In a recent Twitter Space on 15 Jan, 2025, representatives from Fox Wallet and Spacemesh came together to discuss their ongoing collaboration, latest developments, and plans for 2025. The discussion provided valuable insights into both projects and their shared vision for the future of decentralized technology.
Fox Wallet Overview
Natalie, representing Fox Wallet as their Business Development lead for nearly three years, opened the discussion by introducing their multi-chain decentralized Web3 wallet. Fox Wallet currently supports over 80 different networks, including Spacemesh, and stands out as possibly the only mobile wallet solution for the Space Mesh ecosystem.
Key features of Fox Wallet include:
Cross-chain swaps
Fiat on/off ramps
Discovery page for accessing various dApps
Seamless integration with Space Mesh ecosystem
NFT support for select networks
Advanced security features, including audits and 24/7 monitoring through Go Plus and Web API
Potential upcoming staking features for Spacemesh
Spacemesh: A Novel Blockchain Approach
Tomer Afek, a key figure at Spacemesh, shared his journey from VC investor to crypto innovator. The project emerged from his experiences as a Bitcoin miner in 2016-2017, when he observed the increasing industrialization of mining making it unfeasible for home miners. This led to the development of Spacemesh, which introduces several innovative approaches to blockchain technology:
Reduced minimum requirements for reward-earning nodes
Separation of node operations from mining activities
Medium Term:
ATX merge implementation
Identity consolidation features
Network load reduction
Long Term:
New version of Post protocol
Prevention of identity splitting exploits
Optimization for existing miners
Enhanced marketing initiatives
Future Collaboration
Both parties expressed enthusiasm for continued collaboration, particularly as Spacemesh prepares for expanded marketing initiatives following their technical improvements. Fox Wallet indicated their readiness to support these efforts through their community engagement and integration capabilities.
Community Engagement
The Spacemesh team emphasized opportunities for developers to build key institutions within their ecosystem, particularly as the VM becomes more functional. They encourage early interaction with the system to explore potential applications that could benefit from enhanced decentralization.
In the evolving world of blockchain, one principle stands out as a cornerstone for building a truly decentralized future: permissionless participation. At Spacemesh, this isn’t just a feature—it’s a foundational value that drives every decision, every design, and every innovation. Let’s explore why permissionless participation is so crucial, the challenges it addresses in the crypto space, and how Spacemesh is creating a network that’s accessible, fair, and open to all.
What Does Permissionless Mean?
Permissionless systems allow anyone to participate without requiring approval or permission from a centralized authority. Whether you’re running a node, mining, or transacting, the system welcomes you without gatekeepers.
For Spacemesh, permissionless participation means that anyone with basic hardware and a bit of free disk space can join the network and contribute. This ethos is a direct challenge to many traditional and even modern blockchain systems, which often include subtle or overt barriers to entry.
Why Permissionless Participation Matters
1. True Decentralization
Many blockchains claim to be decentralized, but when you dig deeper, you’ll often find concentration of power. Whether it’s in industrial mining farms or wealth-based Proof of Stake (PoS) systems, the reality is that many blockchains inadvertently favor those with more resources.
Spacemesh takes a different approach. By using Proof of Space Time (PoST), Spacemesh ensures that participation doesn’t depend on expensive GPUs, massive energy consumption, or large amounts of staked cryptocurrency. Instead, it’s based on something almost everyone has: unused hard drive space.
2. Fairness and Accessibility
The cryptocurrency space has seen a rise in exclusivity. From the dominance of industrial mining operations in Proof of Work (PoW) systems to the capital-intensive nature of PoS systems, many blockchains inadvertently exclude smaller participants.
Spacemesh combats this by keeping entry barriers low. If you have a basic PC and some spare storage, you can smesh (mine) and earn rewards. This approach ensures that Spacemesh isn’t just for the wealthy or technically savvy—it’s for everyone.
3. Resilience Through Diversity
A network’s strength lies in its diversity. When power is concentrated in a few hands, it becomes vulnerable to attacks, manipulation, and even failure. Permissionless participation ensures a wide range of participants, making the network more resilient to these risks.
Spacemesh’s low entry barriers encourage individuals from all over the world to join. The more distributed the participants, the harder it becomes for any single entity to disrupt the network.
The Challenges of Permissionless Participation
Building a truly permissionless system isn’t easy. It requires innovative technology and a commitment to designing systems that prioritize fairness and accessibility over quick profits. Spacemesh has faced and overcome several challenges to stay true to its vision:
1. Economies of Scale in Mining
Traditional PoW systems, like Bitcoin, started as permissionless, but the rise of industrial-scale mining has created significant centralization. Cheap electricity and bulk-purchased hardware give big players an edge, pushing out smaller miners.
Spacemesh’s PoST levels the playing field by using hard drive space instead of computational power. This eliminates many of the advantages large miners have, keeping mining accessible to individuals.
2. Capital Barriers in Proof of Stake
PoS systems are often lauded for their energy efficiency, but they come with a major drawback: they favor the wealthy. The more tokens you own, the more control you have, creating an inherent bias toward the already rich.
Spacemesh avoids this by not tying participation to financial stakes. It’s designed to be open to anyone, regardless of their financial situation.
How Spacemesh Achieves Permissionless Participation
1. Proof of Space Time (PoST)
At the heart of Spacemesh is PoST, a unique consensus mechanism that relies on storage instead of computational power or financial stakes. Participants dedicate unused hard drive space to the network, proving their commitment without incurring high costs.
This approach is not only fair but also energy-efficient, addressing one of the biggest criticisms of traditional PoW systems.
2. No Reliance on Mining Pools
Many blockchain systems push miners toward pools to remain competitive. While pools offer predictable rewards, they centralize control and require miners to trust pool operators.
Spacemesh is designed to minimize the need for pools. Its architecture allows individual miners to remain competitive without pooling resources, ensuring true independence and decentralization.
3. Node Split for Enhanced Security and Accessibility
The upcoming Node Split architecture will make it even easier for individuals to participate. By separating the public node from the Smasher Service, Node Split reduces resource demands while keeping private keys secure. This modular design lowers barriers for home miners and ensures a more secure setup.
Permissionless Participation and the Future
Spacemesh’s commitment to permissionless participation is about more than just technology—it’s about building a better future. A truly decentralized network empowers individuals, giving them control over their digital lives without relying on centralized authorities.
In a world where trust in institutions is eroding, Spacemesh offers a vision of a system that’s open, fair, and built for the common good. By staying true to its permissionless principles, Spacemesh is creating opportunities for everyone—not just the privileged few.
Why Support Spacemesh?
Spacemesh is more than just a blockchain—it’s a movement. A movement to create a decentralized, permissionless system that empowers individuals and protects the interests of the many. Supporting Spacemesh means supporting a vision of crypto that’s open to all, fair, and resilient.
As Spacemesh continues to evolve, permissionless participation will remain at its core. By prioritizing accessibility, fairness, and decentralization, Spacemesh is setting a new standard for what blockchain can achieve.
Are you ready to join the permissionless revolution? Spacemesh is building the future, and there’s room for everyone.
Welcome to the hub of Spacemesh knowledge! As a part of the growing blockchain and crypto ecosystem, Spacemesh introduces unique approaches to decentralization and energy efficiency. To help both newcomers and experienced enthusiasts explore and understand this innovative project, I’ve created a series of Twitter threads under @Spacemeshindia. Each thread breaks down complex concepts, updates, and features of Spacemesh in an easy-to-follow format.
In this post, you’ll find a collection of all my Twitter threads, curated to guide you through Spacemesh’s key ideas and latest developments. Whether you’re here to learn about the basics, deep-dive into technical details, or stay updated on the project’s progress, these threads have you covered.
Cryptocurrencies are all about innovation, and Spacemesh is no exception. At the heart of any successful cryptocurrency lies its Tech and tokenomics—the rules governing how coins are distributed, earned, and circulated. For Spacemesh, its SMH tokenomics are designed to promote fairness, decentralization, and long-term sustainability.
