Mentor Wisdom: "I say no to nearly everything. I make a lot fewer short-term compromises." - Naval Ravikant
Mentor Lesson: The "Hell No" Strategy
I steal ideas from rich people.
One of my favorites comes from Naval Ravikant. The guy who founded AngelList and invested in Twitter and Uber.
He says no to nearly everything.
Most people think successful people say yes to everything. That's backwards.
Naval has a simple three-part filter before he says yes to anything:
Can I work with this person forever?
Is this activity actually fun?
Does this help my long-term goals?
If any answer is no, the whole thing gets a hard no.
No boring dinners with people he'll never see again. No tedious ceremonies to please tedious people. No traveling to places he wouldn't vacation.
Here's what most people miss: every yes to something pointless is a no to something that could change your life.
I used to say yes to everything. Coffee meetings with random people. Zoom calls that went nowhere. Events I didn't want to attend.
Then I started copying Naval's strategy.
Now I say no to about 90% of things. My calendar is way less cluttered. I have more time for stuff I actually enjoy.
Like writing this email to you.
Your time is your most valuable asset. Guard it like a crazy person.
As promised, wisdom in under a minute.
Just Say No,
-Chris
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