Hi everyone, this is Neo.

Recently, I finally finished that book that’s been blowing up in every startup circle and on every “hustler’s” feed — The Almanack of Naval Ravikant.

Honestly, after years of running e-commerce sites, I’ve been just like most sellers: pushed forward every day by traffic, orders, supply chain, competitors — spinning like a top, anxious, unable to stop.

We’re always chasing the next viral product, the next traffic goldmine, the next “get rich” playbook. But late at night, I can’t help asking myself: am I actually building a real business here, or just working a harder job for myself?

After reading Naval’s book, it felt like a wise man smacked me upside the head. A lot of the fuzzy, tangled questions I could never figure out suddenly became clear. He didn’t teach me any specific “tricks” — like how to pick winning products or run ads — but he gave me a deeper “framework,” an operating system for wealth and happiness.

Today, I want to talk about the 3 huge insights this book gave me, through the lens of our everyday life as e-commerce site sellers.

1. Don’t Just Chase “Money” — Build Your “Wealth Levers”

This is one of Naval’s core ideas: don’t trade time for money; build wealth with leverage and judgment.

He lays out a wealth formula:

Wealth = Specific Knowledge + Accountability + Leverage

That sounds abstract, so let me translate it into plain language for e-commerce sellers.

Specific Knowledge: This isn’t what you learn at university. It’s the unique expertise you grind out based on your own curiosity and passion.

• Think about it: In the e-commerce space, what’s your specific knowledge?
• Is it an unrivaled understanding of a niche product category — say, paddle boards or climbing gear?
• Is it the ability to take cold, boring B2B industrial products and make them sexy and compelling through content marketing?
• Or do you know a country’s local social media playbook inside out (like Germany’s Xing or Poland’s VK)?

That’s your “home turf.” Stop blindly testing so-called “winning products” with tools — that’s a red ocean. Your specialty is your real moat.

Leverage: This is the key to “making money while you sleep.” Naval says the most powerful levers are “code and media” — they’re the land and capital of the new era.

• Media leverage: For us sellers, this is content. A well-made YouTube video, a professional blog post, a catchy TikTok skit — they work like tireless salespeople, promoting you 24/7 and steadily attracting customers who trust you. That beats dropping a few thousand dollars a day on ads, where the orders stop the second you stop paying.
• Code leverage: You don’t have to know how to code. Use SaaS tools — automate workflows with Zapier/Make, run refined email marketing with Klaviyo, manage customer service with Gorgias… These are all ways of using the “code” lever to free yourself from repetitive manual labor.

Accountability: Dare to put your own name behind your products and brand. When your brand is you and you are the brand, you’re truly building a business — not a passerby who can be switched off at any time.

So stop staring at daily order counts. Spend more time sharpening your “specific knowledge” and building your “media” and “code” levers. That’s the right path from “working a job” to “building a business.”

2. Play “Long-Term Games” with “Long-Term People”

The worst thing you can do with an e-commerce site is be short-termist.

Today you see a plugin that looks useful, so you install it; tomorrow you see someone else’s money-making model, so you copy it. Before you know it, your site is bloated, your brand is blurred, and you’re exhausted.

Naval says: “All the returns in life — whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge — come from compound interest.”

Compounding takes time.

• On branding: Stick to one style, one value proposition, and keep shipping. A few years later, when users think of a category, you’re the first name that comes to mind. That’s brand compounding. Think Anker’s position in charging.
• On supply chain: Don’t switch suppliers over a few cents of price difference. Go deep with a reliable supplier and grow together — when push comes to shove (capacity crunch, quality fluctuations), they’ll have your back. That’s relationship compounding.
• On customers: Stop obsessing over acquiring new customers. Serve your existing ones well. Make them want to buy again and recommend you voluntarily. One loyal repeat customer is worth far more than ten new ones. That’s customer compounding.

All of this takes patience. We’re in a long-term business, not a one-off transaction. Choose partners, employees, and suppliers who also think long-term, and roll the snowball together.

3. Happiness Is a “Skill,” Not a “Goal”

Finally, let’s get a little personal.

Nobody who runs a business has it easy. What keeps us going — beyond the desire to make money — is the longing for a better life. But we often fall into a trap: “Once I hit $100K this month, I’ll be happy” or “Once I buy a big house, I’ll be content”…

Naval nails it: “Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.”

Happiness isn’t a goal to chase; it’s a skill you can choose and learn. It’s a state of “being present” — the calm that remains once you’ve removed the feeling of “what am I still missing.”

In recent years, here’s what I’ve learned for myself:

• Deliberately cut desires: Stop mindlessly scrolling through other people’s success stories and manufacturing unnecessary anxiety. Focus on what you can control.
• Enjoy the process: Enjoy optimizing a landing page, having an honest conversation with a customer, polishing a product detail. The results tend to take care of themselves.
• Leave yourself white space: Every week, force myself to take half a day off — no phone, no work talk. Just a walk, a book, or staring at the ceiling. Free the brain from the daily grind.

When we stop pinning happiness on some distant goal and instead weave it into every present choice and action, we get real, sustainable energy to face whatever the entrepreneurial journey throws at us.

Final Thoughts

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is like a mirror, reflecting the underlying wisdom we entrepreneurs often ignore while chasing worldly success.

Build your wealth system with “specific knowledge” and “leverage,” not by trading time for a paycheck. Run your business with “long-term thinking” and “compounding,” not by chasing short-term temptations. Treat “happiness” as an internal skill to practice, not an external goal to chase.

I hope today’s share gives you, who are also pushing hard on the e-commerce path, a little food for thought.

So — what’s your “specific knowledge”? Which “lever” are you using? Drop a comment below and let’s talk.