But what exactly makes Spacemesh’s tokenomics stand out? Why does decentralization matter, and how does vesting play a crucial role in the network’s growth? In this post, we’ll break down these concepts in simple, digestible terms.
What is Tokenomics?
Before we zoom in on Spacemesh, let’s get a handle on what tokenomics is in general. Imagine you’re the owner of a bakery. You need to decide how many loaves of bread you’ll bake, how you’ll distribute them, and who gets them. Do you make a lot of bread upfront and give it all away, or do you slowly bake loaves over time so people can always get fresh bread? Tokenomics works the same way for cryptocurrencies, but instead of bread, you have coins.
Tokenomics answers important questions like:
How many coins will be created?
How will these coins be distributed?
What rewards will miners or participants receive?
How can the economy of this cryptocurrency remain sustainable?
Now that we have a sense of what tokenomics is, let’s dive into Spacemesh.
Spacemesh Tokenomics: Designed for the Long Term
Spacemesh takes a unique approach to distributing its native token, SMH. Unlike some cryptocurrencies that flood the market with tokens, Spacemesh follows a model inspired by Bitcoin—but with important tweaks that make it even more gradual and sustainable.
Why Gradual Issuance?
Instead of dumping a large number of $SMH into the ecosystem at once, Spacemesh releases new coins slowly—similar to how Bitcoin does it, but even slower.Why? This allows the economy to grow steadily, prevents inflation, and ensures there’s always some incentive for new participants to join in and mine SMH.
Here’s the fun part: Spacemesh’s issuance rate is 7.3 times more gradual than Bitcoin! To put it simply, Bitcoin cuts the number of new coins it releases every four years in a process called “halving.” But Spacemesh is much more patient. Its issuance decreases steadily with a half-life of 31 years. Think of it like a slow-release vitamin, giving the network just the right amount of “energy” over time to keep it healthy and growing.
How SMH is Distributed
The Total Supply of SMH
Spacemesh has a total supply of 2.4 billion SMH coins. These coins will be distributed slowly over hundreds of years. In fact, the last full SMH won’t be issued until 2299! Talk about thinking long term, right?
But don’t worry—you won’t have to wait until the 23rd century to get your hands on some SMH. Here’s how the distribution works.
No Premine: Starting on Equal Footing
Unlike many cryptocurrencies that give early investors or insiders a huge number of coins before the network even launches, Spacemesh takes a different approach. There is no premine.
What does this mean? On the day the Spacemesh network went live, zero coins was being handed out to early investors or developers. The only way to get SMH in the first year is to mine it yourself, just like everyone else. This helps ensure a fair start for all participants.
Vesting: Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Now, while early investors and builders won’t get coins right away, they are still rewarded over time. This is done through something called a vesting schedule.
What is Vesting?
Think of vesting like this: You’re given a big chocolate cake (or coins in this case), but you’re not allowed to eat the whole thing at once. Instead, you can only eat a slice every year for the next few years. That’s vesting! It ensures that early supporters can’t flood the market with coins all at once, which could cause prices to crash.
How Vesting Works in Spacemesh
For Spacemesh, 150 million SMH coins are set aside for early investors and core team members. These coins will be locked in smart contracts, and they’ll start to unlock after the first year of the network. Over the next three years, these coins will slowly unlock, meaning early supporters will get their share gradually rather than all at once.
Here’s the breakdown:
Year 1: No coins unlock.
Years 2-4: Coins unlock gradually, so by the end of year 4, they’ll be fully vested and tradable.
By the 10-year mark, these early coins will represent 25% of the total supply issued up to that point. But over time, as more SMH is mined by the community, this percentage will decrease to 6.25% of the total supply. You Can Track Vault Unlock Here
Adapting to Community Feedback: Tokenomics Adjustment
One of the standout features of Spacemesh is its commitment to community-driven governance. Unlike some projects where decisions are made behind closed doors, Spacemesh listens to its users and adapts based on their feedback.
Originally, Spacemesh had a steeper vesting cliff. What does that mean? It means that after the first year, a large portion of the tokens reserved for early investors and supporters would unlock all at once. This would have caused a sudden increase in the circulating supply, which raised concerns within the community.
To address this, the Spacemesh team listened to the community and smoothed out the vesting schedule. Instead of a sharp release of tokens, the coins now unlock gradually, reducing the risk of a supply shock that could destabilize the market.
This change shows Spacemesh’s commitment to fairness and maintaining a healthy ecosystem. By responding to community concerns, they ensured the network remains stable, and early supporters still get rewarded without disrupting the broader market.
Why This Matters
This adjustment highlights an important aspect of Spacemesh’s tokenomics: it’s built to evolve with the community. Instead of sticking to rigid rules, the team worked with the community to find a better solution. This kind of adaptive governance helps ensure long-term sustainability and keeps the project aligned with the interests of all participants.
A Long-Term Vision: Decentralization and Fairness
Spacemesh’s tokenomics are built with decentralization in mind. The team believes that anyone, anywhere, should be able to participate in mining without needing specialized hardware. In fact, all you need is a regular computer and some extra storage space to start earning SMH.
This makes the network more inclusive, allowing people from all over the world to join without expensive mining rigs. It’s a bit like saying: “Hey, you don’t need a fancy bakery to make great bread—just your home kitchen will do!
A Predictable Economic Model
One of the key goals of Spacemesh’s tokenomics is to create an economy that’s predictable and transparent. Since the rate at which SMH is issued is tied to an exponential decay function, the supply is always known and easy to calculate.
In other words, there are no surprises. Everyone can see how many SMH coins have been issued at any given time, and how many are left to be mined.
Why Does This Matter?
At its core, the way Spacemesh is handling its tokenomics and vesting schedule is about ensuring fairness and long-term sustainability. Instead of handing early investors a huge bag of coins upfront, Spacemesh ensures that they receive their rewards over time. This keeps the market stable and gives new participants a chance to mine and earn coins fairly.
The gradual issuance also ensures that there will always be new coins for miners to earn, even many years into the future. It’s a plan designed not just for now, but for centuries to come. That’s long-term thinking!
Conclusion: Building a Decentralized Future
Spacemesh’s approach to tokenomics and vesting is all about creating a fair and decentralized economic model that lasts for generations. By allowing anyone with a computer to mine SMH and by issuing coins gradually, Spacemesh is making sure the network remains healthy, inclusive, and sustainable.
The slow-release nature of SMH ensures that new participants always have something to mine, while the vesting schedule for early investors keeps the market balanced.
So, whether you’re a miner, developer, or investor, Spacemesh is giving you the opportunity to be part of a decentralized future. And it’s doing so with fairness, transparency, and sustainability at the heart of its economic model.
In this post, we’re going to unravel the mystery of how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin manage to agree on who owns what, without a central authority calling the shots. We’ll start with the classic proof of work, then explore newer ideas like proof of stake, and finally dive into an exciting new approach called Space Mesh. Buckle up, because we’re about to take a journey from the digital mines of Bitcoin to the frontiers of blockchain technology!
Background and Context: The Birth of Distributed Consensus
To understand consensus mechanisms, let’s first hop in our time machine and travel back to the 1980s. No, not for the music (though that was pretty great), but because that’s when computer scientists started wrestling with a tricky problem: how do you get a bunch of computers to agree on something when some of them might be lying?
This problem, known as distributed consensus, is like trying to organize a potluck dinner where some guests might be secretly trying to sabotage the meal. How do you make sure everyone brings the right dish when you can’t trust all the RSVPs?
Fast forward to 2008, and along comes a mysterious figure named Satoshi Nakamoto with a brilliant idea: what if, instead of counting votes from people (who can easily create fake identities online), we count votes based on computer power? This was the birth of Bitcoin and its consensus mechanism: proof of work.
In-Depth Explanation: From Proof of Work to Spacemesh
Proof of Work: The Digital Gold Rush
Proof of work is like a never-ending mathematical treasure hunt. Imagine thousands of computers around the world trying to solve a really hard math problem. The first one to solve it gets to add a new “block” to the blockchain and receives some shiny new bitcoins as a reward.
Here’s how it works:
Transactions are grouped into a block.
