Entrepreneurship Archives - 99signals

EXCLUSIVE OFFER

Serpstat (22% off)

Boost your online l visibility and traffic with Serpstat's comprehensive SEO toolkit.

For a limited time, you can get 22% off on any Serpstat annual plan. Use special promo code 99signals2023 to activate this Serpstat discount.

Promo Code: 99signals2023

Unbounce

Unbounce is one of the most highly-reputed landing page builders on the market.

For a limited time, you can get 20% off your first three months with Unbounce.

Get 20% off

TidyCal

Optimize your schedule with custom booking pages and calendar integrations.

Get lifetime access to TidyCal for just $29.

$29 (Lifetime Access)

OUR REVIEW

$60k in 4 Weeks: Email Marketing Made Easy

Systeme.io's email marketing course offers a system that shows you how to generate over $60,000 in 4 weeks with email marketing.

Save $490 and get lifetime access to the course.

N/A

GET THIS DEAL

Systeme's Launch An Online Business Course

Grow your business (build your audience, your team, create your sales funnels) with Systeme.io's Online Business Course.

For only $7, you can get lifetime access to a system that generates over $400,000 per month.

$7 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

Pinghome

Conduct uptime checks and stay ahead of incidents with this website and API monitoring platform.

$59 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

Systeme.io (30% off)

Systeme.io is a simple, yet extremely efficient and intuitive online business-building tool.

Get 30% discount on Systeme.io's Startup plan + FREE migration (worth $1997).

N/A

Sign up for a 2-week free trial of Semrush Pro + .Trends

Happierleads

Identify anonymous website visitors, qualify them, and convert them into leads.

$69 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

Taja

The AI platform for effortless YouTube optimization—titles, chapters, and publish faster.

$49 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

OneTake AI

Use this AI video editor to turn raw footage into ready-to-share presentations in one click.

$59 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

AltText.ai

Automatically generate alt text for images to improve your website’s SEO and accessibility.

$29 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

BerqWP

Automatically pass core web vitals for WordPress and boost speed score to 90+ for mobile and desktop.

$29 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

SellMeThisPen AI

Leverage AI sales coaching, realistic role-play, and real-time assistance to nail your next sales call.

$59 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

Textfocus

Analyzes the HTML code & text on a page to deduce relevant content in the eyes of search engines.

$89 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

AdCopy.ai

Supercharge your Facebook Ads with AI powered ads, split tests, insights and optimization to create profitable campaigns.

$59 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

Sociamonials

Take over social media with automated posting, viral giveaways, and advanced metrics.

$69 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

OUR REVIEW

FlexClip

FlexClip is an all-in-one web tool for recording and creating videos, movies, slideshows in minutes.

$69 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

KWHero

Use AI to create content that’s perfectly optimized for search engines and user intent.

$69 (Lifetime Access)

GET THIS DEAL

35+ Best SaaS Deals in March 2024

1. Semrush .Trends

Semrush .Trends is an add-on solution to Semrush that provides a comprehensive overview of any website’s traffic, including estimated desktop and mobile traffic, traffic sources, and audience engagement metrics.

.Trends includes 4 competitive intelligence tools: Traffic Analytics, Market Explorer, EyeOn, and One2Target.

Exclusive Semrush .Trends Deal

If you’re an existing Semrush user, you need purchase Semrush .Trends as an add-on for $200/month.

As a limited-time special offer, you can grab a 2-week free trial to Semrush .Trends + Semrush Pro. This will give you access to all the four tools in .Trends, plus all the 45+ tools and features in the Semrush toolkit.

Deal: Get 14-day free access to Semrush Pro + .Trends
Deal Value: $165
Offer Validity: March 1 to March 31

Get lifetime access to GoZen Growth for just $59

2. GoZen Growth

GoZen Growth helps you boost email deliverability using automatic warm-up, smart campaign features, and push notifications.

GoZen’s analytics dashboard makes it easy to monitor the open rate, click rate, and abuse report rate on the campaign-focused analytics dashboard.

GoZen Growth AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Normally, you’d have to pay over $100/year for GoZen Growth’s basic plan. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to GoZen Growth for just $59.

Deal: $59 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $708
Deal Validity: Feb 15 – March 31

Get lifetime access to OneTake AI for just $59

3. OneTake AI

OneTake AI is a video editing tool that uses AI to transform raw footage into polished presentations in a single click.

OneTake AI’s video editor can effortlessly convert raw footage into polished videos with callouts, animations, and more.

OneTake AI AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, you’d have to pay $92/month for OneTake AI’s basic plan. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to OneTake AI for just $59.

Deal: $59 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $499
Deal Validity: Feb 1 – March 31

Sign up for InVideo now

4. InVideo

InVideo is an online video creation platform designed to make video production quick and easy for businesses, creators, and professionals.

InVideo comes with a variety of features, including a wide range of templates for different video types like promotional videos, social media content, and explainer videos. It also provides options to include voice-over and other audio elements, allowing for a comprehensive and custom video creation experience.

Exclusive InVideo Deal

InVideo is currently offering discounts on both monthly and yearly plans.

You can get 25% discount on all monthly plans with promo code AIVIDEOS25.

If you’d like to go with any of InVideo’s annual plans, you can get 30% discount by using promo code AIVIDEOS30.

Deal 1: Get 25% off any InVideo monthly plan
Deal 2: Get 30% off any InVideo annual plan
InVideo Coupon Codes: AIVIDEOS25 (monthly plan) / AIVIDEOS30 (annual plan)
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

Get lifetime access to Picmaker for just $69

5. Picmaker

Picmaker is an AI-powered social media solution that offers tools for creating content, scheduling posts, analyzing metrics, and more.

Furthermore, Picmaker makes it easy to create personalized social graphics with AI while avoiding that dreaded “template look.”

Picmaker AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, you’d have to pay $180/year for Picmaker’s basic plan. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to Picmaker for just $69.

Deal: $69 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $380
Deal Validity: Feb 1 – March 19

6. Serpstat (Get 22% off on any annual plan)

Serpstat is one of the most popular all-in-one SEO tools that provides a wealth of resources and features for website optimization, including keyword research, competitor analysis, site audit, rank tracking, and backlink analysis.

Exclusive Serpstat Deal

For a limited time, you can get 22% off on any Serpstat annual plan. Use special promo code 99signals2023 to activate this Serpstat discount.

Typically, you’d have to pay $600/year for Serpstat’s Individual plan. But with this special offer, you can get 1-year access to Serpstat’s Individual plan for just $468 (that’s $132 in total savings!)

The same promo code can also be used on other yearly plans.

Click here to get 22% off Serpstat

Deal: Get 22% discount on Serpstat (1-year plan)
Serpstat Coupon Code: 99signals2023
Deal Value: $132 (when applied on Serpstat’s Individual Plan)
Offer Validity: March 1 to March 31

Get lifetime access to SellMeThisPen AI for just $59

7. SellMeThisPen AI

SellMeThisPen AI is the AI sales coach that uses role-play, note-taking, and real-time assistance to help you close more deals.

With SellMeThisPen AI, you can practice real conversations tailored to your buyer persona and value proposition before meeting real clients.

SellMeThisPen AI AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, you’d have to pay $59/month for SellMeThisPen’s Basic plan. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to SellMeThisPen AI for just $59.

