The Podcast That Quietly Changed How I See Wealth and Money

I stumbled upon Naval Ravikant’s three-hour podcast “How to Get Rich (Without Getting Lucky)” when I was 20. 

And I’ve been re-listening to it every year since.

There was something about how he talked about wealth—not as something loud or flashy, but as something quiet, strategic, earned. And coming from a poor family, that hit me hard. I grew up thinking being rich is a faraway dream.

Naval’s words cracked that belief open a little. And over time, those cracks grew into new thoughts, new ways of seeing money, work, and what I was actually trying to build.

These lessons continue to shape the decisions I make. So in this issue, I wanted to share the five that stuck with me most. Maybe they’ll stick with you too.

In today’s edition, we’ll go over:

• 5 lessons I learned from Naval Ravikant

• 3 Shocking Truths About Wealth

TLDR;

The Bottom Line

• Wealth isn’t about getting rich. It’s about buying back your time and building systems that work without you.

• Building and selling aren’t optional. They’re the two skills that unlock wealth, and most of us were never taught either.

• Leverage is how you stop trading time for money, and chances are, you already have access to more of it than you think.

• If you’re serious about wealth, you have to think in decades, not months. Surround yourself with people who do the same.

• You can engineer luck, and Naval explains the four types that show you how.

The content

💡 5 Lessons from Naval Ravikant That Shifted How I Think About Wealth

1. Wealth is not money. It’s freedom.

This might sound cliché now, but the way Naval framed it was different. He talks about wealth as assets that earn while you sleep. That can be businesses, products, investments—anything that works without you needing to constantly trade hours for money.

At 25, I’ve realized I don’t just want more money, I want more control over my time. To not panic when a family emergency happens. To have space to create, to rest, to say no when I need to.

Wealth isn’t about becoming a millionaire, but it’s about building a life that doesn’t crumble the moment you stop hustling.

2. Everyone can be rich (if you learn to build and learn to sell)

Naval doesn’t mean everyone will be rich. He means everyone can if they provide real value, and if they learn the two skills that actually move the needle: building and selling.

This changed everything for me. I used to obsess over credentials and job titles. But those don’t scale. Skills do. If you can build something valuable (whether that’s a product, a system, content, even a niche skill), and if you can explain its value clearly and confidently, you’ve unlocked leverage.

And that’s the point. Naval’s not selling an overnight path. 

He’s saying: you can get rich, but only if you’re willing to play the long game of value creation. And it starts with learning how to think and work in ways that compound.

3. Leverage is the great equalizer

There are people who work 16-hour shifts and still can’t escape survival mode. And there are people who spend three hours writing a thread or making a video, and it brings in income for years.

Why? Leverage.
Naval breaks it down into three kinds: 

• Labor (people working under you)

• Capital (money working for you)

• Code/media (products, content, tools that scale without effort)

For most of us, media and code are our best bets. The cost is low. The upside is massive (if you stick with it long enough to compound).

4. Play long-term games with long-term people.

This one hits hard when you’re 25 and tempted to chase the quick wins.

Naval talks about how compounding doesn’t just apply to money. It applies to relationships, reputation, and trust. The people you build with now? They’re either helping you create leverage or draining it.

In a Filipino context, this also means unlearning the toxic crab mentality, or constantly trying to one-up your neighbors. Play long-term games with people who root for you even when you’re not winning yet.

5. Making money isn’t about luck. But you can make your own luck

Naval lays out four types of luck:

1. Blind luck – the kind you can’t control (like winning a raffle).

2. Luck through hustle – where you create more chances by showing up often.

3. Luck through expertise – when people bring you opportunities because you’re known for something.

4. Luck through unique positioning – when your weird mix of skills makes you the only person who can solve a specific problem.

The last one changed the way I saw myself. I used to think I had to be the best at one thing. But Naval’s idea made me realize that sometimes, your strength is in your mix. Maybe you're not the best designer, but you're a decent writer and you understand finance. That combo can unlock a niche no one else is serving.

You don’t need to wait for luck. You can build conditions where luck has no choice but to find you.

You Should Probably Hear This…

3 Shocking Truths About Wealth (We Don’t Like Admitting)

1. Working hard isn’t enough.
   Plenty of people work two jobs and stay broke. Effort without direction just burns you out. Wealth requires leverage, skills, and clarity—not just grind.

2. Most rich people won’t tell you the full story.

   They’ll talk about hustle and mindset, but skip the capital, the connections, or the timing. 

3. Building wealth is slow until it isn’t.
   It’ll feel like nothing’s working for years. Then something hits.
   Compounding looks boring right up until it looks like overnight success.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve ever felt like wealth was out of reach, I hope Naval’s ideas give you the same thing they gave me: a new mental model for what’s possible.

You don’t have to build fast or go viral. But you do have to start learning how to build, how to sell, how to create value at scale.

You don’t need luck. You need leverage, time, and the patience to let compounding do its thing.

Stuff Worth Sharing

The Link Lowdown

How to Get Rich - Check this podcast. I promise it’s worth it.