Most people think you get rich by getting lucky.

written by JOSH GESSNER | The Athletter

Most people think you get rich by getting lucky.

But Naval teaches us otherwise...

10 steps to get rich (without getting lucky):

1) Solve problems that people don’t know they had, or don’t know how to get.

• Innovate

• Produce new technology

• Create unique solutions.

"You will get rich by giving society what it wants but does not yet know how to get. At scale."

2) Start with “specific knowledge”.

Specific knowledge is a combination of your unique:

• Personality

• Experience

• Strengths

"Specific knowledge is knowledge that you cannot be trained for. If society can train you, it can train someone else, and replace you."

How to find your specific knowledge:

1. Look back on your own life and see what came effortlessly as a kid.

2. What feels like ‘play’ to you when others consider it work?

"Specific knowledge is often highly technical or creative. It cannot be outsourced or automated."

3) Build for fun.

Obsess, Experiment, Fail.

You'll eventually find a passion that aligns with your specific knowledge.

"Specific knowledge is found by pursuing your genuine curiosity and passion rather than whatever is hot right now."

4) When you build, first figure out:

• Your niche

• An emerging market

• A product that you are excited to build, and have specific knowledge around.

Then:

"Impatience with actions, patience with results."

5) Become the best in the world.

It can be really niche, and that's the point:

By combining your specific knowledge and interests, you find a niche you can be number one at.

“If you really want to get paid in this world, you want to be number one at whatever you do.”

6) Create your own luck.

You increase your luck surface area (chances of getting lucky) by:

- Hustling

• Reaching out to people

• Putting your thoughts out into the world

"You create your own luck. You put yourself in a position to be able to capitalize on that luck."

7) Scale with leverage.

The 4 types of leverage:

1. Labour: People working for you. The more people working in a company, the more gets done.

2. Capital: Money. This can be converted into labour and investments into the company

3. Code: Robots working for you while you sleep.

4. Media: Create once, distribute infinitely.

“Give me a lever long enough, and a place to stand, and I will move the earth.”- Archimedes

8) Gain leverage through accountability.

Embrace accountability by taking business risks under your own name.

“If you take on accountability and solve problems that others can’t solve, people will line up behind you.”

9) Let it compound.

Once you find a pursuit that aligns with your specific knowledge and curiosities:

It's only a matter of time until you get paid.

But it can easily be 10-20 years.

"Apply specific knowledge, with leverage, and eventually you will get what you deserve."

10) ......

“When you're finally wealthy, you'll realize that it wasn't what you were seeking in the first place. But that's for another day.”

That’s it for today, thanks for reading!