Smart Friends

It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.

I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.

You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here:

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ

Chapters:

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:43) - Heroes and inspirations

(00:07:14) - The rise of Chinese electric vehicles

(00:12:13) - The Tesla experience

(00:31:04) - Tesla's rapid development and industry impact

(00:32:54) - The culture of speed and frugality at Tesla

(00:34:10) - Elon's leadership and pressure tactics

(00:37:22) - Transitioning from Tesla to Waymo

(00:39:43) - Waymo's organizational structure and challenges

(00:43:35) - The future of autonomous vehicles

(00:54:34) - Founding Light Source and addressing procurement issues

(01:00:23) - Conclusion and final thoughts

Links:

LightSource - https://lightsource.ai/

Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spenpenn/

Preorder the Book of Elon - https://a.co/d/02huhEee

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

>> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners!

Quotes from Spencer:

“It was the most fun I never want to have again.” (Describing his time at Tesla during the Model 3 production ramp)

“The Model 3 seat feel is attuned directly to Elon’s butt.”

“I’m not an Elon fanboy, but I’m also not a critic. I’m an optimist.”

“Speed wins. After seeing both Tesla and Waymo, that’s my belief.”

“We were the underdog. Eventually, it does end up feeling like you’re on the winning team.”

“You couldn’t go into a meeting with Elon and show up empty-handed.”

“This opportunity we’re pursuing at LightSource should have disappeared 20 years ago.”

“ERP is the finance system of record. What’s Salesforce in reverse? That’s LightSource.”

“The thing that surprised me: every company still runs procurement on spreadsheets and email.”

“Tesla built their own ERP system from scratch. That’s not normal.”

“There are things that are just core to the P&L of every business… and yet completely orphaned in the tech stack.”

Title: #100 Interviewing Your Parents, Writing Through Fear, and One's First Book (Kyle Thiermann)

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:47) - The birth of a book: from idea to reality

(00:04:01) - A pandemic epiphany: interviewing my dad

(00:07:51) - The journey of a professional surfer and journalist

(00:10:48) - Writing a book: challenges and insights

(00:17:04) - The emotional depth of interviewing parents

(00:22:40) - Balancing humor and vulnerability in writing

(00:34:39) - Creating unique value in a book

(00:41:59) - The power of a good title

(00:44:31) - The importance of a book title

(00:49:10) - Balancing writing and marketing

(00:57:56) - Long-term marketing approach

(01:10:16) - Navigating the publishing process

(01:19:45) - Unexpected outcomes and reflections

Links:

One Last Question Before You Go - https://amzn.to/49JVWg2

Scribe Media - https://scribemedia.com/

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

>> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners!

Quotes from Kyle:

“The interview process can be a kind of empathy drug.”

“Write as if you are already dead.”

“The ideas that won't go away are the ones worth chasing.”

“I wanted to write the book that only I could write.”

“Most people live their lives being rewarded for having the right answer, not the right question.”

“Books are like malaria nets—people use them in ways you never expect.”

“If I tell you to interview your parents, I have to show you what happened when I did.”

“Marketing is an act of consideration and generosity.”

“A lot of how-to books could be a one-page PDF. I refused to do that.”

“Live events aren’t about selling books. They’re about making you feel like a winner as an author.”

“The best advertisers I know create a mood shift immediately.”

“Make fun of yourself. That’s how you earn the right to critique others.”

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:30) - Who are your heroes?

(00:09:26) - The infancy and evolution of Athena

(00:15:12) - Inflection points

(00:18:14) - Jonathan’s reasoning for going public with interviews

(00:20:08) - How do you pick countries to work in?

(00:22:41) - Who is the core Athena customer?

(00:28:09) - Jonathan’s 6 EAs

(00:32:13) - Surprising things Jonathan’s delegated

(00:35:42) - Broadening your scope of what’s possible with assistants

(00:42:05) - A day in the life with multiple EAs

(00:45:41) - Delegation within EAs

(00:50:31) - Family dynamics with EAs

(00:54:07) - The 2050 version of Athena

Links:

Athena - https://www.athena.com/

Rolling Fun — https://www.rolling.fun

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

>> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners!

We discuss:

How Jonathan developed calm under extreme startup pressure

Athena’s evolution from side hustle to billion-dollar vision

Why great delegation is a skill, not magic

Surprising personal and family delegation use cases

Combining humans and AI for exponential leverage

Quotes from Jonathan:

“My mind is an inner citadel. I’ve got a good mind, a wife that loves me, and everything else is gravy.”

“I started Athena with the sole goal of generating income for my wife and I to live off of.”

“The vision of ​Athena​ is the best human assistants powered by the best AI.”

“Humans are good UX. We’ve evolved to like humans.”

“You don’t build the first Tesla without a steering wheel.”

“We're building something that watches assistants work, not to replace them, but to augment them.”

