something that might help you. It’s a little podcast episode I want you to sample. It’s a freebie, let's call it a favour, I think it’ll make you feel great.

It’s an episode of a podcast called 'The Knowledge Project' run by Shane Parrish, who also writes the Farnam Street blog. He interviews angel investor Naval Ravikant. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of either of them, I hadn't a while ago, but I know my self-help and this podcast packs a punch.

There’s a link at the top of this page, why not give it a click.

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Ok, I get it. You’re not sure you want to spend a couple of hours of your precious time listening.

Look, Naval might be an investor but this podcast isn’t about investing. It’s about his philosophy on life. This guy’s a real big thinker.

Interviewer Shane Parrish digs deep on all aspects of Naval's thinking, and instead of this making for a fractured, scattergun conversation, Naval reveals some genuine coherent wisdom, touching upon vulnerability, ego, the chattering mind, decision making and happiness.

My friend, this is the Frost-Nixon of motivational podcasts, it's pound for pound the highest quality stuff you’re going to get your ears on.

There are some concepts in here that blew me away. The first was about how when we are young, we chase freedom to do things, but as we get older we need to learn to cultivate freedom from things, such as from jealousy or possessions.

The second concept is that in all forms of positive thinking there must be the seeds of negative thinking, else the thought itself cannot be positive - Positivity requires negativity to exist. 

Now I can tell you’re still not sold. Who does this Naval guy think he is anyway, right?

Well, he consistently shows he’s no guru by explaining his weaknesses. He finds reading books a chore and he rarely finishes any of them, and he confesses he finds meditation very difficult, just like you or me. It’s real down to earth, relatable stuff.

Still not convinced? I thought this might happen, so I’ve written a cheat sheet for you below, a bullet point guide to everything Naval says. I can't get more specific than this.

Take a look, breathe it in, then give the podcast a listen. And remember, if you want more good stuff, you know where to come.

But for now, here's what you're after. Enjoy your trip, brother.

Naval Ravikant Interview: Podcast Summary

Naval on Reading

• A book can cost as little as $10-$20 but can change your life

• Naval only reads 10% of books he buys because there are a lot of bad books to easily waste time on

• Most bad books have 1 point to make and then give endless examples

• Blogs are a great place for distilled wisdom and a good alternative to reading whole books

• Don’t worry about how you read, just do it every day because consistency breeds results

• On note-taking: Highlighting books isn’t really of benefit for Naval, so he posts his notes on his Twitter feed instead

Naval on Habits

• He says we all need habits to function as all humans are habitual

• Habits are good as you can unburden your thought processes

• Accumulate habits, bundle them up, attach them to ego and use them as your identity: “This is what I do”

• People who say they “don’t have time” just mean something isn't a priority for them

Naval on the Chattering Monkey Mind

• Puberty = onset of desire, so we are less present and desire more and at some point, this can get out of control

• We all talk to ourselves too much and replay life "movies" in our minds

• This thinking is good for long-range planning, but not happiness

• We can escape the mind by working out how to get into a flow state

• Naval doesn't believe in absolutes such as “never” and “always” as it’s not freeing, instead, he focuses on controlling desires

Naval on Happiness

• There is no single answer to happiness, only personal answers

• Happiness is the state where nothing is missing, not trapped by desire

• Happiness isn’t just positive thoughts as all positive thoughts have negative thoughts within them - it's duality

• Happiness is the absence of desire from external things and possessing a quieter mind and being more present

• Nature has no concept of happiness e.g. A tree isn't happy

• He tries to see the insignificance of the self so he can accept he can’t control life or hold unreasonable expectations for life

• The mind is awareness (presence) vs the monkey mind and we need to stay in awareness until the monkey mind is needed

• We don't want to let monkey mind run all the time because it is not us

• The monkey mind is made up of habitual pre-programmed reactions

• Our minds have been conditioned by society, but they can be reconditioned as the mind is a muscle that can be retrained

Naval on Values

• The definition of "values" are things you won’t compromise on

• We want to try to abandon anger as it’s not useful, anger means the person has issues to work through

• The best relationships are when each person's values line up

• Lying disconnects us from reality and is always a for us to lie to ourselves

• Praise specifically, but criticise generally

• His definition of freedom changed over time from “freedom to do what I like” to now being “freedom from internal emotions”

Naval on Mistakes

• He says in retrospect, he would have done everything he did anyway, just with less emotion

• Most things in life are really about our interpretation of them

• Everything he did and everything that was done to him is ok because now is a good moment so it all worked out

Naval on Controlling Thinking

• We all control our state but often use bio-active ingredients to do this

• “All man’s problems arise because he can’t sit by himself for 30 mins”

• We can observe our mental state through mediation, often this will help us recognise how out of control our mind is

• Don’t respond to bad events or feedback for 24 hours

• Learn to be happy internally, without external progress

• Life is a single-player game, all your memories and thoughts are alone and internal and within 3 generations you won't even be remembered

• Jealousy is personal poison as the person you’re jealous of isn’t even affected

• We all have to discover our own, personal answer

• Only the individual transcends, no one reaches enlightenment in a group, therefore internal work can be lonely work

Naval on Labels

• Labels we use don’t serve us - Don't identify as X or Y

• If all of your beliefs line up in neat bundles, you need to be suspicious of them

Naval on the Singularity

• Naval explains the singularity as the tipping point of technology and development of "general AI"

• The singularity will change the nature of who we are as humans

• He thinks it’s a fanciful idea and calls the singularity "a religion for nerds"

• It stops people living in the moment and instead has people waiting for the future

Naval on Education

• He says the current education system is outdated and is in part a form of day-care to control restless youths

• It comes from a time period when books and knowledge were rare

• The internet makes it easy to learn now

• School doesn’t matter for self-motivated students but it does have social value with peers

• Schools don't teach cooking, nutrition, relationships, meditation, happiness

• He likes studying rules of the universe (science) as a devotional practice to life

Naval on Fitting In

• He reads a lot of books that others will find reprehensible, just to get opposing views and wider opinions, this means he won't end up thinking like everyone else

• If you want a non-average outcome, you can’t just read socially approved texts

• Returns in life come from being out of the herd, not staying within it

• Don’t emulate, no-one in the world can beat you at being you

Naval on Decision Making

• If you make right decisions 10% more than most, you will be rewarded by the markets

• He says mental models are the key to good decision making but one mental model doesn’t apply to every situation

• Success is not always about being right but rather not making mistakes

• Systems over goals

• The monkey mind will cloud your judgment by having opinions on what life should be

Naval on Trusting People

• Observe how people treat other people - If someone talks about how they’re honest, they’re covering for something

• ‘The Art of Manipulation’ by R.B. Sparkman is worth a read

• Doing things you’re not proud of will create self-doubt and unhappiness

Naval on Sacrifice

• If you’re willing to make the short term sacrifice, you’ll have the long term benefit

• Easy choices mean a hard life, hard choices mean an easy life

Naval on Intelligence

• The smartest person can explain complex things to a child

• If you can’t break things down into their basic parts, then you don’t understand them

• Using big words to sound intelligent is just another form of dishonesty

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Thanks for reading. And remember, if you need any more good stuff, you know where to come.