23 lessons I learned on my path from $0 to $2M in 8 years

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1. “Play long term games with long term people” @naval

Anything that provides instant gratification is probably bad for you and your wealth.

Anything that provides delayed gratification is likely good for you.

There’s no such thing as “get rich quick” or “overnight success”

2. “Focus on the $10K+ questions, not the $5 ones.” @ramit

Spend time focusing on the big decisions like asset allocation & building good credit rather than the $5 Starbucks decisions.

Set an hourly rate for yourself.

Outsource everything that’s under that rate to save time.

3. Invest early and often. Time in the market > timing the market

Consistency is the name of the game.

Automate everything.

Sometimes investing can be boring and that’s a good thing.

Early on, investing more and often is far more important than yield or portfolio performance.

4. Learn to avoid lifestyle inflation.

You really do need less than you think, trust me.

Get out in nature, and you’ll see.

Freedom + time are worth much more than nice cars and clothes.

Keep your lifestyle flat even as you get promoted and make more.

Invest the difference.

The art of cold emailing

A thread...

Cold emailing is the act of sending an email (or a DM) to someone who doesn’t know you (hence the word, cold!)

Every day I get 300+ emails, most from those I do not know, and a shocking number of them are poorly written.

Here are 10 things that work for emails that I reply to

1. A different (but not aggressive) subject line

Ask yourself, what is the most likely subject line that EVERYONE will tend to write.
And then DO NOT write that.

What works?
Personalization (I think Vidur and Uzma will love this)
Intrigue (This is when I first saw you)

What doesn’t work?
Common themes (Seeking investment; Job application)
Aggression (Your content sucks - true story btw. It was used only to catch attention)
Buzzwords (AI/ML startup by Stanford founder)

2. The salutation

It is crazy how this small thing is so impactful.
How do you start your email?

Hi Ankur / Hey Ankur / Good Morning Ankur / Dear Mr. Warikoo etc

Adding harmless emoticons helps (😊)

My Productivity Hacks

A thread...

Productivity Hack #1
Not try to remember anything

I consciously and obsessively try to NOT remember things.
So that my mind dispenses the least amount of energy in remembering tasks or even context.

Hence, I carry a notebook with me always.
I take notes like a school student
I put tasks in a calendar
I send myself emails in the future

My mind's energy should be spent in thinking.
Not remembering!

Productivity Hack #2
Document EVERYTHING!

At any point I have 3 notebooks
1. Ideas
2. Todos lists for the day
3. Meeting notes

And I write down things.

Writing helps tell the brain that this is important.
And it helps me not "try and remember" anything.

Productivity Hack #3
I put everything on a calendar

My calendar is my lifeline.
Everything is on my calendar.
Bills to pay, birthdays to remember, threads to write, weekly routines.

1) Every tax loophole I know.

No sales. Pure content.

If you appreciate my stuff, push this huge thread.

I’m tired of stalling at 9k.

If this group gets big enough, I could do so much more for you.

RT! Like! Tell your mother! Let’s go!!!

***Thread***

2) Pre-loopholes

Make sure tax is part of your wealth strategy.

How much of your income you keep matters even more than how much you make.

Tax is your largest expenses. Tattoo that on your wallet because it’s the truest thing you’ll read today.

3) Almost any expense can be deductible.

I’ve written threads on deducting your vacation. Even getting paid to go on vacation.

If you are speaking money and it relates to a profit motive, there is a good chance you can deduct it. Start capturing these expenses for analysis.

4) One of the easiest ways here - have a business reason you are taking your vacation. Maybe for a rental property. Maybe for a retreat. Maybe for recruiting.

It needs to be four house per day of your non travel days, but that isn’t that hard.

5) Burn in your brain that paying more tax than you should doesn’t make you a better person (or worse if you find ways to save).

How to Build Wealth at Any Age

11 Wealth Building Strategies

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1. Diversify Your Income

The average millionaire builds 7 streams of income.

If you've ever heard of the saying "don't put your eggs in 1 basket," then you know that you shouldn't rely on just 1 job.

Start diversifying your income streams today.

2. Own Your Own Business

66% of millionaires own their own business.

There's a reason why so many millionaires choose entrepreneurship over employment: They are their own boss.

Live your life without limits and build a lasting empire today.

3. Build Your Network

A degree is good but your network is better.

One of the greatest indicators of your future success is determined by the people who know you and trust you.

Build and maintain meaningful relationships as early as possible.

Your network is your net worth.

4. Read More

85% of millionaires read books for 30 minutes or more daily.

Books give you a chance to learn from and think like the greatest minds that have walked this earth.

If you want to succeed, you have to read.

11 Critical Lessons from Jeff Bezos

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1. It's OK to Fail

Bezos helped develop the Fire Phone, one of Amazon's worst failures.

And yet, the Fire Phone led to one of Amazon's biggest successes: Alexa.

“If you want to be inventive, you have to be willing to fail.” @JeffBezos

2. Be Uncomfortable

Before founding Amazon, Bezos worked on Wall Street.

Yet, he left his comfort zone to start an online business.

In 1994, building an online business was incredibly risky.

"One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out" @jeffbezos

3. Your Actions Define You

You are born with strengths and weaknesses.