Miners (powerful computers) compete to solve a complex mathematical puzzle.
The first miner to solve the puzzle gets to add the block to the blockchain.
Other miners verify the solution and move on to the next block.
This system is clever because it makes it extremely expensive to cheat. If you wanted to change a past transaction, you’d need to redo all the work from that point forward, which would require more computing power than the entire honest network combined.
However, proof of work has some drawbacks:
It’s energy-hungry. Bitcoin mining now uses as much electricity as a medium-sized country!
It can lead to unfair reward distribution, with big mining operations getting a head start.
It limits transaction throughput because only one miner can add a block at a time.
Proof of Stake: The Digital Stockholders Meeting
Enter proof of stake, the eco-friendly cousin of proof of work. Instead of a computational race, proof of stake is more like a lottery where your chances of winning are proportional to how many coins you hold.
Here’s the gist:
Validators “stake” their coins as collateral.
The network randomly selects a validator to create the next block.
If the validator acts honestly, they earn transaction fees. If they cheat, they lose their stake.
This system uses far less energy and allows for faster transactions. However, it’s not without its critics. Some argue it could lead to centralization, with the richest validators accumulating more power over time.
Spacemesh: The New Kid on the Block(chain)
Now, let’s talk about an exciting new approach: Spacemesh. Developed by a team of researchers, Spacemesh aims to combine the best of both worlds while addressing their shortcomings.
Spacemesh is based on a concept called proof of space-time. Instead of using computational power or staked coins, it uses storage space over time. Here’s how it works:
Participants allocate space on their hard drives to the network.
The network selects participants to create blocks in each “layer” (think of layers as time periods).
Selected participants create blocks and include transactions.
The network uses a combination of voting and randomness to agree on which blocks are valid.
What makes Space Mesh special? Let’s break it down:
1. Race-Free Consensus
Remember how in Bitcoin, miners race to solve a puzzle? This can lead to wasted effort and unfair advantages. Space Mesh eliminates this race condition. If you’re selected to create a block, you can do so without worrying about someone beating you to it.
2. Increased Throughput
Because multiple blocks can be created in each layer, Space Mesh can potentially handle many more transactions per second than traditional blockchain systems.
3. Fair Reward Distribution
In Spacemesh, your chances of being selected to create a block are directly proportional to the amount of space you contribute. This makes it harder for large operators to gain unfair advantages.
4. Environmental Friendliness
While not as energy-efficient as proof of stake, Spacemesh uses far less energy than proof of work systems. Storing data is much cheaper and more environmentally friendly than constantly running computations.
5. True Decentralization
Unlike proof of stake, where the rich can potentially accumulate more power, Space Mesh allows anyone with spare hard drive space to participate meaningfully in the network.
6. Formal Security Proofs
The creators of Spacemesh have put a lot of effort into formally proving the security of their system. This means we can have more confidence in its resistance to attacks.
The Tortoise and the Hare: Spacemesh’s Dual Protocol Approach
Spacemesh uses two protocols working together: the Tortoise and the Hare. (And no, we’re not talking about Aesop’s fables here!)
The Tortoise protocol is like the steady, reliable backbone of the system. It slowly but surely confirms blocks and transactions, making them irreversible over time. It does this by having blocks vote on the validity of previous blocks.
The Hare protocol, on the other hand, is the quick decision-maker. It helps honest participants agree on recent blocks quickly, so you don’t have to wait for the Tortoise to slowly confirm everything.
Together, these protocols provide both fast initial confirmation and long-term security. It’s like having your cake and eating it too!
Real-World Applications and Implications
So why should you care about all this blockchain mumbo-jumbo? Well, consensus mechanisms are the beating heart of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. They determine how fast transactions can be processed, how much energy is used, and who gets to participate in the network.
Imagine a world where:
International money transfers happen in min, not days, and cost cents instead of dollars.
Voting systems are transparent and tamper-proof, ensuring fair elections.
Supply chains are fully traceable, reducing fraud and improving safety.
These are just a few of the potential applications of blockchain technology. The consensus mechanism used can make the difference between a slow, energy-hungry system and a fast, efficient one that can handle real-world demands.
Spacemesh, with its innovative approach, could potentially unlock new use cases for blockchain technology. Its increased throughput could make it suitable for high-frequency applications like micropayments or real-time asset trading. Its fairness and accessibility could lead to more decentralized networks, reducing the risk of manipulation by powerful entities.
Conclusion
We’ve come a long way from the early days of Bitcoin’s proof of work. Through proof of stake and now to innovative approaches like Space Mesh, we’re seeing the evolution of consensus mechanisms in real-time.
These aren’t just abstract computer science concepts. They’re the foundations upon which the next generation of financial systems, supply chains, and decentralized applications will be built. As we continue to grapple with issues of trust, transparency, and fairness in our digital world, these consensus mechanisms will play an increasingly important role.
So the next time you hear about a new cryptocurrency or blockchain project, take a moment to look under the hood at its consensus mechanism. It might just give you a glimpse into the future of how we agree on things in our increasingly digital world.
Remember, in the world of blockchain, consensus isn’t just about agreement – it’s about building trust in a trustless world. And that’s something we can all agree is pretty amazing.
Further Reading
If you’re hungry for more blockchain knowledge, here are some resources to continue your journey:
“Mastering Bitcoin” by Andreas M. Antonopoulos – A deep dive into Bitcoin and proof of work.
Obsidian is a powerful note-taking and knowledge management app that offers various features to help you organize and retrieve information efficiently. One such feature is the callout feature, which enables users to highlight and emphasize specific sections of their notes. In this article, we will explore using keyboard shortcuts to effectively use the obsidian callout feature.
Getting Started with Obsidian Callout
Before we deep dive into the specifics of utilizing the callout feature, it is essential to familiarize yourself with the basics of Obsidian. If you haven’t already, make sure to download and install the latest version of Obsidian on your device. Once installed, open the application and create a new vault or open an existing one where you want to utilize the callout feature.
Remember callout is a core feature in obsidian. You can also add a callout without using my method, but it will be frustrating and require manual syntax. This is the official documentation about callout to use callout using manual syntax. if you know the manual syntax, my method will save you a lot of time.
My Method
You have to prepare your vault to use this technique. The steps are below
STEP 1: Download and install Obsidian on your device.
STEP 2: Create a new vault and create a folder called “Templates” inside that vault.
STEP 3: Create a new Note inside the Templates folder called “Callout” (you can keep any name you want) and paste the code below
STEP 4: Now to settings> Community plugins > Turn on community plugin > Browse > Search “Templater”. install the Templater plugin and enable it. Go to the settings of the Templater plugin.
Select the Template folder that you already created in step 2.
Under the Template Hotkey section select the template “callout” you have already created in Step 3
here are my settings
STEP 5: Now go to the main setting of Obsidian, then go to Hotkeys and search “callout”
Like this
Now click on the plus icon and add a keyboard shortcut for this templater script. I am using “ALT+C” to trigger this.
STEP 5: Now let’s check the result. Create a new note inside your vault (not in the Templates folder) and press ALT+C it will open a pop-up window to select the callout type. select one and it will ask you to select the callout fold options
None: can’t toggle this callout
Expanded: Open the callout in expand mode
Collapsed: callout will be collapsed
(I mostly use the collapsed mode)
Now it will ask you to give the title of the callout
Now it will ask you to write the content inside the callout
That’s it. Now enjoy the callout feature with the keyboard shortcut. It will make your note taking process more efficient and you note will look visually appealing.
When and Where to Use Callouts
You should consider using the callout feature in Obsidian when you want to highlight or emphasize specific pieces of information within your notes or documents. Callouts are typically used to draw attention to important points, key takeaways, quotes, or noteworthy data. Here are some situations where you might find the callout feature useful:
Highlighting Key Points: Use callouts to make crucial information stand out, making it easier for you and others to quickly grasp the main ideas in your notes.
Quoting Text: When you want to quote a passage from a book, article, or interview, placing it in a callout can help distinguish it from your own writing and give it prominence.