Deal: $59 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $468
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

Get lifetime access to KWHero for just $69

8. KWHero

KWHero uses AI to find high-intent SEO keywords, analyze competitors, and craft perfectly optimized content that ranks high on Google.

With KWHero’s AI, you’ll be able to generate SEO content that’s perfectly optimized to outrank all your competitors.

KWHero AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Now, typically you’d have to pay $59/month for KWHero’s Basic plan. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to KWHero for just $69.

Deal: $59 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $599
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

Get lifetime access to ReachInbox for just $59

9. ReachInbox

ReachInbox helps you scale cold email outreach with unlimited warm-ups, tailored sequences, workspaces, and a centralized inbox.

With ReachInbox, you’ll get an AI-powered platform that helps you avoid the spam folder and confidently scale your cold email outreach. Just connect all your email accounts and take advantage of unlimited email warm-ups to boost deliverability.

ReachInbox AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, ReachInbox’s basic plan costs $39/month. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to ReachInbox for just $59.

Deal: $59 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $468
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

Get lifetime access to BerqWP for just $29

10. BerqWP

BerqWP is a speed optimization plugin that ensures your website passes the core web vitals assessment.

It effortlessly ensures your website aces the core web vitals test. This means you can enjoy optimal website performance with minimal effort, keeping your focus on content, not technicalities.

BerqWP AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Normally, BerqWP’s basic plan costs $126 each year. But with AppSumo, you can gain lifetime access for just $29.

Deal: $29 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $126
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

Get lifetime access to LeadRocks for just $79

11. LeadRocks

LeadRocks offers a comprehensive B2B contact database with over 100 million records, including emails, phone numbers, and LinkedIn profiles. This means you gain access to a vast pool of potential leads, streamlining your outreach and networking efforts.

LeadRocks AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, you’d have to pay over $300/year for LeadRocks’ most basic plan. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to LeadRocks for just $79.

Deal: $79 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $1740
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

Get lifetime access to Better Sheets for just $255

12. Better Sheets

Better Sheets offers comprehensive courses that cover everything you need to know about Google Sheets.

From improving your tables and data summaries to going beyond the limits of Google Sheets, you’ll learn invaluable skills to elevate your spreadsheet game.

Better Sheets AppSumo Lifetime Deal

On a regular day, you’d have to pay over $1000 to access the courses on Better Sheets. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to Better Sheets for just $225.

Deal: $225 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $1,296
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

Get lifetime access to Sociamonials for just $69

13. Sociamonials

Sociamonials helps you optimize your campaigns and increase your ROI with important social media analytics and automation.

Sociamonials comes with features no other social media tool has all in one place, like automatic reposts of your best content, multi-network sharing, URL shortener, unlimited reports, video testimonials, and agency-level social campaigns.

Sociamonials AppSumo Lifetime Deal

You’d typically have to pay $49/month for Sociamonials. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to Sociamonials for just $69.h AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to the same plan for just $69.

Deal: $69 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $1,788
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

To learn more about Sociamonials and its key features, check out our in-depth review and demo of Sociamonials.

14. Hostinger

Hostinger is one of the most popular and affordable web hosting solutions on the market. From super fast load time to exceptional customer support, Hostinger stacks up really well against some of the best web hosting solutions on the market.

Exclusive Hostinger Deal

Hostinger’s Ultimate Sale is now live, which means you can get up to 82% discount on their web hosting plans.

For a limited time, you can get access to Hostinger’s single shared web hosting plan for just $1.79/mo (for the 4-year plan) — that’s 82% off. But that’s not all — you can grab insane discounts on all Hostinger plans. Visit this page to check out Hostinger’s Ultimate Sale.

Important: Be sure to activate the coupon code ANSWER at checkout to avail the full discount.

Deal: Get up to 82% discount on Hostinger
Offer Validity: March 1 – March 31

15. GrowthBar

GrowthBar is a powerful SEO and AI content creation tool for results-driven entrepreneurs, marketers, and bloggers.

With GrowthBar’s AI Content Generation tool, you can create unique long-form blog posts and then optimize the posts with GrowthBar’s SEO recommendations.

Exclusive GrowthBar Deal

Get 50% off on GrowthBar for the first three months. Use promo code 99signals at checkout. If you’re opting for a yearly plan, use the promo code 99sig at checkout to get 50% off on any yearly plan.

Deal: Get 50% off GrowthBar for 3 months
Coupon Code 1: 99signals (50% off for 3 months)
Coupon Code 2: 99sig (50% off for 1 year)
Offer Validity: Feb 1 – March 31

16. Authory

Authory is an automated content marketing platform that brings together all the content you create. You can have your articles, videos, podcasts, and more in a single place — no matter where you publish them.

Exclusive Authory Deal

For a limited time, you can get 20% off monthly or yearly plan.

Deal: Get 20% off monthly or yearly plan
Offer Validity: March 1 – March 31

17. Blinkist

Blinkist is a book-summarizing subscription service that offers key insights and ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in a made-for-mobile format.

Exclusive Blinkist Deal

For a limited time, you can get 25% off Blinkist Premium along with your free trial.

Deal: Get 25% off Blinkist Premium
Offer Validity: March 1 – March 31

18. SwipeWell

SwipeWell helps you save, organize, and reference marketing examples (so you never feel stumped). With SwipeWell, you can save all your marketing inspiration in one place.

Exclusive SwipeWell Deal

For a limited time, you can sign up for SwipeWell’s annual plan for just $100 (typically $120/year).

Deal: Get $20 off yearly plan
Offer Validity: March 1 – March 31

19. NeuronWriter

NeuronWriter is packed with AI-powered research and writing tools to help you plan content that ranks high on Google.

You can use NeuronWriter to create new content, optimize existing text, and get actionable results.

NeuronWriter AppSumo Lifetime Deal

NeuronWriter typically costs $19/month. But thanks to AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to NeuronWriter for just $69.

Deal: $69 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $750
Offer Validity: March 1 – March 31

20. Domain.com

Domain.com is one of the best web hosting and domain registration services on the market. From building a simple site to creating an online store, Domain.com has everything you need to thrive online, including domain registration, domain protection, web hosting, SSL certificates, website builder, and more.

Exclusive Domain.com Deal

Use coupon code DOMAIN10 at checkout to get 10% off on any Domain.com plan.

Deal: Get 10% off any Domain.com plan
Coupon Code: DOMAIN10
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

21. Subscribers

Subscribers lets you keep your visitors coming back with custom, scheduleable, dynamic, and even automatable push notifications.

Exclusive Subscribers Deal

Deal: Get 30% off any plan for 3 months
Offer Validity: March 1 – March 31

22. Unbounce

Unbounce is one of the most highly-reputed landing page builders on the market. With Unbounce, you can build, launch, and optimize custom landing pages for any campaign.

Exclusive Unbounce Deal

For a limited time, you can get 20% off your first three months with Unbounce. Click here to learn more.

Deal: Get 20% off for 3 months
Offer Validity: March 1 – March 31

23. Serpzilla

Serpzilla is a white-hat link building automation tool that aims to help SEOs find contextual, relevant, and valuable links for the sites they’re promoting.

Exclusive Serpzilla Deal

For every $20 you spend at Serpzilla, you’ll get a bonus of $10, which you can then use to buy links.

Deal: Get $10 bonus for every $20 spent
Offer Validity: March 1 – March 31

24. Swipe Pages

Swipe Pages is a landing page builder for ROI-driven marketers. With Swipe Pages, you can quickly create insanely fast, mobile optimized AMP landing pages without any code.

