ANUV

#21 Become an Idea Manifesting Instrument

Ideas do not belong to you; they belong to nature. Ideas are glimpses of the future—a perishable natural resource. Occasionally, you may be fortunate to receive a good idea. Ideas are also time-sensitive; if the time for an idea has come, nature will use the right instrument at her disposal to bring it to fruition.

This is a guide to help you build yourself up to become the right instrument for good ideas.

To bring an idea to fruition, you will likely need to reconfigure the world in a certain way.

Reconfiguring the world to manifest your idea takes effort, and this effort is powered by an internal fuel called “gumption.”

Gumption is the internal fuel that drives your effort towards Quality. It is felt internally as the willingness to expend effort. 

Checkpoints are arbitrary goals you set, and each time you reach one, it rewards you with additional gumption. Naval defined 'Desire' as 'a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want'. These 'contracts' you make with yourself are equivalent to setting checkpoints. Setting checkpoints are a personal choice, you are essentially providing an execution schedule for your biochemistry to release neurochemicals in response to certain circumstances based on your progress towards those checkpoints. Note what really matters is that – you decide the checkpoint, not someone else, because they do not have access to your real-time gumption levels. Picking the right checkpoint is a skill, and you will get better at it with practice.

Consider someone working on a long-term project like writing a book. They might set smaller checkpoints like drafting an outline, completing one chapter, or even finishing a paragraph each day. Each achieved checkpoint gives a sense of accomplishment and renews the drive to continue.

Similarly, think of an entrepreneur launching a startup. They might set checkpoints such as developing a minimum viable product, acquiring their first customer, or securing initial funding. Each accomplished checkpoint provides validation and replenishes their gumption, motivating them to tackle the next challenge with increased vigor.

Execution momentum is the combined product of the mass and velocity of your execution. Every hurdle that requires reconfiguration reduces your gumption. Each checkpoint you reach, rewards you with additional gumption, and the size of the reward is proportional to your significance of the checkpoint. Velocity is 'speed in a direction'. If you execute a lot, but not in the direction of your checkpoint, you are not (or only partially) building the execution momentum in the direction of your checkpoint. Speed is not sufficient, direction matters.

Imagine a fuel tank labeled “gumption,” gradually depleting as you face obstacles or distractions and filling up when you reach a checkpoint. Visualize each checkpoint as a refuel station, where the satisfaction of progress adds gumption back into the tank. You only place the refuel stations en-route your checkpoints, so if you stray from your path long enough, you will eventually run out of gumption before reaching the next fueling station.

Big ideas that require substantial world reconfiguration can often be broken down into smaller reconfiguration steps. You can combine a number of these steps, according to your judgment, to form a checkpoint.

The challenge is to reach checkpoint after checkpoint without running out of gumption. This creates a feedback loop that, when executed correctly, compounds your execution momentum. The goal of this challenge is to increase momentum toward manifesting your idea.

If you are low on gumption, try tackling a very small checkpoint. Reaching this checkpoint will provide a small gumption reward, allowing you to tackle a slightly larger checkpoint next, setting you up to compound your execution momentum.

Nature provides you with a daily initial quota of gumption. Taking care of your health by sleeping, eating, and exercising allows you to replenish a small amount of gumption naturally—usually enough to start something small if you don’t already have execution momentum. Gumption also decays naturally with time. It decays faster with distractions, long detours and unhealthy lifestyle.

Pessimism also decays gumption. Avoid talking to too many people in the early stages to prevent gumption loss. Only start talking to others about your pursuit once you have enough gumption to safely handle naysayers.

This exercise does not judge the quality of your ideas. In practice, the focus should be on building yourself to become the right instrument to receive ideas. This means you should not spend too much time contemplating before executing an idea because all ideas—whether good or bad—are perishable. It’s essential to develop the habit of manifesting your ideas, as just thinking about your ideas does not build execution momentum.

New ideas typically come with a small “seed fund” of gumption, usually enough only for executing a small checkpoint and seldom sufficient for prolonged contemplation—unless you already have a reserve of gumption. You should only pause at checkpoints, as reaching them provides a surplus of gumption that allows you to assess the direction and scope of your idea.

At these checkpoints, you can readjust your course based on insights gathered from execution up to that point. You may also decide to shelf or abandon the idea altogether if you believe your newly acquired gumption would be better applied to another pursuit.

To become a fine instrument for manifesting ideas, cultivate a disciplined approach that respects gumption as a renewable but delicate resource. The act of execution itself builds your momentum, and this momentum amplifies with every checkpoint you achieve, guiding you closer to transforming ideas into reality. By focusing on taking consistent steps, maintaining the health of your mind and body, and controlling distractions, you’ll be ready to meet the demands of any idea. When you reach these pivotal moments—each checkpoint reached, each reconfiguration achieved—you reinforce your identity as an active participant in the world’s ongoing transformation. Your responsibility, then, is not only to your ideas but to the cultivation of your inner instrument, so you remain poised for whatever inspiration nature may send your way.