Noteworthy Statistics: If you have statistics, figures, or data that are essential to understanding the context of your notes, using callouts can make them more visible and memorable.
Important Reminders: Callouts are handy for creating visual reminders or to-do lists within your notes, ensuring you don’t overlook critical tasks or action items.
Clarifications: Use callouts to explain or clarify points in your text, providing additional context for your readers.
Emphasizing Quotes: When you want to emphasize a particular quote or statement within a larger text, callouts can help draw attention to it.
Annotations: Callouts can be used as annotations or commentary on specific sections of text, helping you add your thoughts or explanations to the content.
Summaries: In longer documents or notes, you can use callouts to create brief summaries of each section, allowing for quick navigation and understanding.
Ultimately, the callout feature in Obsidian is a versatile tool for visually organizing and emphasizing information within your notes, making it more accessible and impactful for both yourself and your readers. Use it to enhance the clarity of your notes and documents.
This post summarizes the key insights from Naval Ravikant’s podcast where he elaborate from his viral tweetstorm on how to get rich without relying on luck. The tweets cover principles like accumulating specific knowledge, accountability, leverage, judgment, and working hard on the right problems over the long run.
Naval is an angel investor and entrepreneur who co-founded AngelList. He’s made early investments in companies like Twitter, Uber, and others.
The core premise is that making money is a skill you can develop, not a matter of luck. While luck plays a role, you can get rich through deliberate effort by cultivating the right habits and mindsets.
You’re Not Going to Get Rich Renting Out Your Time
The first key point Naval makes is that you’re not going to get rich by renting out your time and labor. To gain financial freedom, you must own a piece of a business, equity, or some income-generating asset.
There are several reasons why trading time for money doesn’t lead to true wealth:
Your income is directly tied to your inputs. When you’re sleeping or on vacation, you’re not earning.
It’s difficult to earn non-linearly. For example, a doctor earns based on the hours spent working. But a business owner can make money while sleeping through smart leverage.
You’re easily replaceable, especially if the job can be taught. Anything that can be taught in school can be automated or outsourced.
You’re not creating much original value for society. Most replaceable jobs involve repetitively doing the same tasks.
To summarize, when renting out time, you trade earnings for freedom. To get rich, you need leverage and ownership instead of just clocking time.
Wealth vs. Money vs. Status
Naval makes an important distinction between wealth, money, and status:
Wealth is assets that generate income passively, like a business, real estate, or intellectual property. The key is having assets that make money while you sleep.
Money is a tool for transferring wealth. Money allows you to get credits and debits from society for value you’ve created.
Status is your ranking in the social hierarchy. This is a zero-sum game – for someone to gain status, others must lose status.
The goal should be to accumulate wealth, not just make money. Wealth buys lasting freedom and independence. Too many people focus on money or status instead of building wealth.
Avoid Getting Rich Quick Schemes
Naval warns against any promise of getting rich fast, saying “There are no get-rich-quick schemes. That’s just someone else getting rich off you.”
The world is efficient. If there were an easy path to wealth, it would already be exhausted. Be skeptical of anyone selling courses, books, or seminars promising quick riches. They’re likely just profiting off you rather than offering real value.
Building significant wealth requires patience, skill development, judgment, and determination. There are no shortcuts. Embrace the long road.
Avoid Zero-Sum Games
The Problem With Zero-Sum Games
A zero-sum game is one where there must be winners and losers. The gains for one party come directly at the expense of others.
For example:
In poker, the chips on the table don’t change. For someone to profit, others must lose money.
In politics, one party winning an election means the other party lost power.
In sports, one team defeating another requires the other team being defeated.
Zero-sum dynamics lead to rivalries, envy, and tensions. People start competing over limited resources or attention instead of creating value.
You see this in competitive school environments where students sabotage each other instead of collaborating. Or in companies where departments hoard resources and information.
How to Avoid Zero-Sum Games
Naval argues that business and wealth creation do not have to be zero-sum. There are infinite needs and wants to fulfill in the world.
Rather than fighting over a fixed pie, true wealth comes from expanding the pie for everyone.
Some ways to avoid zero-sum dynamics:
Focus on providing unique value, not just competing on existing turf.
Build network effects and platform value that relies on cooperation.
Emphasize win-win negotiation, not winner-take-all.
Create inclusive environments and business models.
Establish trust and relationships beyond one-off transactions.
Avoid status games and prestige competitions.
Basically, structure how you work to make non-zero-sum outcomes likely and natural. Take the high road focused on creating, not competing.
Give Society What It Wants But Doesn’t Know How to Get
The most proven way Naval suggests for getting wealthy is identifying something society wants but doesn’t yet know how to get at scale. Some examples:
Henry Ford brought affordable automobiles to the mass market.
Steve Jobs made smartphones ubiquitous.
Jeff Bezos made online shopping cheap and convenient.
The entrepreneur’s job is to take something currently only accessible to the rich and figure out how to make it affordable to everyone. For example, Uber made having a private driver affordable to most people.
To do this, you need to:
Identify a real market need that is not being met effectively.
Create a solution for it.
Scale it through proper execution and leverage.
This approach requires creativity, specific knowledge, accountability, good judgment, and effective leverage.
Arm Yourself with Specific Knowledge, Accountability, Leverage and Judgment
Naval outlines four key skills for getting rich:
Specific Knowledge
Specific knowledge is rare, valuable knowledge and skills not many people have. For example:
Knowing how to write viral tweets and articles.
Understanding a key pain point in an industry.
Mastering a creative skill like illustration.
Specific knowledge is often overlooked because it:
Is at the cutting edge of a field, so it’s not common knowledge yet.
Is highly personalized based on individual talents and interests.
Can only be gained through active practice, not passive learning.
To build specific knowledge:
Pursue your innate talents and genuine interests obsessively over the long run.
Keep exploring and learning new skills over time.
Gain repeated hands-on experience through high volume of experiments and iterations.
Accountability
Society rewards those who take responsibility for their actions under their own name. Accountability enables credibility and reputation.
To build accountability:
Work hard and ship products using your real identity. Don’t hide behind anonymity.
Stick your neck out publicly, be visible, and own the results. Both success and failures.
Take business risks early on under your own name and build a personal brand.
Accountability is risky but necessary to gain leverage and rewards later on. It demonstrates your integrity over time.
Leverage
Leverage allows you to multiply your results using capital, people, code, or media instead of just pure manual labor.
Forms of leverage:
Capital e.g. investing money to earn returns. Risky but scales well.
People e.g. building a team. Challenging to manage but valuable.
Code e.g. writing software to automate tasks. No marginal cost to scale.
Media e.g. books, blogs, YouTube. Free leverage to spread ideas.
Focus on permissionless leverage that doesn’t require approval from gatekeepers. Coding and media are the most accessible.
Judgment
Good judgment is vital for making smart decisions and predictions in a world of uncertainty. Judgement enables you to navigate complex challenges and identify the best opportunities.
Judgment requires:
Broad experience across different fields. Stimulates pattern recognition.
Skin in the game. Accountability sharpens judgment.
Rational optimism. Seeing the world clearly, not distorting it with fear.
A long-term outlook. Ability to anticipate consequences.
With leverage, your judgment gets multiplied, so it becomes even more valuable. That’s why experienced founders and investors earn huge returns on their good judgment.
Build Specific Knowledge
Naval defines specific knowledge as “a skill, relationships, or expertise you can’t be trained for.” It can only be gained through experience over time.
Specific knowledge is the cutting edge that allows you to add unique value and accomplish what others cannot easily replicate. It often comes from genuine intellectual curiosity in a field and pursuing your innate talents.
Examples are persuasion, complex technical skills, investment judgment, negotiation, software expertise, etc. Things society values but doesn’t know how to train at scale.
Build up specific knowledge and you’ll gain leverage. It will set you apart from the competition and provide outsized rewards. This is where fortunes are built.
Conclusion
Naval’s podcast provides an excellent starting point to orient your mindset, habits, and career toward wealth creation.
The key insights include:
Build specific knowledge, accountability, leverage, and judgment.
Solve problems society has by creating solutions and scaling them.