“Delegation is a J-curve. It's slower at first, but compounds.”

“The cardinal sin of delegation is thinking, ‘It’s faster to do it myself.’”

“You can think of an assistant as a cognitive prosthesis.”

“Belief is the first limiter. Most people don’t believe time freedom is possible.”

“Ask yourself: If I had a hundred more hours a week, what would I do?”

Important Quotes from the podcast on Business and Entrepreneurship

There is no skill called “business.” Avoid business magazines and business classes. - Naval Ravikant

You have to work up to the point where you can own equity in a business. You could own equity as a small shareholder where you bought stock. You could also own it as an owner where you started the company. Ownership is really important.  

Everybody who really makes money at some point owns a piece of a product, a business, or some IP. That can be through stock options if you work at a tech company. That’s a fine way to start. 

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:46) - Deep dive into the Thiel Fellowship

(00:07:04) - Success stories and impact of Thiel Fellows

(00:11:04) - Challenges and controversies

(00:16:01) - Evolution and future of fellowship programs

(00:18:39) - Early days of building the Thiel Fellowship

(00:23:36) - Traits of a Thiel Fellow

(00:33:24) - Nurturing genius

(00:39:57) - Screen time & children

(00:40:30) - Big screens vs. small screens

(00:43:12) - Quality time and engaging activities

(00:45:42) - Emotional depth and resilience in young founders

(00:54:02) - The traits of innovators

(01:04:08) - The journey of 1517 Fund

(01:10:05) - Join the 1517 community

Links:

Rolling Fun — https://www.rolling.fun

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

>> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners!

We discuss:

The founding story and long-term vision behind the Thiel Fellowship

Common traits among exceptional young founders, including curiosity, hyper fluency, and “dog on a leash” energy

Lessons from supporting early pioneers like Vitalik Buterin, Dylan Field, and Laura Deming.

How 1517 Fund backs young builders and “Wily weirdos” working on sci-fi-level ideas

Danielle’s philosophy on education, parenting, and fostering genius in children

Quotes from Danielle:

“We weren’t looking for startup founders—we were looking for people on a mission.”

“Dog-on-a-leash energy—that’s what we look for. We’re here to cut the leash.”

“Hyperfluency is the ability to geek out with geeks, and still explain your work to your grandma at Thanksgiving.”

“These people are kind of mutants—they don’t fit in typical systems.”

“All kids under five are geniuses. The system just squashes it out of them.”

“The most shocking thing? People publicly attacked the Fellows. Not just the program—the people. Teenagers.”

“Crazy, crazy awesome—we can’t tell if they’re insane or brilliant, and it’ll take years to find out.”

“Big screens good, small screens bad.”

“In the future, I want to be funding 11-year-olds. The world won’t be ready, but I will be.”

“We just want to talk to wily weirdos who want to be around other wily weirdos.”

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:49) - Heroes

(00:10:50) - How do you know when it’s time to step away from something you started?

(00:18:37) - Len Fassler

(00:32:52) - Mentors and inflection points in life

(00:39:07) - Brad’s book - Give First

(00:47:58) - The role of books in Brad’s career

Links:

Scribe — https://scribemedia.com

Give First: The Power of Mentorship - https://amzn.to/3KT3IvF

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

>> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners!

We discuss:

The role of heroes and mentors in shaping Brad’s values

How "Give First" transformed startup culture

How to let go of control while still fighting to the end for what matters

Key mentors like Len Fassler and the life lessons they gave him

Why reading, writing, and coding all serve as reflective practices 

Quotes from Brad:

"The best way to fly is to throw yourself at the ground and miss." (Zaphod Beeblebrox quote that Brad uses to describe startups)

"I love to help things get started. That’s my favorite part of the journey."

"Fight to the bitter end. You try until it doesn’t work anymore."

"Some things don’t end. Some things outlive you—which is delightful."

"The future does not belong to me. The future belongs to people 40 years younger than me."

"Give First is not a religion. It’s a philosophy."

"Your VC’s are not in control. The board members are not in control. The CEO is in control."

"Books are core to so many things I do. Reading and writing are how I process the world."

"I write books to understand better an idea and work out the idea."

"Mentorship is about ways of being, not about following a set of rules."

"Hibernation from social media gave me the creative space to finish the book I actually wanted to write."

"People said, 'Brad’s the king of the Colorado startup community.' I hated that. I don’t want to be king—I want to be just one of the many leaders."