What you do is what ultimately defines who you are.

It is not your ability that defines you, but your actions and choices.

"It's not an experiment if you know it's going to work" @jeffbezos

4. Embrace Criticism

If someone you trust gives you feedback, decide if their criticism is right.

If yes, then change and stop resisting.

Candid feedback is your ticket to true growth.

"If you can't tolerate critics, don't do anything new or interesting" @JeffBezos

I made a list of things that 95% of people think are weaknesses but aren’t

The best founders, bosses, employees, creators I know are really “weak”

If you master these 17 “weaknesses”, it will be life changing:

Changing your mind

You become happier and luckier when you change your mind

Changing your mind isn’t controversial. It’s totally normal

Knowing when to shut up

Normalize listening!

Listening actually solves most problems

To get things done: listen

Taking advice from someone that you don't like, but who is smart and right

This one is hard and hurts

Just because you don’t like them, doesn’t mean they aren’t right

Taking a nap

Fun fact: naps are predominantly deep sleep and our body is wired for them

Naps are the past, present and future

9 biggest business lessons

I built a 7 figure business with 0 experience

I went from being dirt broke to running a company that feeds 250 families.

Here are the 9 biggest business I've learned along the way

(Hint: you won't find any of this in any MBA curriculum)

//Thread//

Quick PSA:

When it comes to business

Karma is real

The value you give will 10x the wealth you keep

With that in mind

If you get value from this thread, please share the karma by retweeting ☝ tweet above 🙏

Let's get your business started with Lesson # 1 👇👇

Lesson # 1 Never give up

When I first started I had $0 in my pocket.

I was so broke I had to use the wifi from a nearby coffee shop just to check my emails.

I knocked on 100s of doors and got 100s of "No" and sent 100s of cold emails.

9-5? Mon-Fri?

Don't make me laugh.

It's more like 9am-9pm (often more), 7 days a week

Building a business is a FULL TIME gig.

No different to raising kids.

Because money NEVER sleeps.

You can relax a little once you're established but when you're building?

Be prepared to GRIND and never give up

Next ... 👇

Lesson # 2 You can't do it all yourself

Reason #1313 why business degrees are bullsh!t.

They will teach you about things like "business plans" but they won't teach you practical tips like delegation.

Look.

Building a business is CHAOTIC

One day you're killing it and the...

THREAD: The top 0.1% of ideas I’ve stumbled upon on the internet.

The rabbit holes (without the distractions).

1. Directional Arrows of Progress

“Study the undeniable arrows of progress.” - @wolfejosh

• The future is kinda like a crossword puzzle.

• Nobody is going to spell out for you - but clues exist.

• Wolfe uses the trend line of history as clues for the future.

• E.g. Look at this directional arrow of progress

• Every time the computer gets more powerful, smaller and closer to our bodies.

• Wolfe used this trend line to bet that Brain-Machine interfaces will be huge and started funding companies in the space.

2. The Cobra Effect

”When a measure becomes a goal, it ceases to become a measure” - @G_S_Bhogal

• British colonialists tried to reduce the snake population in India.

• They offered bounties for dead cobras with cash given out to the killers

• The incentives back-fired...

• The local population started breeding cobras & killing them.

• When the government discovered this, the reward program was scrapped.

• The cobra breeders then released their $0 snakes into the street, making the problem much worse.

3 things to give up to be successful

// thread //

Success.

It's something that everyone strives to achieve.

Looks different for everyone:

- home
- family
- great career

Success is all about vision.

Change your vision. Change your life.

Achieving anything in life:

- provides power
- makes you proud
- triggers self-esteem

1. Unhealthy lifestyle

“Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.” - Jim Rohn

Achieving things in life starts with a healthy body and calm mind.

2 things to keep in mind:

- healthy diet
- physical activity

Small steps.
But, one day you'll thank yourself.

2. Short term mindset

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” - Mae West

Successful people:

- get up early
- ignore the noise
- read a lot [focus]
- set long-term goals
- focus on short-term habits

Being average is easy.

Choose to be exceptional.

3. Playing small

“Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We're all meant to shine.”
- Williamson

If you never try, you'll be part of someone else’s dream.

So:

- voice your ideas
- don't be afraid to fail
- don't be afraid to succeed

If you play small, you stay small.

I'm not gonna lie.

My success is 95% attributable to running with the right people and being in the right place at the right time.

The lucky part for me:

It’s a flywheel and it’s all about momentum.

I’ve learned a lot from those folks. I’ve learned a lot about business and management and real estate.

My network is growing.

And I’ll continue to get even more opportunities and meet more people.

My advice:

Surround yourself with great people, add value to their lives so they keep you around, and focus on spotting opportunities.

Do the not fun, hard, sweaty work early so you can build up capital. Then work smart and keep the flywheel going.

And the thing you need to realize:

50% of people are negative, incompetent, mean and take more than they add.

Like crabs. They pull you back down into the bucket. Instead of lifting you up to help you win.

Cut the crabs (even the family crabs) out of your life.

The other 50% have an abundance mindset.

They don’t complain or blame.

They believe you winning is good for them. So they want you to win and will do things to help you win because they know it comes back around.

These are the folks you need to find, help and spend time with.