With its 70+ modern landing page templates, you can choose the template that best suits your current needs and customize the content to your liking. Once your landing page is ready, you can connect it to your domain and launch it on a specific subdomain.

Exclusive Swipe Pages Deal

Get 20% off off for the 1st year on all annual plans with promo code 99SIGNALS. If you’re opting for monthly payments, use coupon code 99SIGNALS_MONTHLY to get 20% off on all plans for the first 3 months.

Deal: Get 30% off Swipe Pages on all plans
Coupon Code 1 (Annual Plan): 99SIGNALS
Coupon Code 2 (Monthly Plan): 99SIGNALS_MONTHLY
Offer Validity: March 1 – March 31

25. Screpy

Screpy is an AI-based SEO and web analysis tool that lets you and your team analyze and monitor all your website metrics in one dashboard. It’s one of the best-reviewed tools in the history of AppSumo deals.

Screpy AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, the Pro plan of Screpy costs $15/month, but with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to the same plan for just $49.

Deal: $49 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $204
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

26. Noysi

Noysi is a collaboration platform that greatly increases productivity by integrating all the necessary services for the internal and external communication of your company or community on a single platform.

With Noysi, you get secure and encrypted messaging with unlimited file storage, a task manager, and a calendar integrated with Gmail and Outlook. You can also make video calls with unlimited users.

Noysi AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, you’d have to pay $90/year for Noysi. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to Noysi for just $159.

Deal: $159 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $477
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

27. Linkjoy

Linkjoy helps you get major ROI from your links by providing social bio links, link retargeting, and Instagram post links. Linkjoy’s “Link in Bio” feature lets you create mobile-first, micro landing pages in minutes using themes and customizable layouts, helping you make your products and services stand out.

Linkjoy AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, Linkjoy costs $9/month, but with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to Linkjoy for just $49.

Deal: $49 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $948
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

28. TidyCal

Brought to you by the AppSumo team, TidyCal is a scheduling solution that makes it easier to manage your calendar and get more bookings.

TidyCal’s easy-to-use interface helps you get all your calendars integrated in minutes. With up to 10 calendar connections per account and automatically detected recipient time zones, the solution makes sure you never worry about scheduling conflicts again.

TidyCal AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, TidyCal costs $144. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to TidyCal for just $29.

Deal: $29 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $144
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

29. FlexClip

FlexClip is an all-in-one web tool for making videos, movies, and slideshows in minutes. FlexClip’s powerful editing tools allow you to take full control over the video appearance, background music, and more.

FlexClip AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, FlexClip’s Basic plan costs $9.99/month. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to FlexClip’s Basic plan for just $69.

Deal: $59 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $1,099
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

30. GrabSign

GrabSign is an eSignature app to get your contracts, agreements, or any other documents digitally signed by your clients securely and effortlessly.

GrabSign ensures that your digital signatures are captured, tracked, and audited — and all in the blink of an eye.

GrabSign AppSumo Lifetime Deal

GrabSign normally costs $168/year. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to GrabSign for just $69.

Deal: $69 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $948
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

31. WordHero

WordHero is an AI writing tool that helps you write high quality blog posts, social media captions, emails, ads, sales copy, product/SEO descriptions, and more. WordHero offers an entire suite of 40+ writing tools, with new ones added every week.

WordHero AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, the basic plan of WordHero costs $49/month, but with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to WordHero for just $89.

Deal: $89 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $2088
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

32. Writecream

Writecream scans your prospect’s website or LinkedIn profile, gathers the most important details, and writes the coolest cold emails for you.

You can also use Writecream to generate blog posts, Facebook & Google ad copies, landing page content, product descriptions, and more.

Writecream AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, Writecream costs $29/month. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to Writecream for just $59.

Deal: $59 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $1140
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

33. WP 301 Redirects

WP 301 Redirects lets you scan your site for broken and toxic links and set up automatic redirects, manage affiliate links, and control all your sites from a centralized dashboard.

With the WP 301 Redirects Link Scanner tool, you’ll be able to catch broken URLs and disreputable outlinks before you lose visitors to competitor pages.

WP 301 Redirects AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, WP 301 Redirects costs $79/year. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to WP 301 Redirects for just $69.

Deal: $69 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $158
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

34. Nichesss

Nichesss is an app that helps you find profitable niches within your target audience with the push of a button. It also helps you generate unique social media posts and marketing copy in just seconds.

Nichesss AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, the basic plan of Nichesss costs $19/month, but with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to Nichesss for just $59.

Deal: $59 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $999
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

35. ScreenToVideo

ScreenToVideo lets you record, edit, and share your videos with a powerful yet easy-to-use screen recorder and video editor.

ScreenToVideo AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, you’d have to pay $119 for a regular license of ScreenToVideo. But with AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to ScreenToVideo’s regular license for just $59.

Deal: $59 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $119
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

36. KingSumo

KingSumo is a platform that helps you create viral giveaways so you can grow your audience and get more leads quickly and effectively.

KingSumo’s easy-to-use editor will have your first giveaway set up in no time. All you need to do is write a little bit about your giveaway and pick the number of winners you want.

KingSumo AppSumo Lifetime Deal

As an entrepreneur or blogger, you know marketing and advertising can be ridiculously expensive. You need a budget for online ads. You need to hire a team for sales outreach. You need to learn a whole new marketing channel.

But with KingSumo, you can generate more leads, prospects, and customers at a fraction of the time and cost.

Deal: $49 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $228
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

37. EWWW Image Optimizer

EWWW Image Optimizer improves site speed, bounce rate, SEO ranking, and user experience through site image optimization.

EWWW Image Optimizer AppSumo Lifetime Deal

Typically, EWWW IO’s Standard plan costs $15/month. But thanks to AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to the same plan from EWWW IO for just $99.

Deal: $99 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $240
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

38. WP Scheduled Posts

WP Scheduled Posts plugin is an editorial calendar tool that helps to streamline your content strategy and optimize productivity for your WordPress website.

WP Scheduled Posts AppSumo Deal

AppSumo is currently offering a deal on the Developer plan of WP Scheduled Posts which typically costs $149/year. But thanks to the folks at AppSumo, you can get lifetime access to WP Scheduled Posts for just $39.

Deal: $39 (Lifetime Access)
Deal Value: $149
Deal Validity: March 1 – March 31

That wraps up our curated list of the best SaaS deals on offer. Don’t forget to keep this page bookmarked as we’ll update more SaaS deals you can grab in the coming weeks.

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The post 35+ Best SaaS Deals for Entrepreneurs and Bloggers appeared first on 99signals.

15 Must-Watch TED Talks for Entrepreneurs

Sandeep Mallya — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 14:29:09 +0000

Let’s face it: Entrepreneurship is not easy.

Because of its challenging nature, entrepreneurs are on a constant lookout for guidance and motivation.

Whether it’s inspiring movies, insightful documentaries, or thought-provoking books, the right piece of content can spur us into action and push us closer to our goals.

Thanks to the digital age, it’s now easier than ever to find online resources to learn new things and gain a new perspective on entrepreneurship.

In recent years, TED talks have emerged as some of the best online resources for entrepreneurs.

The question is: how do you find the best TED talks for entrepreneurs in their massive repository of videos?

