I wrote three newsletters this week.
One on attaining f*ck you money.
One on overhauling your mind for success.
One on how to make impossible decisions.
But none felt true enough to send you.
So instead of pushing half-truths, I'm sharing something that unexaggeratedly changed my life: Four handpicked tweets from Naval Ravikant's legendary "How to Get Rich" thread that rewired my brain and genuinely influenced how I live.
Tweets That Guided How I Built this Weird, Leveraged Life
1) “Embrace accountability, and take business risks under your own name. Society will reward you with responsibility, equity, and leverage.”
At Google, I learned this the hard way.
As an entry-level engineer, you get assigned work. Safe work. Work that falls under someone else's project. I liked it that way. It was in my comfort zone.
But my promotion came from taking on a large project entirely under my own name. Scary? Absolutely. If it flopped, I'd be the single point of failure.
But since it succeeded, I owned the upside and that project fueled my promotion packet’s approval.
If you want upside, you’ll have to take on risk. That’s why I documented the high-stakes journeys of leaving Google and 50 Days to $1K and that’s why I was rewarded with attention and audience for it.
2) “Understand that ethical wealth creation is possible. If you secretly despise wealth, it will elude you.”
This one hit close to home.
Growing up with immigrant parents, money was the enemy. "We can't afford this." "We can't afford that." Money felt dirty. Evil. An oppressor.
That programming still sabotages me today.
I've barely monetized my personal brand because of this deep-rooted belief. Without it, I could have cleared $10K+ in these three months. Instead, I've gritted my teeth to sell what I did and have only made $4K.
This mental block has proven Naval's tweet painfully true. If you feel something similar, start working on it now. It's a process, but it's necessary.
3) “Code and media are permissionless leverage. They’re the leverage behind the newly rich. You can create software and media that works for you while you sleep.”
We're living in the golden age of one-person media businesses.
Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube algorithms now reward attention, not follower count.
My first reel on instagram went viral with over a million views at near 0 followers.
My recent YouTube video amassed over 35k views and “converted” 1k subscribers.
In 2018, you didn't need permission to post. In 2025, you don't even need permission to get put directly onto strangers’s feeds. Social media has become a pure meritocracy of attention.
Content and code: build once, sell forever. That's leverage. That's why I started building an audience.
4) “When you’re finally wealthy, you’ll realize that it wasn’t what you were seeking in the first place. But that’s for another day.”
This is an unteachable lesson.
Early in my creator journey, I spoke with someone making several million annually from Amazon FBA.
His words: "$600K/month feels just as empty as $30K/month."
My own story proves this. I got depressed making $350K at Google. Money alone cannot buy fulfillment.
We hear this constantly. Yet we always think we'll be the exception.
I'm no different. I'm still chasing more.
So what do we do?
Don't stop pursuing wealth. But enjoy the journey. Because once you make it, you'll wish you spent less time worrying about whether you would.
Thank you for reading this week's newsletter. I've been in a creative rut with short-form content lately. Growing a bit resentful of the game. Even though it’s been difficult, writing has become my refuge.
If this resonated, follow me on Twitter. I'm exploring more writing-first content.
See you next week,
—Jim
P.S. Final reminder: The free 30-day personal brand challenge starts in just 3 days. Over 2,300 of you have signed up (mind-blowing). [Sign up here.]