Work hard for decades on the right mission with the right people.
Set ambitious goals and stick to them despite early setbacks.
While luck always plays a role, you have more control over getting rich than you think. Your mindset, skills, decisions, and determination are the differentiating factors.
What do you think? What resonated with you from Naval’s tips? Feel free to share any key takeaways or questions in the comments!
Do you ever feel afraid to share your creative work with the world? Does putting yourself and your art out there seem scary and vulnerable? If so, you need to read Austin Kleon’s book “Show Your Work!”
This eye-opening book changed how I think about the creative process and showing your work to others. The core message is that sharing your work publicly doesn’t diminish it – it actually adds value and connection.
In this post, I’ll summarize the key ideas in “Show Your Work!” and how it shifted my approach to creating. I’ll also give a brief overview of each chapter if you want to dive deeper. Read on to learn why revealing your creative process leads to growth and opportunities. Let’s look at how to share your work so it resonates with kindred spirits
The Book in 3 Sentences
Sharing your creative process and being open about your work and influences helps you find your audience and can lead to new opportunities and connections.
You don’t have to be a genius or have everything figured out to start putting yourself and your work out there.
Be generous with what you know and you’ll attract people who appreciate your work and want to support it.
Impression
The book says making things is about the process, not just the result. You should share the process with others. This helps people understand you and your work better.
It shows you are a person, not just a name. When you share your interests and ideas, you can find people who like the same things. This helps you make new friends and connections.
The book made me want to share more of my art before it’s completely done. I will post anything related to the projects, I am working on. This lets people see how I create. It might help me find people with the same interest.
Overall the book made me excited to be more open.
Who Should Read It?
Anyone looking to share their creative work and get noticed. Whether you’re an artist, musician, writer, designer, entrepreneur, or just interested in promoting your work, this book has something for you.
It’s especially helpful for beginners who want to learn how to put themselves out there, but even experienced individuals can find valuable reminders and insights.
How the Book Changed Me
I used to think sharing my writing and artwork would diminish its value, but “Show Your Work!” convinced me of the opposite.
I’ve started sharing works-in-progress and mood boards on social media to interact with fellow creators and get feedback. I also realized the importance of linking to my sources and influences since it adds context and sends people to related work.
Kleon’s emphasis on documenting the creative process. This has led me to new insights. Overall, I’ve become more comfortable revealing myself in my work knowing it helps make genuine connections.
My Top 3 Quotes
“You don’t have to be a genius. You just have to be yourself.”
“Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.”
“The act of sharing is one of generosity—you’re putting something out there because you think it might be helpful or entertaining to someone on the other side of the screen.”
Chapter 1: You Don’t Have to Be a Genius
You don’t have to be a genius to make great things. Making good art is about working hard and sharing ideas. It comes from practice more than raw talent. Focus on developing your interests and work habits.
Read obituaries of interesting people who have died. This gives you inspiration to make the most of your time. It shows that many amazing works come from ordinary beginnings.
Creativity is collaborative. Ideas build on other ideas that came before. Austin Kleon calls this “scenius”. It means creativity comes from people sharing ideas and influences. Not just one lone genius inventing amazing things alone.
Scenius lets more people participate in art. You don’t have to be Einstein to add something wonderful to the world. Find the group of people interested in the things you love. Share your work and passions with them. Working together leads to new creative breakthroughs. Learn from each other.
The internet makes it easier than ever to connect with kindred spirits. You can find fellow artists who like what you like. Online communities let you share work and swap ideas. Find people who share your interests. Then make new things together!
Chapter 2: Think Process, Not Product
Making things is about the process, not just the finished product. Document your creative process from start to finish. Share the highs and lows with your audience.
Let people see the behind-the-scenes of your work. Post photos and videos from your studio. Talk about your struggles and breakthroughs. Share works-in-progress and rough drafts. Reveal your materials and influences.
This gives the human side of creating. People want to know the story behind the art. By opening your process, they connect more deeply with you and your work.
Turn invisible steps into something visible to share. Write blog posts about your methods. Share works in progress and get feedback. Post audio clips reflecting on your creative sessions.
Documenting as you go also benefits you. Looking back on your evolution helps you grow. It builds self-knowledge. Record the textures and details most forget after finishing a work.
The internet provides new chances to interact through sharing. But you don’t have to share everything. Be open about your interests and process. But keep some mystery too. Creativity needs space away from the public eye. Balance openness with introspection.
Keep making and documenting the journey. When you’re ready, shape the raw material into stories and lessons to share. Turn your personal process into light that illuminates the creative spirit for everyone.
Chapter 3: Share Something Small Everyday
Posting small bits of your work steadily helps build an audience. Share a little piece of your process each day. It adds up over time as people follow along.
Social media is perfect for sharing tidbits daily. Post a work-in-progress photo on Instagram. Share an inspirational quote on Twitter. Upload a short studio clip to YouTube.
The form doesn’t matter – blog post, video, image, etc. Choose platforms based on your work and audience. Jump between them or stick to one.
Consistency helps. Schedule 15 minutes daily to share something. Make it a habit, but don’t let it take time away from creating. Reserve weekends for catching up on sharing.
You don’t have to post masterpieces. Half of the making is learning. Share works that teach you lessons too. Be open to feedback and collaboration. Stay curious.
Document the ups and downs of projects. Give previews and report on progress. Share illuminating scraps and stories. Capture texture.
Posting small bits creates a steady stream. It forms a richer picture than occasional big reveals. You build rapport with your audience by including them in the daily art adventure.
Keep making, learning, and sharing each day. Stay present, productive, and generous. Inhabit both public workshops and private studios. Share the journey on the winding creative path.
Chapter 4: Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosities
Artists get inspiration from everyday items and experiences. They find gems in forgotten or mundane things by viewing them in a new light.
Share your eclectic tastes openly – don’t force curation. Embrace being an amateur enthusiast, not a pro critic. Stay curious and adventurous.
Credit sources meticulously with links when sharing influences. Attribution provides context so people can learn more. Don’t share anything you can’t source.
Use the internet to document your cabinet of curiosities. Post collections of favorite objects, books, music, films, etc. Show your hunt for hidden treasures.
Share the weird stuff you love without shame – obscure movies, old posters, kitschy objects. Stay true to your quirky self. Connect through sincerity and humanity.
Take us on a tour of your mental museum. Reflect on souvenirs, memories, and artifacts from your life adventures. Organize, scan old photos, and digitize VHS tapes from childhood. Excavate the archives.
Dumpsters dive down rabbit holes online and IRL. Scavenge weird ephemera and artifacts. But respect rules and property. Ask permission, and obtain rights. Cite sources.
We each have unique inner worlds informing our art. Map your cabinet of curiosities to provide insight into your creations. Guide others to see common things differently.
Chapter 5: Tell Good Stories
Telling stories is important. A story has a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning introduces the characters and problems. The middle shows how the characters try to solve the problem. The end shows how the problem is solved.
Good stories keep the audience interested. They have interesting characters that feel real. The characters have goals and face challenges. The stories have a problem that gets solved.
Stories can teach lessons. They show how real life works. Stories let us learn from other people’s experiences.
When telling your own stories, think about who will listen. Use simple words they will understand. Explain who you are, what you do, and what you want to share. Be honest and humble. Treat the listener with respect.
Practice telling your stories. Listen to how other good storytellers tell their stories. Learn from them. With practice, your stories will get better.
Telling good stories connects you with your audience. Stories help people understand you and your work. Share stories to introduce yourself and explain what you do. Stories bring your work to life.
Chapter 6: Teach What You Know
Sharing what you know helps others learn. It also helps you build connections.
Everyone has skills and knowledge from their experiences. Think about what you have learned in life and work. What skills do you have? What do you know a lot about?
Make a list of things you could teach others. Pick easy topics to start with. Break big ideas into smaller steps.
Use simple words and examples. Explain one step at a time. Let others try each step as you teach. Watch to make sure they understand.
Teaching takes patience. Not everyone learns the same way. Explain in different ways if needed. Encourage practice. Praise effort and progress.