To make your search for the best TED talks a little bit easier, I’ve curated a list of must-watch TED talks for entrepreneurs.

Here are the 15 best TED talks I’d recommend to all entrepreneurs.

15 Best TED Talks for Entrepreneurs

1. Paul Tasner: How I Became an Entrepreneur at 66

Entrepreneurship is often believed to be a young person’s game. But age shouldn’t be a deciding factor when you’re trying to follow your dreams.

Wouldn’t you agree?

In this inspiring TED talk, Paul Tasner reminds us that age is just a number when it comes to following your passion. After working for others for 40 years, Tasner combined his experience and passion to launch his startup at age 66.

According to Tasner, it’s never too late to reinvent yourself and do something meaningful in the global marketplace.

If you ever have doubts about being too old for entrepreneurship, watch this talk to get inspired.

Best quote from Paul Tasner’s TED talk: “Aren’t the accomplishments of a 70-year-old entrepreneur every bit as meaningful, every bit as newsworthy, as the accomplishments of a 30-year-old entrepreneur? Of course, they are. That’s why I’d like to make the phrase ’70 over 70′ just as commonplace as the phrase ’30 under 30.'”

2. Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Simon Sinek, author of the bestselling book Start with Why, believes great leaders are driven by a clear sense of “Why.” In other words, they are inspired by a sense of purpose and this sense of purpose enables them to inspire other people to follow them in their pursuit.

In this TED talk, Simon Sinek dives deeper into his Golden Circle theory, which explains how some people and organizations are able to inspire others and demonstrate exceptional leadership.

Featuring striking examples and a touch of humor, Simon Sinek’s TED talk is a must-watch for all entrepreneurs.

Best quote from Simon Sinek’s TED talk: “Leaders hold a position of power or authority, but those who lead inspire us. Whether they’re individuals or organizations, we follow those who lead, not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead, not for them, but for ourselves. And it’s those who start with “why” that have the ability to inspire those around them or find others who inspire them.”

3. Susan Cain: The Power of Introverts

A troubling misconception about leadership is that it’s only the extroverts who thrive. This is why so many entrepreneurs hide their introverted nature and try to pass off as extroverts when they are trying to inspire others.

This TED talk by Susan Cain attempts to break that misconception, as she illustrates the importance of embracing your introverted style of leadership.

In this passionate talk, Susan Cain argues how introverts are just as brilliant as extroverts and how introverted leaders can often deliver better results than extroverts.

A must-watch TED talk for entrepreneurs who are worried about their introversion being an impediment in inspiring others. If you’re inspired by this talk, do check out Susan Cain’s bestselling book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.

Best quote from Susan Cain’s TED talk: “Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi — all these people described themselves as quiet and soft-spoken and even shy. And they all took the spotlight, even though every bone in their bodies was telling them not to. And this turns out to have a special power all its own, because people could feel that these leaders were at the helm not because they enjoyed directing others and not out of the pleasure of being looked at; they were there because they had no choice, because they were driven to do what they thought was right.”

4. Tim Urban: Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator

To be a productive entrepreneur, you must beat procrastination.

Since starting my own business, I’ve tried several techniques to shake off procrastination. Helpful tips from books like The Power of Habit, Getting Things Done, and Atomic Habits have certainly helped.

But like a pesky mosquito, procrastination always finds a way to sneak back into my life.

Maybe you can relate?

If you do, then you’ll certainly relate to Tim Urban’s creative and highly entertaining take on procrastination. In this insightful and hilarious TED talk, Tim Urban shares his struggles with procrastination and encourages us to deliberate on the things we choose to procrastinate on.

While you’ll not find any specific techniques to beat procrastination in this video, Urban’s vivid insights on the topic will definitely resonate with you. In the end, it will strengthen your resolve to fight procrastination and be more productive.

Best quote from Tim Urban’s TED talk: “We need to think about what we’re really procrastinating on, because everyone is procrastinating on something in life. We need to stay aware of the Instant Gratification Monkey. That’s a job for all of us. And because there’s not that many boxes on there, it’s a job that should probably start today.”

5. Eduardo Briceño: How to Get Better at the Things You Care About

Not improving at something despite putting in the hard work? You’re not alone.

According to Eduardo Briceño, many of us don’t improve because we are always in the “performance zone.” But in order to improve a particular skill, we need to be in the “learning zone” as well.

The performance zone is great for maximizing our immediate performance, but in the long run, it can hinder our growth and future performance. On the other hand, the learning zone maximizes our growth and future performance.

The learning zone also helps us adopt a growth mindset, which is extremely important when you’re an entrepreneur.

So what’s the solution to better performance and continuous improvement?

Briceño recommends alternating between the performance zone and the learning zone. We need to learn and build our skills in the learning zone, and then apply those skills in the performance zone.

In this insightful TED talk, Briceño reveals actionable techniques that you can use to keep learning and growing at the things that matter to you.

Best quote from Eduardo Briceño’s TED talk: “When Beyoncé is on tour, during the concert, she’s in her performance zone, but every night when she gets back to the hotel room, she goes right back into her learning zone.”

Related: 10 Best TV Shows for Entrepreneurs

6. Bill Gross: The Single Biggest Reason Why Startups Succeed

Bill Gross, serial entrepreneur and investor, has launched or incubated hundreds of startups and has experienced many successes and failures. So after working with so many entrepreneurs, he was curious to learn what factors accounted the most for a company’s success and failure.

In his study, he found five key factors that contributed the most to a company’s success, and after ranking each factor, he found the one factor that stood out from the rest.

In this TED talk, he highlights the one factor that you must consider before starting your own business or before taking it in a new direction.

Best quote from Bill Gross’ TED talk: “Execution definitely matters a lot. The idea matters a lot. But timing might matter even more. And the best way to really assess timing is to really look at whether consumers are really ready for what you have to offer them.”

7. Angela Duckworth: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

What’s the best predictor of success? Is it a person’s IQ? Is it talent? Is it intelligence?

According to psychologist Angela Duckworth, grit is the most significant predictor of success. Grit is a combination of passion and perseverance, and it’s the single most important quality one can adopt to achieve great success in life.

In this TED talk, Duckworth explains her theory of “grit” and reveals why it beats other characteristics to emerge as the best predictor of success. She also explores the growth mindset and offers quick ideas for building grit.

Duckworth expands on this theory in her brilliant book Grit. So if you like this talk, do check out her book.

Best quote from Angela Duckworth’s TED talk: “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

8. Majora Carter: 3 Stories of Local Eco-Entrepreneurship

Majora Carter is an eco-entrepreneur who encourages young entrepreneurs to embrace eco-friendly practices.

In this TED talk, Majora Carter makes a compelling case for responsible entrepreneurship — the kind of entrepreneurship that takes the environment and society into account. She shares three inspiring stories of local ecopreneurs to drive home the importance of her message.

After watching Majora’s TED talk, tech evangelist Guy Kawasaki compared her legendary presentation skills with that of Steve Jobs. That’s probably the best feedback one could receive after a TED presentation.

Best quote from Majora Carter’s TED talk: “It’s time to stop building the shopping malls, the prisons, the stadiums and other tributes to all of our collective failures. It is time that we start building living monuments to hope and possibility.”

9. John Doerr: Why the Secret to Success is Setting the Right Goals

Why do so many leaders and institutions fail us despite making bold promises? Is it because they are inherently flawed?

Not quite.

