Renowned investor Naval Ravikant says authenticity is the simplest way to "escape competition" and has even summed it up as a surefire way to achieve success in life.
Naval Ravikant’s Mantra To Ensure ‘Less Competition’
Ravikant, in a conversation with Chris Williamson on "Modern Wisdom" in March this year, said, “The more you do things that are natural to you, the less competition you have… You escape competition through authenticity… by being your own self.”
He boiled success into a mantra, stating, "If I had to summarize how to be successful in life in two words, I would just say productize yourself." His instruction was clear. "Just figure out what it is that you naturally do that the world might want, that you can scale up and turn into a product," said Ravikant.
Career Discovery As A Search Function
"It'll eventually be effortless for you… Yes, there's always work required, but it won't even feel like work to you. It'll feel like play to you," he added.
To get there, he urged a "search function," which he goes on to explain as the “exploration before diving into exploitation" phase. His simple three-point step to getting through that exploration phase is "find the people who need you the most; find the work that needs you the most; and find the place you're best suited to be at."
Premature Commitment In A World Of Choice
However, Ravikant also warns against locking in too soon. "The biggest mistake in a world with so many choices is premature commitment," he explains. If you've sunk years into the wrong lane, he advised a reset, stating, "The best time to figure that out was before, but the second best time is now. So just change it."
Others echo the spirit. Mark Cuban pushes doing what you like. "Love what you do or don't do it," he says and tells his kids to "just try different things." His former Shark Tank colleague Kevin O'Leary, similarly, calls passion-powered work "never work."
Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos also says "high standards are fun," adding that fresh ideas often keep energizing routine effort.
Photo Courtesy: Studio Romantic on Shutterstock.com
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