Share tips, tools, methods, and resources. Create tutorials. Make videos. Write blog posts. Give talks. Lead workshops.
Teaching forces you to better understand what you know. It helps you improve your skills. Teaching others keeps you learning too.
When you teach, you often get new ideas back. Students ask questions you never thought of. Teaching creates conversations and connections.
Be open to sharing what you know. Don’t worry about competition. Focus on helping others learn. Teaching adds value to what you do.
Look for chances to teach. Share your knowledge generously. Make people’s lives better by teaching them.
Chapter 7: Don’t Turn Into Human Spam
It’s easy to get caught up in yourself and your work. But avoid becoming “human spam” – someone who only talks about themselves.
Listen to others. Show interest in what they do. Ask questions. Learn from their experiences.
Connect with people who share your interests. Talk about ideas, not just yourself. Discuss things you both care about.
Be helpful. Share tips and resources that may benefit others. Give more than you take.
Don’t just promote your own stuff. Recommend work you admire by others. Share interesting things you find.
Have real conversations. Listen closely. Don’t wait for your turn to talk. Learn from others.
Avoid bragging or complaining too much. Be positive. Keep improving your skills. Stay humble.
Focus on giving, not getting. Making connections takes time. Be patient. Wait for opportunities to develop naturally.
Appreciate your supporters. Show them extra kindness and respect. Be grateful for their help.
To avoid being “spammy,” balance talking about your work with discussing ideas. Share your interests, not just your accomplishments.
Connect with people, not just profiles. Meet in person when you can. Build real relationships.
Keep learning and improving. Stay open-minded. The more you grow, the more you have to offer others.
Chapter 8: Learn to Take a Punch
Not everyone will like your work. Some people may criticize it. Learning to accept criticism is important.
Negative opinions can hurt. But don’t take bad feedback personally. It’s about your work, not you.
Criticism stings less if you expect some. Knowing it’s part of putting work out there. Prepare to hear the good and bad.
Getting more feedback makes you tougher. Put lots of work out there. Listen to reactions. This thickens your skin.
Stay calm when criticized. Take deep breaths. Don’t let your imagination make it worse. Criticism won’t actually hurt you.
Focus criticism on improving your skills. Don’t get angry. Think about what you can learn from it.
Get opinions from people you trust. Not all critics are helpful. Consider the source of each critique.
Weigh feedback carefully. Listen to advice from experts in your field. Disregard mean or useless comments.
Don’t engage with “trolls” – people who just want to provoke you. Delete or block them. Don’t give them attention.
Share work that’s less personal until you have a thick skin. Receive feedback on that first.
Remember that your work is not you. Criticism of it does not define your worth. Keep things in perspective.
Accept that all work gets judged. Learn from critiques. Stay confident in yourself. Keep trying to improve.
Chapter 9: Sell Out
Some people think making money from art is wrong. But artists need to earn a living too. There’s nothing wrong with getting paid.
Many great works were created to make money. Artists have to pay rent and buy materials. They can still make amazing art.
Fans often get upset when artists become successful. But real fans keep supporting the artist’s work. Don’t stop liking someone just because they made money. Be happy for their success.
There are lots of fair ways to make money from your work. You can ask for donations or set prices. You can offer rewards for support. You can sell products related to your work. Find the best way for you.
Start collecting email addresses of fans and followers. Send them updates and offerings. Treat your list with respect – no spam.
When you share work freely first, it helps attract an audience who may become customers. Then it’s fair to ask them to pay later to support you.
Don’t feel guilty making money from your passion. But make sure you feel good about how you make money. Do work you believe in.
It’s okay to be ambitious. Try new things to grow your audience and expand opportunities. But avoid work just for money – stay true to your purpose.
Consider any chance to do more of your best work. But turn down chances that compromise your work. Find the right balance.
Financial success lets you make more art. Make money to make more. Don’t listen when people call you a “sellout.” Keep making great stuff.
Chapter 10: Stick Around
Success takes time. Don’t give up too soon. Sticking with your work can lead to great things.
Focus on the work, not fame and fortune. Make stuff because you love making stuff.
Projects will fail sometimes. Other times they go nowhere. Keep working through the ups and downs.
Stay patient and positive. Improve your skills. Work hard. Share often. Opportunities can come when you least expect them.
Many famous artists worked for years before getting noticed. Overnight success is rare. Expect a long journey.
Avoid lengthy breaks between big projects. Jump into a new project as soon as the last ends. Stay in motion.
Take mini-breaks from work instead. Unplug and recharge for a bit each day, week, or month. Then dive back in with energy.
When you feel stuck in your work, learn something totally new. Become an amateur again. Document your beginner experience and share it.
Don’t be afraid to start over sometimes. But don’t actually start from zero – you’ll bring old lessons into new work.
Stay flexible and ready to change course. Tear things down when needed to rebuild better. Reinvent yourself.
Your path won’t be straight. Accept the twists and turns. Learn from experience. Help others along the way.
Persist through highs and lows. Love the work. Improve your skills. Share generously. Success might find you. Keep playing till the final inning.
Conclusion
“Show Your Work!” by Austin Kleon is a book that emphasizes the importance of sharing your creative process with others. By opening up about your work and influences,
you can connect with your audience, find new opportunities, and make genuine connections. The book encourages being generous with what you know and sharing your interests and ideas to find people who appreciate your work. It also reminds us that making good art is about the process, not just the finished product. Documenting your creative process and sharing works in progress and rough drafts helps people understand the story behind the art and connect more deeply with it.
The book also talks about the importance of staying patient, persistent, and positive in the face of criticism and setbacks, and to keep making and sharing your work because success takes time.
Overall, “Show Your Work!” is a helpful guide for anyone looking to share their creative work and get noticed, especially for beginners who want to learn how to put themselves out there, but even experienced individuals can find valuable reminders and insights.
For most knowledge workers today, it dominates our working lives. The average office worker spends over a quarter of their time reading and responding to emails.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. With the right systems and techniques, you can take back control of your inbox and achieve “Inbox Zero” – a stress-free empty inbox where email never piles up unchecked.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through step-by-step how to set up a bulletproof email workflow that allows you to process hundreds of messages in minutes.
You’ll learn:
The core mindset shift that’s key to maintaining Inbox Zero long-term
How to strip away email’s endless distractions and bloat
The four essential downstream systems for effortlessly clearing your inbox
Advanced shortcuts and settings for lightning-fast email triage
A precise method for making split-second handling decisions
Plus mistakes to avoid and pro tips from top productivity experts
If you’re spending way too much time on email, this guide will show you how to finally reclaim your productivity and mental space. Let’s get started!
Why Is Email So Overwhelming?
To understand how we lost control of our inboxes, we first have to understand what makes email so uniquely challenging to manage. After all, checking your postal mailbox isn’t nearly as stressful!
There are a few key differences that make email the productivity killer it is today:
1. Volume – We receive way more emails than regular letters. The average office worker gets 121 emails per day, and it just keeps increasing year after year.
2. Expectations – Email has conditioned us to expect instant responses. But urgent interruptions derail focused work.
3. Organization – Email wasn’t designed as a task manager, but we use it as one. This results in vital tasks and info buried in a bloated inbox.
4. Distractions – Email is filled with endless distractions – notifications, social media, chatter. This fractures our attention.
5. Positive feedback loops – More email begets more email. The system fuels its own out-of-control growth.
These dynamics explain why our inboxes constantly overflow. Simply put, email is a communication tool overburdened with tasks and noise it wasn’t meant to handle.
The solution then is not to avoid email entirely. Email remains vital for modern work. Instead, we need to tame email, strip it down to its core strengths, and route everything else to better-suited systems.
This reimagining of email’s role and limitations is crucial. It’s the mindset shift that will prevent you from eventually sliding back into inbox overwhelm. With that established, let’s look at how to implement this pared-down, productive vision of email.
Step 1: Simplify Your Email Environment
The first set of tactics removes distractions and clutter from the email itself. The goal is to streamline your email workspace as much as possible.
Here are the key steps:
Unsubscribe ruthlessly – Newsletters, notifications, mailing lists. Go through and unsubscribe from anything non-essential. Use a service like Unroll.me to clean things up.