Prominent venture capitalist John Doerr argues that they fail us not because they are bad or unethical, but because they are leading us toward the wrong objectives.

As he explains in this practical TED talk, setting the right goals can mean the difference between success and failure.

Doerr shows how we can get our life back on track with something called “Objectives and Key Results” (aka OKRs) — a goal-setting system employed by top companies like Google, Intel, and individual performers like U2’s Bono.

Best quote from John Doerr’s TED talk: “If we think of the world-changing goals of an Intel, of a Nuna, of Bono, of Google, they’re remarkable: ubiquitous computing, affordable health care, high-quality for everyone, ending global poverty, access to all the world’s information. Here’s the deal: every one of those goals is powered today by OKRs.”

10. Tim Ferriss: Why You Should Define Your Fears Instead of Your Goals

If you’ve read any of Tim Ferriss’ recent books or listened to his podcast, you’ll know fear-setting is a common motif. It’s a concept he explores with many of his podcast guests. Ferris credits the fear-setting exercise as one of the main reasons he’s been able to thrive in high-stress environments.

In this TED talk, Ferris gives us an overview of the fear-setting exercise and encourages us to visualize all the fears that are preventing us from taking action.

When you start your own business, there are several fears that you need to overcome to run a successful business. The exercise of fear-setting, as explained by Ferris, can help you preempt obstacles and improve as an entrepreneur.

Best quote from Tim Ferriss’ TED talk: “The hard choices — what we most fear doing, asking, saying — these are very often exactly what we most need to do. And the biggest challenges and problems we face will never be solved with comfortable conversations, whether it’s in your own head or with other people.”

11. Regina Hartley: Why the Best Hire Might Not Have the Perfect Resume

Imagine you’re given a choice between two qualified candidates: Candidate A has an excellent resume, outstanding credentials, and great references. Candidate B, on the other hand, is a job hopper, average credentials, and experience of working in odd jobs.

Which candidate are you going to pick for your startup?

Most of us would naturally gravitate towards Candidate A, right? But human resources expert Regina Hartley prefers Candidate B.

Hartley calls Candidate B “the Scrapper” and Candidate A “the Silver Spoon.” According to her, Scrappers have a sense of purpose that prevents them from giving up because they have survived so many early hardships. On the other hand, the Silver Spoons have been engineered for success their whole life, so they may find it more difficult to handle tough times.

In this TED talk, Hartley provides compelling reasons as to why she would hire Scrappers over Silver Spoons and encourages us to do the same.

Best quote from Regina Hartley’s TED talk: “Take this resume. This guy’s parents give him up for adoption. He never finishes college. He job-hops quite a bit, goes on a sojourn to India for a year, and to top it off, he has dyslexia. Would you hire this guy? His name is Steve Jobs.”

12. Dao Nguyen: What Makes Something Go Viral?

Love them or hate them, but Buzzfeed has mastered the art of creating viral content.

In this insightful TED talk, Buzzfeed’s Publisher Dao Nguyen reveals how her team creates their viral quizzes, listicles, and videos. She also gives a glimpse into a system Buzzfeed has developed to consistently create content that resonates with their target audience.

If you’ve ever wondered how you can make your content go viral, this video is for you.

Best quote from Dao Nguyen’s TED talk: “Many media companies and creators do put themselves in their audiences’ shoes. But in the age of social media, we can go much farther. People are connected to each other on Facebook, on Twitter, and they’re increasingly using media to have a conversation and to talk to each other. If we can be a part of establishing a deeper connection between two people, then we will have done a real job for these people.”

13. Seth Godin: How to Get Your Ideas to Spread

Seth Godin is one of the most influential marketing gurus in the world and the author of over 18 bestselling business books. One of his most popular books is Purple Cow, in which he explains how businesses can stand out by creating something remarkable in a world full of boring products.

In this TED talk, Godin provides an overview of his Purple Cow concept and explains how individuals and businesses can get their ideas to spread by being remarkable.

Best quote from Seth Godin’s TED talk: “Cows are invisible. Cows are boring. Who’s going to stop and pull over and say, “Oh, look, a cow.” Nobody. But if the cow was purple — isn’t that a great special effect? I could do that again if you want. If the cow was purple, you’d notice it for a while.”

14. Daniel Pink: The Puzzle of Motivation

When it comes to motivation, there is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. Most businesses adopt extrinsic motivators such as rewards and punishment when they should be using intrinsic motivators such as autonomy and mastery to motivate employees.

In this TED talk, Daniel Pink, career analyst and the author of Drive, examines the science of motivation and explains why the secret to high performance is not rewards and punishment, but the intrinsic drive to do things for their own sake.

Best quote from Daniel Pink’s TED talk: “The science confirms what we know in our hearts. So, if we repair this mismatch between science and business, if we bring our motivation, notions of motivation into the 21st century, if we get past this lazy, dangerous, ideology of carrots and sticks, we can strengthen our businesses, we can solve a lot of those candle problems, and maybe we can change the world.”

15. Luvvie Ajayi: Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

To be a successful entrepreneur, you often need to step out of your comfort zone. Luvvie Ajayi, writer, activist, and self-proclaimed professional troublemaker, has never been shy of stepping out of her comfort zone. She has always valued speaking up over quieting down, and this simple approach to life has helped her achieve phenomenal results.

In this uplifting and humorous TED talk, Ajayi argues why it’s important for us to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

She shares three questions you need to ask yourself whenever you have doubts about speaking up and encourages us to get a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable by speaking hard truths when they are necessary.

Best quote from Luvvie Ajayi’s TED talk: “In a world that wants us to walk around as representatives of ourselves, being yourself can be a revolutionary act. And in a world that wants us to whisper, I choose to yell.”

Final Thoughts

So that wraps up my list of best TED talks for entrepreneurs.

Now I’d like to hear from you.

Did I miss out on any of your favorite TED talks? Which is the one TED talk you’d recommend to entrepreneurs?

Please share your favorite TED talk in the comments below.

If you found this article useful, please share it on Twitter using the link below:

15 Must-Watch TED Talks for Entrepreneurs Click to Tweet

Editor’s Note: This article was first published on 26 November 2020 and has been updated regularly since then for relevance and comprehensiveness.

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50 Best Naval Ravikant Quotes to Inspire You

Sandeep Mallya — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 13:34:28 +0000

Naval Ravikant is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and one of the most sought-after angel investors. He has launched several successful startups and invested in over 200 companies, including Uber, Twitter, and Clubhouse.

For the last several years, Naval has been sharing his unique perspectives on business, investing, and happiness to millions of followers on Twitter, through his own blog, podcast, and numerous other podcast interviews.

In 2020, Eric Jorgenson published The Almanack of Naval Ravikant. The book became an instant hit among entrepreneurs and has since influenced entrepreneurs and creators from all corners of the world, including me. If you’ve never heard of Naval before, Jorgenson’s book would be a great place to start.

The book curates Naval’s philosophy on two of his most explored topics: wealth and happiness. It’s filled with lessons, anecdotes, mental models, and advice that every entrepreneur will cherish as a guide to lead a happier, more successful life.

It’s one of the must-read business books for entrepreneurs from all walks of life. I’d urge you to pick up a copy of this book right away or if you prefer to read the book online, you can read the entirety of it for free at navalmanack.com.

