Wealth, Freedom and Timeless Leverage
Timeless wisdom for the dreamers and resilient ones, inspired by Naval Ravikant
I recently revisited a book that continues to shape my thinking -'The Almanack of Naval Ravikant’ by Eric Jorgenson.
It’s a distilled collection of timeless wisdom from one of the most thoughtful and successful angel investors of our time.
This post is inspired by Naval’s philosophy because it resonates deeply with me.
I see reflections of my own journey in his words. And I have a feeling... you just might too.
Real wealth reveals itself not in the moment of transaction, but in the space between effort and ease - in the quiet compounding that continues to happen while you sleep.
Wealth is a long-term game.
It hums in the background.
It multiplies in silence.
Yet most of us grow up with a different narrative:
That money earned = hours worked. That success must be seen to be believed. That climbing the corporate ladder is the only way up. That status is the prize.
We’re taught to walk a straight, linear path - anything else feels risky, even wrong.
These beliefs are stitched into us by society. For generations, we’ve followed a script: School for twelve years, University (Grad + Masters), then a job that slowly consumes our best energy. We trade time for money, year after year, in hopes of reaching that distant summit called retirement where, finally, we believe we’ll earn our freedom.
Silently, we conform. And without realizing it, we postpone the life we truly want, hoping we can buy it back later with the time we’ve already spent.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with following a conventional path and having a job especially if it brings you meaning, joy and contentment. But most of us aren’t just working for passion; we’re also working for money ! And if that’s the case, shouldn’t we also ask: Is there a better way to build wealth? And we can always be doing conventional stuff + a bit of thrill.
Well, here’s the truth I’m beginning to understand, the people who quietly build systems, assets, and engines are the ones who eventually own their time. While others trade minutes for money, they’re playing an entirely different game.
They’re laying foundations that don’t pay off immediately, but compound quietly - just like smart investments that mature over time.
Think about how we approach financial instruments: some are short-term, others take years to bear fruit, depending on risk and return.
In Naval’s world, that long game is venture capital where investments can take 5 to 7 years (or more) before delivering results.
He made legendary early bets in over 200 companies including Twitter, Uber, and Yammer and watched those seeds multiply over time.
But is Naval saying everyone should become a VC?
Not at all. He’s inviting us to ask deeper questions.
He’s nudging us to step outside the narrow lens of hours worked = salary earned and instead ask:
What can I build that will earn while I sleep?
What leverage do I have?
Where can I play the long game?
Wealth is freedom.
It’s the ability to wake up and choose your day.
It’s owning something - a product, a book, a business, a codebase that continues to work when you don’t.
Seek Wealth, Not Status: A Personal Reframe
For years, I stayed entangled in a loop where I believed money = hours worked.
As an ambitious MBA student, all I dreamt of was working at an investment bank. It felt like the ultimate prize - prestige, success, and the "right" kind of hustle. I didn’t question it. After all, you’re free to doubt the wisdom of a 21-year-old. I certainly do, in hindsight.
At the time, wealth to me meant money earned. Salary credited! Maybe some savings. A few mutual funds. A few deposits in a bank.
But I didn’t yet understand wealth. Not really.
Yes, I saved. I tried to be prudent. But my money wouldn’t grow unless I invested. And back then, I didn’t know what that truly meant beyond financial products.
What I did begin to sense, though, was this:
Systematic wealth creation is an art.
It's not a stroke of luck. It’s something you can craft deliberately and it looks different for everyone.
Money is a tool - a means, not an end.
It’s a way to store time. A medium to exchange value. But if all you ever do is chase money, you stay on the treadmill, always running, never arriving.
You spend your brightest energy collecting tokens, not building engines.
Wanting to be seen as someone successful, I never paused to ask: Is this the life I truly wanted to lead?
Turns out, not quite.
Burnout was my wake-up call.
At one point, the long hours and toxic culture caught up with me.
The burnout was brutal. Work felt soulless. Days blurred.
I remember thinking:
Is this it? Is this the best I can do with my life?
Can I elevate it? Restart it? Change the script entirely?
And then, something unexpected happened.
A breakdown. A disruption.
The kind of moment that feels like a collapse but is, in truth, a quiet rebirth.
Back then, it looked like silent tears and unanswered questions.
Today, in retrospect, I’m grateful.
And here’s one of Naval’s sharpest insights on status:
“Ignore people playing status games. They gain status by attacking people playing wealth creation games.”
Status games reward performance over substance. They’re built on zero-sum ladders where someone has to lose for you to win.
But in wealth creation, value compounds and everyone can win.
But wealth creation is a positive-sum game.
When you create value, everyone can win.
Money follows value. And value, when done right, multiplies.
So if you're building something new - a startup, a product, a newsletter, a creative practice, book, media :
You’re playing the long game.
Stay consistent. Stay grounded.
Don't let the noise become your narrative.
Wealth is liberation.
It's not luxury for its own sake.
It’s freedom to choose your hours, your projects, your life.
To wake up without dread. To create with intent. To live, truly live, on your own terms.
You only get one life. Let’s lead it well.
Reframe Your Energy:
Chase value. Optimize for compounding.
Ask - How do I build something valuable, repeatable, and scalable?
Create - Build something so true to you, so unique to your insight and energy, that it’s difficult to replicate.
If you’ve ever felt caught in the wrong game, maybe this is your nudge to begin again.
I’d love to hear your journey. Share your story, your thoughts, your version of “freedom” in the comments.
100% agree. Wish I had more to invest for the future, but im working on it.
Health and Freedom are the key words that reflect human being wealth. All the rest comes and goes