Consolidate accounts – Forward or connect all work and personal email accounts to one primary account. This simplifies where incoming mail goes. Gmail works well for most. Here is a tutorial you can watch
Clean up old emails – Use a service like Mailstrom to mass delete or archive old messages, especially obvious junk. Just get it out of the way.
Turn off multiple inboxes – You want one stream of incoming communication, not fragmented silos. Set Gmail to the default single inbox.
Disable all “smart” features – Stars, tabs, priority markers, etc. These just complicate things. Strip email down to basics.
Turn off chat/social apps – Close Facebook, Slack, etc. Email alone will fill your whole day if you let it. Stay focused.
Eliminate notifications – Schedule email checking rather than reacting to constant alerts. Take back control of your attention.
Mute conversations – Use mute to automatically quiet noisy email threads. Unmute them when you’re ready to process.
With these steps, you’ve removed the bulk of distractions within the email. You’ve also simplified the workflow to receiving, assessing, and sending – its core purpose.
Step 2: Route Emails to 4 Downstream Systems
Why does inbox clutter build up? Because email has nowhere to go. Email wasn’t meant to store tasks, documents, appointments, etc.
That’s why the second step is setting up dedicated downstream systems for the 4 main types of emails:
Calendar – Time-specific commitments go here. Links to invites make this easy. Use Google Calendar, Outlook, Cron, etc.
Task Manager – Action items belong in a proper to-do list app. Use Things, Todoist, Asana, etc.
Reference – Notes, files, and resources go in Evernote or another reference app. Easy searchability.
Read Later – Long-form articles or videos you want to view eventually. Tools like Pocket, Instapaper, Omnivore read it later work great. I personally use Omnivore because it is free, and fully customizable and you can also save Twitter threads. It also gives a mail address that you can use to forward important email or newsletters to read them later
The key is being able to quickly route emails out of the inbox and into the appropriate downstream system. This might take some trial and error to optimize your personal workflow.
But once mastered, your inbox will empty almost automatically since emails never pile up for long. And you can trust your systems will remind you to take the actual action later when appropriate.
Step 3: Speed Up Your Workflow with Keyboard Shortcuts
Now that you’ve simplified email and connected downstream systems, it’s time to optimize your mechanics for lightning fast processing.
Here are the key techniques:
Use keyboard shortcuts – Keyboard shortcuts allow you to quickly archive, reply, forward or send emails without touching your mouse. This really speeds things up.
Gmail Keyboard shortcut turn on guide
Settings > General > Keyboard Shortcuts on
compose: c
reply: r
reply-all: a
forward: f
archive: e
send: cmd-enter
Turn on auto-advance – This skips you back to the inbox after each message, so you don’t get distracted reviewing newer emails.
Settings > Advanced > Set auto-advance to “Enable”
Activate conversation view – This stacks replies with their original messages, so you can see full discussions easily.
Settings > General > Conversation View on
Use email triage tools – Things like Mailstrom, Unroll.me and Mute can help batch process many emails at once.
Schedule email time – Checking at specific times prevents constant distraction. Set a reminder to regularly process your inbox.
Work from oldest to newest – This clears out the cruft first so you’re not anxious about new emails. The time pressure helps you move quickly.
Process emails in batches – Doing them one at a time is tedious. Knock out a dozen or more messages in one sitting to build momentum.
Set up send later – For longer responses, write them later when you can give them proper attention. Boomerang and Superhuman are great for this.
With practice, you should find you can empty a full inbox in well under an hour, sometimes in just 15-20 minutes. Don’t underestimate the power of fast, focused email processing sessions.
Step 4: Make Rapid Triage Decisions
Alright, you’ve simplified your email environment, you’ve got downstream systems ready, and you’ve optimized your workflow. Now comes the most crucial step: deciding what to actually do with each email.
Here’s a simple yet effective decision-making framework:
Archive – No action needed. Scan quickly and archive. This will be about 70% of messages.
Reply – 2-3 line replies. Shoot back a quick response.
Calendar – Any date, time or event goes directly on your calendar.
Task – Significant actions should be turned into action items on your task list.
Reference – Documents or info you need to keep gets filed in your reference system.
Read later – Interesting reading material goes into your read later app.
Forward/Delegate – Anything you can forward or delegate to others, do it.
Run through each email in your inbox and make a firm decision based on the above options. The key is sticking to the triage mindset – you’re deciding what to do next, not actually doing it yet.
This will become second nature with practice. But try to keep emails to under 30 seconds each at first. Speed is essential to avoiding distractions and overwhelm.
Make this ruthless triage system the core of your email habit. Do it in focused batches to empty your inbox completely as much as possible each time.
Advanced Tactics for Power Users
Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals above, there are a few advanced tactics and tools that can take your email productivity to the next level:
Keyboard-centric apps like Superhuman, Spark, and Hey put everything at your fingertips without reaching for the mouse.
Custom time-based filters can auto-sort non-urgent emails to process later when you have time.
AI assistants like Clara and Eva can automatically sort, respond to, and schedule emails based on rules you set.
Calendly and Cron can schedule meetings and coordinate times without the email back-and-forth.
Boomerang can pull non-urgent emails off your plate by scheduling them to reappear when you want to tackle them later.
Followup.cc can nudge you about unanswered emails that may have slipped through the cracks.
SaneBox can automatically filter less important emails out of your inbox until you’re ready to view them.
Cleanfox can analyze your past sending habits and unsubscribe you from newsletters you don’t read.
The next horizon is AI that can understand email content well enough to largely automate triage and sorting. But today, use a combination of ruthless focus when processing yourself along with advanced tools to stay on top.
Avoid These Common Mistakes
It’s easy to fall into bad habits that will sabotage your inbox zero efforts over time if you’re not vigilant. Here are the biggest mistakes to avoid:
Letting your inbox pile up for too long between triage sessions. This creates anxiety and avoidance.
Not having clear downstream systems ready before trying to empty your inbox. Nowhere to put stuff leads to hesitation and clutter.
Endlessly tweaking your system but not just picking one and fully committing to make it work. Too much gears, not enough grease.
Feeling like you need to reply to or schedule every email coming in right now. React less, process more.
Deleting emails instead of archiving. You’ll eventually lose track of past communication and important info.
Checking emails throughout the day outside of specified times. Limit it or it becomes all you do.
Not sticking to the triage decisions you make. Second-guessing yourself leads to reopening closed loops.
Using your inbox as a to-do list. Email isn’t for tasks. Route them to your system.
The formula is simple, but sticking to it requires vigilance. Stay focused on the fundamentals – simplify, route, process quickly, make decisions, and move on. The rest takes care of itself.
Taming Email: Where To Go From Here
With the right approach, you can take back control of your inbox and enjoy the huge productivity boost of maintaining zero email backlog.
Here are some suggestions on where to go from here:
Review this guide and make sure you understand each step fully before jumping in. Small hiccups get magnified with email.
Pick a weekend to implement the simplification steps. You’ll have time to overhaul your workflow from the ground up.
Build new habits. Routinely triage your inbox around the same time daily. Schedule it like any other task.
Learn keyboard shortcuts. Mastering your email tools’ keyboard shortcuts will shave off lots of processing time.
Keep tweaking your workflow. It takes time to optimize a system to your personal style. Iteration is key.
Stay focused. When you catch yourself slipping back into reactive email habits, refresh your commitment to the fundamentals.
With consistent practice, you’ll find the principles covered here will become second nature. Checking email will go from a chaotic chore to a quick, controlled daily ritual.
The end result will be a massive boost in your ability to focus on meaningful work, less stress, and more time and mental space to pursue your most important goals. No wonder top performers consider a streamlined email system utterly foundational to their productivity and success.
So dive in, be patient, stick to it, and soon you’ll be on your way to mastering the modern scourge we all love to hate – email. What are you waiting for? Your empty inbox awaits!
In this article, I am going to review and share some key points I have read in Naval Ravikant’s Book
The Book in 3 Sentences:
Wealth comes from accountability, leverage, and rare skills.
Happiness springs from presence, peace, and freedom.
Life is an endless process of learning and self-discovery.
Impression
This book provides a wealth of distilled wisdom from Naval Ravikant on acquiring wealth, finding happiness, making better decisions, and living a good life. Naval draws from broad life experiences and books spanning science, philosophy, psychology, evolution, and history to derive timeless principles for life.
While the brevity of Naval’s aphorisms means they lack nuance, the book serves as an excellent starting point to find areas you may want to explore in more depth. Read generously, as no short quote can fully capture the complexity of life.
The book covers the topics of wealth creation, happiness, decision-making, psychology, philosophy, relationships, business, investing, technology, and more. It provides hundreds of tweetable rules of thumb you can apply in your own life.
For anyone looking to learn principles to improve decision-making, cultivate happiness, build wealth, or generally live a good life, this book delivers an abundance of wisdom. It is especially useful for those early in their self-education journey across a wide range of disciplines.
Who Should Read It
Anyone interested in principles for better decision-making, building wealth, or finding happiness. It’s especially useful for those early in their self-education journey across philosophy, psychology, business, and technology.
How It Changed Me
This book strengthened my financial knowledge and inspired me to choose the books I read. Naval’s emphasis on having unscheduled time to think, avoiding crowded/noisy environments, and the compound benefits of small habits motivated me to structure my days to maximize focused deep work. It also helps me to be Happy.
The book also nudged me to choose friends and activities centered on positivity, presence, and freedom. I have reviewed the principles of building wealth numerous times when making career and investment decisions.
My Top 3 Quotes
“You get rich by giving society what it wants but does not yet know how to get at scale. Pick an industry where you can play long-term games with long-term people.”
“Wealth is assets that earn while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Status is your place in the social hierarchy.”
“Happiness is a choice and a skill. You choose to be happy, then work at it. Without a presence, there is no happiness.”
Summary
Chapter 1: Building Wealth
Wealth is created through developing rare and valuable skills, not just through hard work. Identify your unique talents and interests, then find ways to apply them where society values them.
Pick an industry you enjoy and can contribute long-term value to. Build relationships with talented people who share your values.
Take risks and put your judgment on the line to gain accountability. Then use capital, talent, code, and media to scale through leverage.
Chapter 2: Understand How Wealth Is Created
Wealth means owning assets that earn money while you sleep, not chasing money itself. Assets are things like businesses, intellectual property, real estate, and royalties.
Technology consolidates production but democratizes consumption. Software, media, and machines allow one creator to serve millions.
Look for emerging technologies society will want but doesn’t know how to produce at scale yet. Solve an unmet need.
You earn money by providing value. Find something society wants but can’t easily train others to do. Then build specific skills hard to replace.
Escape competition by being authentic. Do what only you can do—be yourself. No one can compete with you at being you.
Chapter 3: Find and Build Specific Knowledge
Specific knowledge is expertise you can’t be trained for in a short time—things like creativity, intuition, and emotional intelligence.
Pursue skills aligned with your innate talents and genuine curiosity, not whatever is most lucrative. You’ll excel at what you love.
Keep exploring new interests until you find your specific knowledge at the intersection of what you’re best at and what the world values.
Read widely across science, math, psychology, economics, and philosophy to build strong mental models. But specialize in applied niches.
Practice skills over and over until you can do them intuitively, without conscious thought. Then you have specific knowledge.
Chapter 4: Play Long-Term Games with Long-Term People
All the returns in life come from compound interest over time. Relationships, reputation, habits, and knowledge compounds if invested.
Pick an industry and build relationships you want to be in for decades. Don’t switch paths for short-term gains.
Partner only with ethical people who think long-term. Their success will lift you over decades of trust and teamwork.
Be worthy of the people you want to attract. Develop integrity, accountability, and skills to contribute value.
Give first in relationships. Help others freely and they’ll want to work with you again. Always treat people well.
Chapter 5: Take on Accountability
Embrace accountability to get leverage. Put yourself out there, take risks under your name, and gain trust. Society rewards those who stand behind their work.
Failure is relatively safe in most fields today. Recover from setbacks and society will forgive honest efforts. Integrity builds credibility.
Accountability forces you to gain skills and judgment. Short-term pain leads to credibility and leverage needed for long-term gains.
Be public when taking business risks. Hiding protects the ego but stunts growth. Letting others see your work accelerates learning.
Chapter 6: Build or Buy Equity in a Business
Equity means ownership. Owning a piece of a business gives you residual income and wealth freedom.
Labor alone will not make you financially free. At best it pays for time invested. Equity pays you while sleeping.
Buying equity is investing. The younger you start investing, the more time compounding can grow your wealth.
Building equity means starting a business. Create something that scales value beyond your efforts.
Equity aligns your income with the value created. Labor is paid based on time, and equity in results.
Chapter 7: Find a Position of Leverage
Use capital, people, code, and media to scale your efforts. Software and content can reach millions at no marginal cost.
Leverage allows small judgments to have a huge impact. Be effective instead of busy. Prioritize high-leverage activities.
Build skills, judgment, and accountability before seeking leverage. Poor decisions are amplified otherwise.
Mastery commands leverage. Society grants power to those with demonstrated expertise and wisdom.
Part II: Happiness
Chapter 8: Learning Happiness
Happiness comes from within, not external achievement. Don’t put conditions on happiness – choose it first.
Limit desires for unreliable pleasures (drugs, sex, food). Craving them distorts the perception of reality.
Accept the present moment and see reality clearly, without distorting it to meet desires. Suffering comes from resisting what is.
Find work and relationships you enjoy for their own sake, not just results. You’ll excel at what you love.
Meditate to calm your mind. Practice releasing fears and desires to gain perspective.
Chapter 9: Happiness Requires Presence
Dwelling on the past or future steals happiness. The present moment is all that exists. Be here now.
Notice judgments and constantly return focus to your immediate experience. Don’t get lost in mental chatter.
Do things for their own sake without regarding gain or loss. This makes activities artful play rather than toil.
When distracted, use meditation, exercise, and nature to reset your focus on the present. Don’t chain distractions.
Chapter 10: Happiness Requires Peace
Happiness is peace, not manic joy. Peace comes from accepting rather than desiring or fearing each moment.
Reduce noise, crowds, and stimulation. Create space for wisdom and non-reactive awareness to arise.
Calm the mind’s desires through meditation, nature, art, exercise, fasting, and good company. Desires are chosen to suffer.
Find meaning in serving others and something beyond yourself. Altruism and spirituality grant perspective.
Chapter 11: Saving Yourself
Take full responsibility for your health, knowledge, skills, happiness, and finances. Don’t outsource life tasks.
You alone choose your interpretation of events. Suffering is resisting reality as it is. Acceptance reduces suffering.
Recognize your innermost self is consciousness, not your thoughts, memories, or body. They comprise the temporary “I”.
Don’t cling to pleasures, achievements, or possessions. Let the impermanent flow through you, not define you.
Conclusion
Naval Ravikant’s book shares timeless wisdom on how to build wealth and live a happy life. Collecting Naval’s ideas from tweets, podcasts, and interviews, provides a wealth of distilled insights you can apply to your life.
The book encourages finding your unique talents and applying them to provide value in areas society rewards. It advises focusing on the present moment and calming the mind’s demands to unlock happiness within.
While the path takes patience and perseverance, Naval lays out principles to guide you there. His advice provides a framework to make better decisions, cultivate peace of mind, create financial freedom, and live life to the fullest.
The book covers a wide range of disciplines including philosophy, psychology, business, investing, technology, and more. It compiles the Naval’s mental models and big ideas across these fields into easily digestible takeaways.
For anyone looking to live a flourishing life of purpose, prosperity, and joy, Naval Ravikant’s wisdom lights the way. This book is an excellent introduction to his thinking and a source of timeless principles to return to again and again.
The key is to read generously, finding ideas to explore further. Let the book spark your curiosity and point you down new paths of knowledge and inner growth. With patience and persistence, Naval’s principles will move you toward a life of understanding, achievement, and happiness.