Here’s how Tim Ferriss, who wrote the forward for The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, describes Naval:

Naval is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and he’s also one of the most courageous. Not in the “run into the fire without thinking twice” sense, but in the “think twice and then tell everyone they’re focusing on the wrong fire” sense. He is rarely part of any consensus, and the uniqueness of his life, lifestyle, family dynamics, and startup successes is a reflection of conscious choices he’s made to do things differently.

The collection of Naval Ravikant quotes below is an attempt to showcase some of his unique perspectives on business, life, wealth, and happiness. I’ve compiled 50 of Naval Ravikant’s best quotes — these are the quotes that really resonated with me and changed my perspective on life and business.

The Naval Ravikant quotes featured below have been compiled from three main sources: Erik Jorgenson’s book The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, Naval’s tweets, and Naval’s podcast interviews. Use the table of contents below to jump to different sections within the post.

50 Best Naval Ravikant Quotes

I. Best Naval Ravikant Quotes from Eric Jorgenson’s The Almanack of Naval Ravikanth

The first section in this post deals with excerpts from Eric Jorgenson’s book The Almanack of Naval Ravikant.

1. “All the returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest.”
— Naval Ravikant

Naval Ravikant is on the money with this quote. Compound interest is an immensely powerful concept and it doesn’t just work from an investment perspective. It works in business relationships, your reputation, and knowledge as well.

The longer you stay invested in a relationship or in the quest for knowledge, the better the returns in the long run. Similarly, if you have a good reputation and you keep building it for decades, people will eventually notice and you’ll gain economic rewards.

2. “The most important skill for getting rich is becoming a perpetual learner.”
— Naval Ravikant

We can either adopt a fixed mindset or growth mindset. By adopting a growth mindset, we become perpetual learners.

The old school of thought was to get a college degree and work a job for the next thirty years. But things are different now. You can’t expect to get rich by adopting a “know-it-all” attitude and refusing to learn new skills. You need to embrace a growth mindset to achieve great things and build wealth.

As Naval Ravikant says, the most important skill you can possess in pursuit of wealth is to never stop learning.

3. “Embrace accountability and take business risks under your own name. Society will reward you with responsibility, equity, and leverage.”
— Naval Ravikant

If you’d like to succeed in business, you need to take full accountability and have the courage to take risks under your own name. Just take a look at all the successful entrepreneurs — Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, and Jeff Bezos to name a few. They all had the courage to take massive risks under their own name and society rewarded them with wealth, trust, and recognition.

4. “If you can outsource something or not do something for less than your hourly rate, outsource it or don’t do it.”
— Naval Ravikant

Naval recommends that we set an aspirational hourly rate. Once you’ve set an hourly rate, you need to stick to it no matter what. You need to factor in your time into every decision you make. If you can find someone to do a job for less than your hourly rate, then it’s better to outsource it or not do it at all to save precious time that you can then devote to focusing on things that matter.

5. “The less you want something, the less you’re thinking about it, the less you’re obsessing over it, the more you’re going to do it in a natural way.”
— Naval Ravikant

This quote by Naval Ravikant reminds me of another quote by the great Zen monk and teacher Shunryu Suzuki, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” This Zen concept is known as shoshin (meaning beginner’s mind).

When you do things with shoshin, you let go of your preconceptions and prior knowledge and develop an attitude of openness to learn something new.

6. “Wealth is assets that earn while you sleep.”
— Naval Ravikant

Naval is one of the few intellectuals who can clearly define the difference between wealth and money. As Naval says, money is how we transfer wealth. Money is essentially social credits. Wealth, on the other hand, is businesses and assets that earn while you sleep.

To build wealth, you must own equity. Getting stock options at the company you work for or making long-term investment bets in the stock market are great ways to start. But the best way to generate wealth is to start your own business. And this is exactly what Naval recommends. Once you grasp the deeper meaning of wealth, you realize that the best route to financial freedom is to start your own venture.

7. “Forget rich versus poor, white-collar versus blue. It’s now leveraged versus un-leveraged.”
— Naval Ravikant

Leverage is a recurring theme in Naval’s business philosophy. To get a deeper understanding of this quote, you need to make sense of leverage.

According to Naval, there are three broad classes of leverage. One form of leverage is labor. The second form of leverage is money or capital. It’s the most dominant form of leverage in the last century. The third form of leverage is “products with no marginal cost of replication.” This includes books, media, movies, and code.

Naval believes code is the most effective form of leverage. Labor, on the other hand, is the worst form of leverage you can have. Not just because managing people is difficult and requires exceptional leadership skills. Since what you’re doing can easily be done by others, you don’t have any specific knowledge.

So in order to generate wealth, you need to build specific knowledge. As Naval says, you need to productize yourself. When you do that, you’ll have an infinite amount of leverage.

8. “Forty hour work weeks are a relic of the Industrial Age. Knowledge workers function like athletes — train and sprint, then rest and reassess.”
— Naval Ravikant

To be in control of time is to be in control of your life. Work when you’re in high-energy mode and rest when you’re in low-energy mode. That’s how entrepreneurs can maximize their productivity and make efficient use of their time.

9. “Earn with your mind, not your time.”
— Naval Ravikant

In one of his podcast interviews, Naval remarked how renting out your time means you’re essentially replaceable. Which is why it’s key to build specific knowledge. When you have specific knowledge, you have leverage. With specific knowledge and leverage at your disposal, you can start earning with your mind, and not your time.

10. “I would rather be a failed entrepreneur than someone who never tried. Because even a failed entrepreneur has the skill set to make it on their own.”
— Naval Ravikant

This Naval Ravikant quote illustrates how it’s important to be an entrepreneur, even if your business doesn’t achieve the desired goals. This is because the skill set you develop in your entrepreneurial experience stays with you for the rest of your life.

Bottom line? Entrepreneurship is a life skill.

11. “Most of the gains in life come from suffering in the short term so you can get paid in the long term.”
— Naval Ravikant

Inaction can hurt us even more in the long run. Procrastination may feel good in the short run, but it takes a toll on your productivity and the quality of your output. In order to be successful, you have to accept suffering in the short term, so you can reap rewards in the long term.

12. “Retirement is when you stop sacrificing today for an imaginary tomorrow. When today is complete, in and of itself, you’re retired.”
— Naval Ravikant

There’s a myth surrounding what our retirement age should be. Some want to retire early while others want to work until their last day on the planet. But as Naval remarks, you retire when you have enough savings, becoming a monk, or by working on something that you’re really passionate about.

13. “Apply specific knowledge with leverage and eventually, you will get what you deserve.”
— Naval Ravikant

The summary of Naval’s famous “How to Get Rich” tweet thread is “Productize Yourself.” Naval breaks these two words down as follows:

“Yourself” has uniqueness. “Productize” has leverage. “Yourself” has accountability. “Productize” has specific knowledge. “Yourself” also has specific knowledge in there. So of all these pieces, you can combine them into these two words.

With specific knowledge and sufficient leverage at your disposal, you are better equipped to reach your business goals.

14. “My definition of wisdom is knowing the long-term consequences of your actions. Wisdom applied to external problems is judgment.”
— Naval Ravikant

This is a great definition of wisdom. Wisdom is understanding the long-term repercussions of your actions today. When your wisdom is applied to external problems like paying off your home loan or dealing with a problematic situation, that’s good judgment.

15. “Mental models are really just compact ways for you to recall your own knowledge.”
— Naval Ravikant

Mental models are how we break down complex ideas and scenarios into understandable chunks. The more mental models you have in your toolbox, the better equipped you are to face the realities of life.

