Eric Jorgensen

I had been following Naval for maybe 10 years. I really resonated with even his very early stuff, writing at Venture Hacks. He was one of the early bloggers about the game theory of venture capital and talking about Silicon Valley back in the 2000s, basically. So I'd followed him for a long time for his startup stuff and watching his following grow as he sort of achieved all of his goals.

I had been following Naval for maybe 10 years. I really resonated with even his very early stuff, writing at Venture Hacks. He was one of the early bloggers about the game theory of venture capital and talking about Silicon Valley back in the 2000s, basically. So I'd followed him for a long time for his startup stuff and watching his following grow as he sort of achieved all of his goals.

like business goals and then turning to a little bit more of a like philosophical.

like business goals and then turning to a little bit more of a like philosophical.

Yeah. Like Shane Parrish called him the angel philosopher and like that podcast he did on the knowledge project. Uh, I think it's one of the greatest podcast episodes of all time. Um, and that was really the like inspiration for me to write this book cause I was thinking about all the people that I'd learned so much from. And I like Munger, I like Buffett.

Yeah. Like Shane Parrish called him the angel philosopher and like that podcast he did on the knowledge project. Uh, I think it's one of the greatest podcast episodes of all time. Um, and that was really the like inspiration for me to write this book cause I was thinking about all the people that I'd learned so much from. And I like Munger, I like Buffett.

And to me, Naval is very much like in the spirit of Munger in a lot of ways, but with a really modern sort of like techno-utopian like valley essence to him that like really jived with how I see the world.

And to me, Naval is very much like in the spirit of Munger in a lot of ways, but with a really modern sort of like techno-utopian like valley essence to him that like really jived with how I see the world.

Yeah, I mean, he's an incredible sort of distiller of truth. You know, like he'll get things down to a very principled level. Like when I was writing this book, I really thought, you know, there'd be a thousand of all nerds like me who would really love it.

Yeah, I mean, he's an incredible sort of distiller of truth. You know, like he'll get things down to a very principled level. Like when I was writing this book, I really thought, you know, there'd be a thousand of all nerds like me who would really love it.

It blows my mind that we've now sold like a million copies and there's, you know, yoga teachers in Bali and like moms and little brothers reading it. Like that's so awesome. And I think it's a testament to how you know, if you really... articulate a principle. Well, it's universally applicable and it sort of feels right to almost anybody who picks it up.

It blows my mind that we've now sold like a million copies and there's, you know, yoga teachers in Bali and like moms and little brothers reading it. Like that's so awesome. And I think it's a testament to how you know, if you really... articulate a principle. Well, it's universally applicable and it sort of feels right to almost anybody who picks it up.

And like now that I've seen what this book, you know, five years, almost five years on, like seeing what this book has done. Um, I think there's no human on earth who could pick up this book and not take something useful away from it.

And like now that I've seen what this book, you know, five years, almost five years on, like seeing what this book has done. Um, I think there's no human on earth who could pick up this book and not take something useful away from it.

Yeah. So first principles is a great, um, is one of the common sort of mental models. So if you're somebody who's been reading like Munger or Nassim Taleb maybe, or now Naval, I think there's these sort of like tricks you can pick up along the way. And First Principles is a really powerful one that just has a way of clearing out all of the kind of dust and fog and

Yeah. So first principles is a great, um, is one of the common sort of mental models. So if you're somebody who's been reading like Munger or Nassim Taleb maybe, or now Naval, I think there's these sort of like tricks you can pick up along the way. And First Principles is a really powerful one that just has a way of clearing out all of the kind of dust and fog and

getting to the essence of like, what is truly possible in this situation? Like one of the most famous kind of stories actually comes from Elon Musk. So there's, I'm writing a book on Elon now in the same style, and there will be quite a few sort of first principle stories. And that's one of his most powerful things.

getting to the essence of like, what is truly possible in this situation? Like one of the most famous kind of stories actually comes from Elon Musk. So there's, I'm writing a book on Elon now in the same style, and there will be quite a few sort of first principle stories. And that's one of his most powerful things.

And the way he looks at it, the question that he asked himself, which is maybe a little more clear than, you know, if you don't know what first principles are, is like, does this break the laws of physics? If not, then it's possible to improve it, right? It's possible to do something better. So the example that he tells when he started SpaceX is, you know, why is this rocket $100 million?

And the way he looks at it, the question that he asked himself, which is maybe a little more clear than, you know, if you don't know what first principles are, is like, does this break the laws of physics? If not, then it's possible to improve it, right? It's possible to do something better. So the example that he tells when he started SpaceX is, you know, why is this rocket $100 million?