# How is the PDF better?

The Almanack is subtitled as "a guide to wealth and happiness."

If you say "wealth and happiness" fast enough, it sounds like most people think: "wealth, then happiness." But that's backward. A cart can't pull a horse. And a horse can easily go the wrong direction without a driver. This is, sadly, how most people live. The thinking goes like this:

First, I'll get rich! Then I'll be happy. And when I'm rich and happy, I'll have the time and energy to pursue the things I really care about.

Once in their proper order, Ravikant's ideas offer a more practical solution. Their proper order is:

Specific knowledge (the driver) will lead to a higher chance of;
Happiness (the horse). And the combination may become;
Wealth (the cart), but only if you have the desire and skill to capitalize on luck.

# The Driver: Specific Knowledge

Specific knowledge is an intrinsic interest that has persisted throughout your life. It is not a passing fad. Because it’s intrinsic, it will provide an unending source of motivation.

Devote yourself to pursuits where you have an intrinsic interest to do the work (which can lead to wealth), not where you have a passing interest to be entertained (which is a distraction.)

# The Horse: Happiness

Pursuing specific knowledge is its own reward. The work it demands is fulfilling in its own right, so happiness is put in its rightful place: as a side effect, not an end in itself.

Understand stoicism. Happiness doesn't come from satisfying wants. It comes from not having desires in the first place. Pursuing specific knowledge puts you on a path that is rewarding for its own sake. What comes after—with or without wealth—is merely a bonus.

# The Cart: Wealth

Find people that share your principles. Develop key long-term relationships. Find like-minded people that share your values and have a long-term focus. As Jim Collins wrote in Good to Great, "You need to get the right people on the bus."

Build a business. Combine your intrinsic interests, stoic perspective, and life-long friendships into a business.

When you find that magic combination, go all in and compound it over a long timeline.

With luck and skill, your magic combination can become a catalyst for wealth-building. Chance will provide profitable opportunities. Craft (or its lack) will determine if that profit becomes a reality.

# The PDF of Naval Ravikant

I condensed and reorganized The Almanack into The PDF because I thought Ravikant’s ideas were worth the effort. I’ve presented his essential ideas in a more practical context using my driver-horse-cart approach.

I hope you enjoy it.