Here’s how Farnam Street defines mental models:

Mental models are how we understand the world. Not only do they shape what we think and how we understand but they shape the connections and opportunities that we see. Mental models are how we simplify complexity, why we consider some things more relevant than others, and how we reason.

In other words, a mental model is an understanding of how things work. The quality of our thinking is determined by our mental models and how we use them in the situation at hand. For example, Naval is widely regarded as a first principles thinker. First principles thinking is a core mental model wherein you deconstruct a complex idea separating facts from assumptions.

As Naval says, we can learn to think better and apply our knowledge to any situation at hand by having a set of mental models.

16. “Reading a book isn’t a race — the better the book, the more slowly it should be absorbed.”
— Naval Ravikant

I love this quote by Naval Ravikant. I’ve been guilty of taking audacious reading challenges on Goodreads (I used to target reading 100 books a year). But it’s not about the number of books you read. It’s the knowledge you can retain from those books. For this reason, it’s more important to read a good book slowly, while highlighting passages you like and taking notes that you can revisit from time to time.

It’s also worth rereading a good book several times so you can completely absorb the lessons. It feels good to have books in your reread list and it’s a rewarding experience to revisit some of the books you love.

17. “Read the greats in math, science, and philosophy. Ignore your contemporaries and news. Avoid tribal identification. Put truth above social approval.”
— Naval Ravikant

Naval recommends books from these topics because these are the topics that tend to scare people off because of the complex concepts that are unraveled in the books. Even if you find them too difficult or confusing the first time, you should go ahead and read them anyway and reread them until you absorb all the important lessons.

18. “If you start with the originals as your foundations, then you have enough of a worldview and understanding that you won’t fear any book.”
— Naval Ravikant

To get a better grasp of complex topics like math, science, and philosophy, start with the basics. If you want to study the theory of evolution, read Charlies Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Similarly, if you want to learn microeconomics, start with Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Before reading the contemporaries on these subjects, you should start with the originals because that gives you a much better foundation.

19. “Don’t take yourself so seriously. You’re just a monkey with a plan.”
— Naval Ravikant

One of the biggest mistakes we do in life is to take ourselves too seriously. We need to constantly remind ourselves that we are just a monkey with a plan. It really puts things into perspective.

20. “A rational person can find peace by cultivating indifference to things outside of their control.”
— Naval Ravikant

This Naval Ravikant quote is the foundation of Stoicism, an ancient Greco-Roman philosophy that has inspired new-age entrepreneurs like Naval, Tim Ferriss, Mark Cuban, and many more.

Dichotomy of control is the central tenet of stoicism. It’s the idea that certain things are under our control, while other things are not. It essentially means cultivating indifference to things outside our control and focusing our energy and resources on things we can control.

You can lead a much happier life if you focus on things that are in your control and ignore things that are out of your control. It’s easier said than done, which is why Stoicism deserves deeper study and analysis. To learn more about Stoicism, I’d recommend these five books:

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday
Live Like a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci

21. “The enemy of peace of mind is expectations drilled into you by society and other people.”
— Naval Ravikant

The Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius once said, “I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.” It’s a clear reminder to all of us to not live life according to the expectations of society.

22. “Caught in a funk? Use meditation, music, and exercise to reset your mood. Then choose a new path to commit emotional energy for rest of day.”
— Naval Ravikant

If you’re ever afraid of a new endeavor or are just procrastinating on a new project, use meditation, music, and exercise to reset and refresh. Once you’ve done that, get back to whatever it is you were doing with renewed focus and energy.

23. “A personal metric: how much of the day is spent doing things out of obligation rather than out of interest?”
— Naval Ravikant

A thoughtful observation by Naval. Figure out how many things are done in your day due to what the family and society expects of you, rather than out of your own interest. Once you’ve figured that out, try to spend more time on doing things you like and things that can further your learning.

24. “We evolved for scarcity but live in abundance.”
— Naval Ravikant

The proliferation of social media and mobile technology has turned us into anxious creatures. The constant need to check the phone or achieve “inbox zero” is a recipe for misery. For this reason, we need to take a step back and resist the urge to respond to emails or social media comments in real-time. Don’t make yourself so reachable.

25. “Life hack: when in bed, meditate. Either you will have a deep meditation or fall asleep. Victory either way.”
— Naval Ravikant

This is an interesting and super useful life hack from Naval Ravikant. I’ve tried it myself and like Naval says, it works both ways. Either you’ll have a wonderful meditation session or fall asleep. You win either way. In both instances, you get the required rest you so desperately need.

26. “Meditation is intermittent fasting for the mind.”
— Naval Ravikant

Intermittent fasting is when you eat within the time frame of 8 hours and fast for 16 hours. It’s one of the most effective ways to lose weight and reset your body. As intermittent fasting is to the body, meditation is to the mind.

27. “Grind and sweat, toil and bleed, face the abyss. It’s all part of becoming an overnight success.”
— Naval Ravikant

The news media and people in general love overnight success stories. But let’s face it: overnight success doesn’t exist. NBA legend Michael Jordan said it best when he said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

In order to succeed, you need to embrace failure and keep learning from your mistakes. As Naval says, overnight success is a result of countless hours of grinding, toiling, and sweating.

28. “Courage isn’t charging into a machine gun nest. Courage is not caring what other people think.”
— Naval Ravikant

Stoic philosopher Epictetus once said, “If you are ever tempted to look for outside approval, realize that you have compromised your integrity. If you need a witness, be your own.” Your success, happiness, and self-worth shouldn’t be determined by other people. Instead, you should look inward and set your own benchmarks.

One of the most effective ways to lead an unhappy life is to care about what others think. As Naval says, real courage is all about not caring what other people think. When you stop seeking outside approval, you set better standards for yourself and approach goals with a clear mind.

29. “Inspiration is perishable — act on it immediately.”
— Naval Ravikant

When you’re inspired by something, act on it immediately. Because inspiration is just a fleeting moment. If you don’t capture it at the right time, you’re going to lose it forever. So if you find inspiration, acting on it is key to developing some sort of momentum.

30. “The democratization of technology allows anyone to be a creator, entrepreneur, scientist. The future is brighter.”
— Naval Ravikant

Where you live still plays an important role, but the ubiquitousness of the internet and digital devices has made it easy for anyone to be an entrepreneur or creator. We live in the information age. Access to all kinds of information is now easier than ever, giving your ideas a better chance of becoming reality.

II. Best Naval Ravikant Quotes from his Tweets

This section includes Naval Ravikant quotes compiled from his Twitter account.

31. “Changing your interpretation of your past is often just as good as changing your past.”
— Naval Ravikant

Don’t let your past define your present. It’s not the past events themselves that are affecting us. It’s the way we interpret these events. By changing our interpretation of past events, we can prevent it from defining our present and future.

32. “Reading is more efficient when at rest. Audio is more efficient when in motion.”
— Naval Ravikant

A simple piece of advice from Naval on how to optimize your time and learning. Read books while you’re resting and listen to podcasts or audio books while traveling, commuting to work, or working out at the gym.

33. “School, politics, sports, and games train us to compete against others. True rewards – wealth, knowledge, love, fitness, and equanimity – come from ignoring others and improving ourselves.”
— Naval Ravikant

The social media culture has bred envy and jealousy into our DNA where we constantly compare ourselves with others. Instead of competing with others, which leads to envy and misery ultimately, compete with your past self. It’s the best way to improve yourself.

