Radical honesty means being free to say what you think and think what you say, being highly congruent and integrated. Inauthenticity disconnects you from reality and leads to the wrong path. Honesty is important, but it doesn't mean volunteering negative or nasty things. Combining radical honesty with Warren Buffett's rule of praising specifically and criticizing generally can make a difference in life. By criticizing the general approach or class of activities instead of the person, egos and identities are not threatened and can work for you.
Naval Ravikant is the CEO and co-founder of AngelList. He’s invested in more than 100 companies, including Uber, Twitter, Yammer, and many others.
It’s difficult to nail down exactly what we discuss in our conversation because I had so many questions to ask him. Naval is an incredibly deep thinker who challenges the status quo on so many things. This is an interview you’ll want to listen to, think a bit, and then listen to again.
Here are just a few of the many things we cover in this episode:
- What a “typical day” looks like (not the answer I expected, and not one you’ve likely heard before)
- How Naval developed his legendary reading habits and how he finds time to read no matter how busy life gets
- How the internet has impacted book reading (both good and bad) and how to make sure you’re getting the best information from the most reliable sources
- What popular habit advice Naval thinks is BS and why
- Naval’s habit stacking technique that helped him overcome a desire for alcohol and other potentially destructive habits
- How Naval’s core values give direction to his life and how those values developed over time
- Naval’s thoughts on the current education system and what we can do to facilitate better learning for our children
- Naval’s favorite mental models for making critical high-stakes decisions
- His brilliant two-factor calendar authentication concept to keep him focused on only the most important projects
- Naval’s definition for the meaning of life (buckle up for this one)
- His amazing response to the investor who wanted to be just like Steve Jobs
And so, so much more.
Just a heads up, this is the longest podcast I’ve ever done. While it felt like only thirty minutes, our conversation lasted over two hours!
And although it is the longest, it’s also our most downloaded episode on the Knowledge Project, so make sure you have a pen and paper handy. There’s a lot of wisdom up for grabs here.
Enjoy this amazing conversation.
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