Naval

@naval on X

Writes across topics. 100% of posts open with an observation. A typical post reaches 2,918 likes.

Remix their style

Posts: 21
Likes: 109K
Typical: 2.9K
Best: 13K

How they open

observation: 100%

Every post of theirs in the library

Naval@naval

Visit all the places, eat all the food, read all the books, make all the friends, gather all the fame, support all the causes, build all the products, earn all the money... ...to see that the quality of your life is what it is when you are doing nothing.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

The modern struggle Lone individuals summoning inhuman willpower, fasting, meditating, and exercising, up against armies of scientists & statisticians weaponizing abundant food, screens, & medicine into junk food, clickbait news, infinite porn, endless games & addictive drugs.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

It doesn’t matter if open source software is developed by the CCP, the NSA, the Jews, ISIS, MAGA, ANTIFA, or the Illuminati. It’s open source - just audit and run it yourself. They can send me gold bricks too, as long as they’re at it.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

People with “founder mentality” can’t rest once a problem or opportunity is identified. They take on personal responsibility without complaint, learn and recruit skills as needed, and deliver results despite politics. There is unlimited global demand for founder mentality.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Lasting novels don’t come from literature departments. Successful businesses don’t come from business schools. Scientific revolutions don’t come from research universities. Get your education, then get moving. Find the loners tinkering at the edge.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

When building habits, choose consistency over content. The best book is the one you can’t put down. The best exercise is the one you enjoy doing every day. The best health food is the one you find tasty. The best work is the work you’d do for free.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

In physical domains (diet, workouts), consistency is king. In intellectual and social domains, wins are rare, sudden, and nonlinear - 99% of effort is “wasted.” Once we find our ideal spouse, career, friends, we realize how much time we squandered by not moving on sooner.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Modern society will shame you for earning money, shame you for being happy, shame you for being raised well, shame you for having children, and ultimately, shame you for existing. It isn’t just religion that controls you by declaring you a sinner.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Investors have different incentives than founders. What investors often look for in a “great” founder is irrational behavior that the investor doesn’t engage in themselves. I.e., 80-hour weeks for 10 years, passing up a big acquisition to go for broke, zero diversification.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Universities artificially limit the number of graduates, keep tuition prices high, and provide just enough financial aid to qualify as non-profits. This enables the real business model - returns on massive endowments, compounding tax-free, and earning far more than tuition.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Learn to sell, learn to build. Learn both and you will be unstoppable. It’s easier for a builder to learn sales than for a seller to learn building. Builders have to constantly refresh their skills. Sales skills scale better over time as companies grow. t.co

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

A firm is just a "nexus of contracts." Payroll contracts with employees, profit contracts with shareholders, debt contracts with lenders, delivery contracts with customers, tax contracts with the state. Blockchain-based "smart" contracts will eventually reinvent the firm.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

“You can escape competition through authenticity, when you realize that no one can compete with you on being you. That would have been useless advice pre-internet. Post-internet, you can turn that into a career.” t.co

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Money is energy, one step removed. We will always expend energy to obtain it, distribute it, and secure it, whether it’s via aircraft carriers, central bankers or data centers. The energy expenditure can be masked but not removed. Someone will spend 99 cents to take a dollar.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Online payments will follow password storage and contacts to become a core mobile OS feature, rather than remain with third parties. Sensors, biometrics, and browser integration all reduce fraud, increase convenience, and enable new features. Software eats consumer banking.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

The profile picture is the logo for your Twitter brand. Pick a unique picture that's recognizable from a distance, and don't change it. It'll stand out in a pile of mentions and allow busy accounts to notice and remember you.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Specific knowledge can't be taught, but can be learned. Knowledge that gets you paid. Identify your strengths and apply them to what you care about. Iterate at the edge of knowledge. Building it will feel like play to you, but look like work to others. t.co

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

VCs and universities are both in the business of hunting black swans. They filter the applicant funnel, brand selected candidates, and harvest the winners rep to further enlarge the funnel. @ycombinator ‘s genius was to use the older, optimized university system to mechanize VC.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Doctors intervene & replace small, clear, present problems with large, hazy, future problems Pharma studies bundle slightly ill & very ill to expand definition of ill (statistical gerrymandering) Researchers repeat experiments (without reporting failures) until desired results

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

Holding developers liable for code will fail. Open source is built in layers and blocks, often submitted by anonymous contributors. Who's liable, the final assembler? You can't sue an idea whose time has come.

Opens with an observation

Naval@naval

"They need intelligence or they’ll head in the wrong direction. They need energy because the world is full of smart, lazy people. And they need integrity or you’ll have a smart and hard working crook, who’ll eventually cheat you." t.co

Opens with an observation