34. “My 1 repeated learning in life: ‘There Are No Adults.’ Everyone’s making it up as they go along. Figure it out yourself, and do it.”
— Naval Ravikant

This quote by Naval Ravikant reminds me of the famous Socrates quote, “The only thing I know is that I know nothing.” And he’s one of the greatest philosophers of all time. When he can have the humility to accept that he knows nothing, who are we to proclaim we have all the answers? Stop taking yourself so seriously, learn from your mistakes, and set your own path.

35. “The really smart thinkers are clear thinkers. They understand the basics at a very, very fundamental level. I would rather understand the basics really well than memorize all kinds of complicated concepts I can’t stitch together and can’t rederive from the basics.”
— Naval Ravikant

All the brilliant thinkers have a toolbox of mental models that they apply to different problems and situations. They have such a clear understanding of concepts because they have a fundamental understanding of the basics. Revisit quote #17 and you’ll know why Naval stresses so much on reading the fundamentals really well.

36. “When building a portfolio of investments that can have non-linear outcomes, never sell early. You may be right most of the time, but the one time you’re wrong will cost you most of the returns.”
— Naval Ravikant

This is such an important observation on investing. This is especially the case if you’re investing in cryptocurrencies. Take the extreme volatility of Bitcoin, for example, and the panic that ensues when the prices drop.

When you’re building a robust stock or crypto portfolio, make sure you stay invested for a long period and resist the temptation to sell early. As Morgan Housel says in his brilliant book The Psychology of Money, “Doing well with money has little to do with smartness and a lot to do with behavior.” Stay invested in the long run and enjoy the benefits of compounding.

37. “The most important trick to be happy is to realize that happiness is a choice that you make and a skill set that you develop. You choose to be happy, and then you work at it. It’s just like building muscles.”
— Naval Ravikant

Happiness is a skill that needs to be developed. It’s just like developing an exercise routine. Once you make a commitment to stay heathy, your exercise routine becomes more meaningful and you’re in a much better frame of mind to reach your health goals. We need to take a similar approach to happiness. Once you make a choice to be happier, you are in a much better mental state to develop a skill set for happiness.

38. “If you eat, invest, and think according to what the ‘news’ advocates, you’ll end nutritionally, financially, and morally bankrupt.”
— Naval Ravikant

Mainstream news channels follow the money. There’s nothing authentic in their advice, be it financial, nutritional, or political. The quality of your day shouldn’t be determined by what’s reported by the news media. Be in control of your inputs and lead a better, happier life.

39. “The Lindy Effect for startups: The longer you go without shipping product, the more likely you will never ship product.”
— Naval Ravikant

This is procrastination from a startup perspective. The longer you take planning the launch of your product, the more likely you will never launch it.

The Lindy effect applies to content creators as well. The longer you take to finish a specific project, the more likely you are never going to ship it.

In his book Linchpin, Seth Godin describes the importance of shipping. As Seth Godin writes, “The only purpose of starting is to finish, and while the projects we do are never really finished, they must ship. Shipping means hitting the publish button on your blog, showing a presentation to the sales team, answering the phone, selling the muffins, sending out your references.”

When it comes to shipping your product, you need to stick to strict deadlines. Even if your product is not fully ready for the market, the best approach is to launch it now, and do improvements to your product later. Long-term planning is simply a waste of time.

40. “If you want to make the wrong decision, ask everyone.”
— Naval Ravikant

When it comes to deciding something important, trust your gut over the opinion of others. The famous Henry Ford quote goes like this, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

Think about it: We wouldn’t have had revolutionary products like cars, personal computers, and smartphones if the visionaries behind these products had waited for their customers to articulate these ideas to them.

III. Best Naval Ravikant Quotes from his Podcast Interviews

This section includes Naval Ravikant quotes from his own podcast and numerous other podcast interviews.

41. “The Internet allows you to scale any niche obsession.”
— Naval Ravikant

The ubiquitousness of the internet has allowed anyone to carve a thriving career out of their niche obsession. Take Joe Rogan’s success with podcasting, for example. And Wally and Amanda’s success on Instagram — the husband and wife team behind Accidentally Wes Anderson. Both these vastly different individuals were able to scale a single obsession of theirs and monetize them beyond their wildest dreams.

Joe Rogan is a divisive figure. But even his staunchest critic won’t deny the fact that he’s one of the most successful content entrepreneurs out there. Who could have predicted ten years ago that podcasting would fetch you a $100 million deal with one of the premier audio platforms in the world? That’s what the internet has done.

42. “Play long-term games with long-term people.”
— Naval Ravikant

When you play long-term games with people you trust, compound interest takes over and you reap massive rewards in the long run.

43. “Don’t partner with cynics and pessimists; their beliefs are self-fulfilling.”
— Naval Ravikant

It’s important to surround ourselves with people who believe in our vision and goals. Don’t associate yourself with cynics as their pessimism will eventually bring you down.

44. “Read what you love until you love to read.”
— Naval Ravikant

If you want to develop a reading habit, you need to first start with the genres you like. Once it becomes a habit, you can check out the reading recommendations of people you admire.

Side note: You can find Naval’s reading recommendations at the end of this article. Be sure to check it out.

45. “Your most important skill isn’t even what you majored in or even what you studied, it’s just knowing how to learn. If you have a good grasp of mathematics and if you like to read, there’s nothing you can’t learn on your own.”
— Naval Ravikant

(From Tim Ferriss’ Podcast)

When you adopt a growth mindset and embrace the concept of perpetual learning, you can master any skill. Mathematics is one of the STEM disciplines and if you have a keen interest and skill in math, you have all the tools and discipline necessary to learn anything on your own.

46. “I think learning how to break habits is a very important meta-skill that can serve you better in life than almost anything else.”
— Naval Ravikant

(From Tim Ferriss’ Podcast)

As Naval says, it’s important to be aware of your habits and know how to break bad habits. Naval goes on to explain how it’s important to develop working out as a habit or do some kind of physical activity every single day.

Having a daily exercise routine can help you break a lot of bad habits like drinking too much caffeine or smoking or partying all night long. As you start breaking these bad habits, you realize there are other bad habits that can be fixed just as easily.

47. “It’s better to read a great book slowly than to fly through a hundred books quickly.”
— Naval Ravikant

You may be tempted to read as many books as you can as fast as you can. But reading shouldn’t be a race with others. Books should be savored and absorbed. When you’re reading a good book, read it slowly and absorb its lessons completely. Don’t be in a hurry to finish the book.

48. “If you’re willing to bleed a little every day, you may win big later.”
— Naval Ravikant

This Naval Ravikant quote represents an entrepreneur’s journey. In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to bleed a little every day so you can win big later.

49. “Take business risks under your own name.”
— Naval Ravikant

To get leverage in the form of capital, you have to build credibility. And to build credibility, you need to take business risks under your own name. You need to be accountable. Accountability is a double-edged sword — you get the credit when things go well and bear the brunt of failure when things go south. Which is why most people lack the courage to embrace accountability.

But modern society rewards risk takers — people who have the ability to take risks under their own name get more economic rewards. Embracing accountability is the path to financial freedom and maximum leverage.

50. “You must own equity to gain your financial freedom.”
— Naval Ravikant