I have always been vigilant against Bibles like the "Treasure Book of Wealth" and "Tips of Success Studies". Most of the books that sell their dreams under the banner of success theory are just selling anxiety. But I prefer to read works that can deeply analyze the logic behind the phenomenon and truly help us see the underlying laws of the world.
At first, I thought "Naval Book" was just a beautifully packaged "wealth secret book", but I read it once before because of the word of mouth, and I reread it again these days. This book is truly unique - it does not provide ready-made answers, but reveals the underlying logic about wealth and happiness. These logics hit people's hearts and even subvert our traditional perception of wealth, time and freedom. The following are some reflections after reading this book.
1. There is no shortcut to getting rich, leverage is the key to wealth freedom.
There is no shortcut to getting rich quickly in the world. If so, then you become a part of commodity trading - those who want to get rich sell you "Tips on Get Rich" to make money. True financial freedom requires time, concentration and wisdom, especially a deep understanding of the "leverage effect", rather than what we understand as "hard work to get rich". Diligence does not necessarily lead to wealth, and hard work is not a sufficient condition for getting rich.
What is leverage? Capital, self-media, code, etc. are all leverage. We cannot get rich through hard work, but we can amplify our own value through these levers to get rewards.
For 996 in the current workplace, it can never break the shackles of "time for money".
2. Become an irreplaceable person.
Develop expertise and become an irreplaceable person. A fact is mentioned repeatedly in this book: skills that can be trained will eventually be replaced by society.
If we can learn what we can do through a training class, then we are "replicable", and replicable is not worth the money.
The book suggests to be a creator and create unique value. Whether it is writing, programming, or artistic creation, the key lies in outputting the scarce value that "society cannot obtain". In other words, our irreplaceable abilities determine our wealth ceiling.
Although society does not owe us anything, we must have unique value. Only by cultivating your own expertise and digging deep into those abilities that are difficult to replace can you have a higher wealth ceiling.
3. Scarcity value and scale capability.
Wealth comes from providing society with what it needs but cannot obtain. This thing may be a certain product, or a certain skill or service, but the key is scale. The scarier the value provided, the more market it has; the more likely things that can be scaled will bring exponential returns.
Looking at the present moment, if what you do has no compound interest effect, then the road to wealth freedom is still far. Because the accumulation of wealth is not linear, but depends on the compound interest effect.
4. True freedom is inner freedom.
True freedom is inner freedom. This is a point in the book. Happiness does not come from the applause from the outside world, but from the peace of mind.
Money can solve most problems, but not all problems. Money and happiness are not directly positively related. Money itself is not guilty, but the only thing that is guilty is greed for money. Because greed is a bottomless pit that will always occupy our hearts and make us unable to extricate ourselves. The way to get rid of money greed is to "reduce desire." Even if you make money, don’t “consumption upgrade”.
5. Leverage thinking and compound interest effect.
We all need to have leverage thinking. As mentioned above, capital, self-media, code, etc. are all leverage. Causes related to these (not the same as current jobs) all have leverage effects and compound interest effects.
The author of the book also divides the work in the world into two categories: work with leverage and work without leverage. A leveraged job is to amplify value through technology, capital or creativity, such as writing a bestseller, developing a software. Work without leverage depends on physical strength or repetitive labor, such as takeaway delivery or factory assembly line.
If you really want to pursue financial freedom, you must work hard and combine leverage and direction, not just relying on physical strength and time.
6. Regarding time management.
Set a high hourly salary for yourself, and then judge how to allocate time based on this hourly salary. If the return brought by something is lower than this hourly salary, don’t do it; if the outsourcing cost is lower than this hourly salary, then outsourcing.
This way of time management helps us spend time on things that are really important, rather than wasting on low-value trivial matters.
7. Stay away from negative energy.
Don't work with cynical and negative pessimistic people. Such people not only affect efficiency, but also use their own negative energy to drag down our mentality. Usually their prophecies will be fulfilled.
For us, whether it is thinking or working, a positive attitude and thinking are very important. Rejecting negative circles is the best investment in your future.
In fact, many of the views in this book seem to be very cold, but they reveal the fig leaf of many phenomena in society. He tells us that wealth is not obtained through hard work, but by wisdom, creation and concentration. Happiness is not given by the outside world, but chosen by oneself.
Life is a long-term race, and direction is more important than speed. Instead of pursuing short-term interests, it is better to cultivate scarce abilities and learn to use leverage to amplify your own value. Ultimately, financial freedom is just a tool, and the real goal is freedom in life.