Superpowers

“Health, love, and your mission, in that order. Nothing else matters.” – Naval Ravikant

Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur, philosopher, and investor who has captivated the world with his principles for building wealth and creating long-term happiness. I sought out Naval’s wisdom at the end of October, a time in my life that I was beginning to question my boundaries and purpose, going on month eight of working 90+ hour weeks in isolation.

As my mind cracked open with each snippet from The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, a curated collection of Naval’s insights from the last decade, the gap for me to explore these existential questions was quickly closing. The beginning of November marked a month-long sprint as we kicked off a six-billion-dollar transaction that would return millions to the firm and demand every second of my time and attention.

By the end of December, my “mission” (if we can even consider investment banking worthy of the word) was forced to top priority. 20 pounds lighter, too-many-to-count mental breakdowns later, I found myself alone and unrecognizable. This is not a victimization of a job that I signed up for, rather a reflection of how I lost myself and my motivation and resultingly made the decision to recalibrate my life because my order of health, love, and mission was essentially backwards.

I then began blaming myself entirely for what felt like a huge retrogression. Why have I struggled so terribly to find a healthy balance in my life? While the job demanded almost everything, it wasn’t impossible. People figured it out. After consulting with my other malnourished, miserable colleagues in the same boat, it became clear that we are not repellant to a healthy lifestyle rather we lack the habits that build the foundation for one and struggle to carve out time to do so. As Naval explains,

“Habits are everything we are – behaviors we learn and integrate into ourselves. A collection of thousands of habits constantly running subconsciously. We have a little bit of extra brainpower in our neocortex for solving new problems. You become your habits.”

This made sense to me. I was wearing away because my healthy habits were nonexistent, thus began my search for more time to build myself back up. Time is the most valuable resource we have. Arguably, it’s all we have. My unwavering goal has been to use my time to learn and feel motivated in that to continue learning and enjoy it. By the end of the year, my belief in the job had been replaced with motivation to find something that not only excited me again, but also paved the way to wealth and happiness.

It took me longer than it should have to remember that we can use our judgment to figure out what kinds of environments we can thrive in and that we have the autonomy to create that environment. Set up systems that allow you to succeed. Find work that feels like play. Act on inspiration for it is perishable.

Key word: Act. I quit my job two weeks ago to join a fintech startup in their investor relations and corporate development efforts. I start tomorrow, and for the first time in a long time, I have the excitement to learn and absorb in a different environment with new people that understand the importance of balance. Check.

There are two major superpowers that I took away from the Almanack that helped me jump: the ability to focus and the ability to change. The ability to singularly focus is related to the ability to lose yourself and be present, happy, and (ironically) more effective. We are more than our distractions, anxiety, whims, and desires (our so called “monkey minds”) and have the capacity to be mindful and still. An even greater power is the ability to look at oneself, reflect, and grow. Change has always been paralyzing, but in the more recent confusing and dark chapter of my life, it has proved to be liberating and healing. This year will not only mark the end of a chapter, but it will be the start of another book, accelerating the journey into a more balanced life, dedicated to heath, love, and my mission, in that exact order.