Eric-Jorgenson The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant indd

Do you agree with the idea “If you read what everybody else is 
reading, you’re going to think what everyone else is thinking”?
I think almost everything that people read these days is 
designed for social approval. [4]
I know people who have read one hundred regurgitated books 
on evolution and they’ve never read Darwin. Think of the 
number of macroeconomists out there. I think most of them 
have read tons of treatises in economics but haven’t read any 
Adam Smith.
At some level, you’re doing it for social approval. You’re doing 
it to fit in with the other monkeys. You’re fitting in to get along 
with the herd. That’s not where the returns are in life. The 
returns in life are being out of the herd.
Social approval is inside the herd. If you want social approval, 
definitely go read what the herd is reading. It takes a level of 
contrarianism to say, “Nope. I’m just going to do my own thing. 
Regardless of the social outcome, I will learn anything I think 
is interesting.”
Do you think there’s some loss aversion there? Because once 
you diverge, you’re not sure if you’re diverging toward a pos-
itive outcome or a negative outcome?
Absolutely. I think that’s why the smartest and the most suc-

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186 · T H E A L M A N A C K O F N A V A L R A V I K A N T
cessful people I know started out as losers. If you view yourself 
as a loser, as someone who was cast out by society and has no 
role in normal society, then you will do your own thing and 
you’re much more likely to find a winning path. It helps to 
start out by saying, “I’m never going to be popular. I’m never 
going to be accepted. I’m already a loser. I’m not going to get 
what all the other kids have. I’ve just got to be happy being me.”
For self-improvement without self-discipline, update your 
self-image.
Everyone’s motivated at something. It just depends on the thing. 
Even the people that we say are unmotivated are suddenly really 
motivated when they’re playing video games. I think motivation 
is relative, so you just have to find the thing you’re into. [1]
Grind and sweat, toil and bleed, face the abyss. It’s all part 
of becoming an overnight success.