Naval Ravikant: “Inspiration is perishable”

April 02, 2025

Naval argues that inspiration is perishable — so when you’re inspired, act on it immediately. This is as true for solving a problem for your company as it is for learning something new:

“If I want to learn something, I do it at the moment of curiosity. The moment the curiosity arrives, I go learn that thing immediately. I download the book or get on Google, ChatGPT, whatever, and I will figure that thing out on the spot. That’s when the learning happens. It doesn’t happen when I’ve scheduled time or set an hour aside. Because when that time arrives, I might be in a different mood and want to do something different. I think that spontaneity is really important. You’re going to learn best when you’re having fun and when you genuinely are enjoying the process — not when you’re forced to sit there and do it.”

He believes that giving yourself the freedom to act on something the moment you want to is not only liberating and a recipe for happiness, but it’s also crucial to efficiency, productivity, and success.

“Procrastination is because you don’t want to do that thing right now. You want to do something else. Go do that something else. I reject this frame that efficiency, productivity, and success are counter to happiness and freedom. They actually go together.”

Naval continues:

“The happier you are, the more you can sustain doing something… and you will outwork everybody else. The more free you are, the better you can allocate your time and the less you’re caught up in a web of obligations and commitments, and the more you can focus on the task at hand.”