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:07) - Cal's military background

(00:13:59) - Transitioning into a family business

(00:19:35) - Implementing EOS

(00:25:08) - The journey to compassionate leadership

(00:36:16) - Prioritizing self-care and meditation

(00:37:19) - Journaling techniques and prompts

(00:39:02) - Mental health stigma and therapy

(00:40:16) - Daily intentions and successes

(00:42:28) - Leadership

(00:47:28) - Coaching and team building

(00:58:45) - Writing a book

(01:03:10) - Resources

Links:

Scribe — https://scribemedia.com

Entrepreneurial Compassion: An Entrepreneur’s Journey Through Combat, Suicide, and the Discovery of Compassionate Leadership - https://amzn.to/4nqH6AK

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

>> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners!

We discuss:

How military battle drills shaped Cal’s approach to business leadership

How EOS changed about his company and personal life

Why compassion is both a moral imperative and a business advantage

Tactical ways Cal builds emotional awareness into his leadership habits

How journaling, meditation, and presence help fuel resilience and clarity

Quotes from Cal:

"The more compassion I showed my team, the more profit we made. It’s not soft—it’s smart."

"They’ll never care how much you know until they know how much you care."

"Every really good unit has this thing called a tactical SOP—just like your business has processes."

"EOS gave me the ability to step back, let the team lead, and focus on building the future."

"I went from working 90 hours a week in the business to now doing one meeting a week."

"The business stops running you, and you start running it."

"When we can be driven and compassionate, the sky’s the limit."

"As entrepreneurs, we’re good at putting out fires—and if there isn’t one, we’ll start one just to feel busy."

"My brother’s death has to mean something—this book is how I make sure something good comes from it."

"I want to create a million compassionate leaders and prevent a hundred thousand suicides."

"This isn't about monetizing trauma—every cent from the book goes to suicide prevention."

Important Quotes from the podcast on Business and Entrepreneurship

There is no skill called “business.” Avoid business magazines and business classes. - Naval Ravikant

You have to work up to the point where you can own equity in a business. You could own equity as a small shareholder where you bought stock. You could also own it as an owner where you started the company. Ownership is really important.  

Everybody who really makes money at some point owns a piece of a product, a business, or some IP. That can be through stock options if you work at a tech company. That’s a fine way to start. 

It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.

I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.

This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Building Judgement

You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here:

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ

Chapters:

00:00 The Search for Something Perfect & Permanent

03:00 Timeless vs. Timely Knowledge

06:00 Truth, Reach & Universal Theories

09:00 From Specifics to General Principles

12:00 Learning by Doing – Experience First

15:00 Judgment, Taste & the Role of Reflection

18:00 Investing, Taste & Post-Wealth Choices

21:00 Hard Work, Focus & Breakthroughs

24:00 From Logic to Intuition to Taste

27:00 AI, Information Retrieval & Human Creativity

30:00 Leverage of Software Engineers with AI

33:00 The iPhone as the Greatest Product of the Age

36:00 Entrepreneurs, Creativity & Using AI as a Tool

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.

I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.

This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Saving Yourself

You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here:

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ

Chapters:

00:00 Virtues as Long-Term Selfishness & Cheap Dopamine

03:00 Fixing Local Problems Before Global Activism

06:00 Spreadability vs. Correctness of Ideas

09:00 Truth as Survival in the Multiverse

12:00 Authenticity, Ego & Removing the Mask

15:00 Modern Traps, Hedonism & Religion’s Role

18:00 Finding the People, Work & Place That Need You Most

21:00 Exploration, Investment & Compound Interest

24:00 Learning Through Iterations, Not Hours

27:00 Choosing Your Environment & Adapting It

30:00 Envy vs. Inspiration – Choosing the Better Path

33:00 Heroes, Resonance & The Legacy of Steve Jobs

36:00 Universal Human Potential & Breaking Labels

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published.

I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you.

This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Learning Happiness

You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here:

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ

Chapters:

00:00 Happiness as a Skill & Thought Construct

03:00 Peace, Desires & Higher Motives

06:00 Mind-Created Problems & Meditation

09:00 Engagement vs. Peace – Balancing Both

12:00 Health, Wealth & the Pursuit of Truth, Love, Beauty

15:00 Meditation, Silence & Resolving Thoughts

18:00 Love, Creation & Human Flourishing

21:00 Acute vs. Chronic Unhappiness, Ego & Identity

24:00 Choice Theory & Depression as Habit

27:00 Seasons of Life – Wealth, Health & Happiness

30:00 Aging, Compounding Actions & Character

33:00 High Agency Living & Designing Life

36:00 Reinterpreting the Past, Forgiveness & Ego

39:00 Enlightened Teachers, Peace & No-Self

42:00 Relationships, Self-Sufficiency & Truth in Bonds

45:00 Consciousness, Self-Examination & No-Self Realization

51:00 Seeking Enlightenment vs. Chasing Shiny Objects

54:00 Happiness, Motivation & Effectiveness

57:00 Relationships, Obligations & Peer Bonds

60:00 Ritual vs. Genuine Happiness

To support the costs of producing this podcast: 

>> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ 

>> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/

>> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage 

>> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend