#737: Naval Ravikant and Nick Kokonas

This episode is a two-for-one, and that’s because the podcast recently hit its 10-year anniversary and passed one billion downloads. To celebrate, I’ve curated some of the best of the best—some of my favorites—from more than 700 episodes over the last decade. I could not be more excited. The episode features segments from episode #97 "Naval Ravikant — The Person I Call Most for Startup Advice" and episode #341 "Nick Kokonas — How to Apply World-Class Creativity to Business, Art, and Life." Please enjoy! Sponsors: Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: https://eightsleep.com/tim (save $350 on the Pod 4 Ultra) Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off) LinkedIn Jobs recruitment platform with 1B+ users: https://linkedin.com/tim (post your job for free) Timestamps: [00:00] Start [04:34] Notes about this supercombo format. [05:53] Enter Naval Ravikant. [06:05] On uncompromising honesty. [08:05] What Naval looks for when deciding to invest in a founder. [11:03] Recommended reading from outside the startup world. [18:38] Who Naval considers successful. [21:02] Cultivating non-judgmental awareness. [26:08] How to replace bad habits with good habits. [29:31] Naval's advice for his younger self. [32:01] Naval's billboard. [35:46] Enter Nick Kokonas. [36:05] Is pressure Nick's default setting, or are perceived risks an illusion? [36:55] How do behavioral economics and Richard Thaler influence Nick's approach? [41:38] Nick's transition from philosophy to finance; was philosophy an asset? [42:43] Why Nick's professor gave him shorter assignments than classmates. [44:57] Nick's introduction to trading; dumbing down academics for clerk job. [46:42] Why philosophy majors often become traders. [47:19] Why Nick is glad he didn't pursue an MBA in 1992. [48:41] Why Nick thinks his professor singled him out from his peers. [52:52] Recommended books for aspiring entrepreneurs wi