#20 The Infinite Marathon Problem

Imagine being offered anything you desire in life—money, fame, legacy—with one condition: the longer you can walk or run, the greater the rewards you receive. There are no time, distance, or route limits; you are free to go as far as you wish on any route you desire, and the rewards increase exponentially with the distance covered. What strategy would you choose?

You might consider running as fast as you can until you can no longer continue. Suppose you aim for the rewards at the 100 km mark. If you push yourself to run 20 km a day, you could reach your goal in five days. However, overexerting yourself might mean you can’t maintain this pace, or worse, you could suffer an injury.

Alternatively, you might decide to walk just 10 meters each day. While this is something you can do consistently without fail, it would take 100 days to reach just 1 km. To cover 100 km, you’d need 10,000 days—approximately 27.4 years.

The key lies in finding a pace and intensity that you can consistently maintain over an indefinite period. You also need to choose a path compelling enough to keep you focused, allowing you to reap the exponential benefits that lie in the future. Pacing, like other aspects of the race is also deeply personal, and the ideal pacing is something that one needs to find for oneself. Variable pacing is more human, as our circumstances keep changing and our ability (and hence speed) to traverse the path increases with more experience on the path or decreases with time away from the path. 

This scenario mirrors the fundamental challenge of life. There is no universally accepted purpose; any sense of purpose is deeply personal. This freedom means there is no prescribed path you must follow, no minimum or maximum distance you are required to cover. You are completely free to choose your path and set your target distance. While there’s no time limit on the race, your lifespan imposes a natural limit.

Most of the benefits of any path lie in the distant future, where all the compounded rewards accumulate. To enjoy these benefits, you must arrive at that point with as healthy a body and mind as possible; otherwise, you may not be able to enjoy the rewards offered to you.

The further you progress along a given path, the more opportunities open up in your life. Each journey also transforms you; the longer you stay on the path, the more your body and mind align with it. You will not be the same person at your 1st km as you are at your 1,000th km.

If you’re unsure whether a route is suitable for you, just start walking on whatever path seems favorable right now. Even if it’s not the exact route you want to follow, any path you choose will lead to more paths in the future in the direction of your movement. It is unlikely you will stumble upon a favourable path without moving at all. However, note that some activities move you in opposite directions along the same path—for example, eating unhealthy foods and exercising are diametrically opposed on the path to good health. Ensure your activities align with the direction you want to move. Or at least, you walk more steps in the direction you want to go than the steps you take backwards. Of course, try to minimise the number of steps you take backwards. 

When you are stuck, choose a path—any path where the distant fuzzy destination looks desirable to you. Set personal, intermediate goals along the way. Select a pace that is sufficiently challenging to reach your desired distance within your timeframe. Remember, your ability to progress is also trainable through enduring hardships. The more you are willing to endure, the greater your capacity to move faster along the path. Finally, prioritize your health by balancing effort with recovery. Without adequate recovery, you won’t be able to replenish yourself sufficiently to continue indefinitely.

What is your infinite marathon problem?

#19 Momentum

If you have to grow

You’ll have to move fast

Cause physics told us so

How do I gather momentum 

Drip, drip, drip: drop by drop

But know that growing means shrinking

Like living means dying

Immortality is a different magic

#18 The Wizard

“Go right.”

Not expecting to hear a voice in this deserted stretch of the road, I looked up, startled. The voice seemed to emanate from a dark cloudy figure ahead of me floating at the intersection of two paths that diverged; one going right, the other going left. The figure cast no shadow on the ground even in the burning afternoon sun. As I looked at the apparition, it resolved into the likeness of a wizard. He stood still, in silence, with his thin bony arm outstretched, pointing right. His face stayed mostly hidden in the depths of his hood. His ghostly appearance invoked in me the image of the grim reaper, minus the scythe. 

“Go right from here.”, he repeated. His tone impersonal, like a bored office worker.

I stood there, unmoving, in silence, observing the figure attentively with my eyes wide open. I had been praying for years to gain darshan of that which stood in front of me. I felt no joy or fear. I stood there in awareness of the moment for what felt like several minutes.

I smiled, “No… I choose to go left.”

The wizard appeared to stir. He didn’t expect to be seen, let alone have his dictate contradicted by choice.

“A soul that is allowed to choose, must face the test of illusions. Are you prepared?”

“Yes.”

He dropped his arm and peered into me. His needle-like gaze pierced through me and wove an elaborate web of maya, engulfing me and plunging me into deep darkness. Gone were the wizard, the sun, and the deserted road; instead, in front of me, stood the most beautiful maiden in a moonlit garden, promising me all the tenderness of the world if I would only follow her to the right. “No… I want to go left.”

The scene changed again before my eyes. Beside me appeared my elderly parents, pulling my arm and urging me to take the right. Proclaiming that I don’t love them if I disobey. “No I do love you, but my path lies to the left.”

Next I saw my friend walking beside me, matching my pace and stride. We approached the turn on the road and he naturally began to turn right without premeditation. I stopped while he led on for a few meters before pausing himself and turning back, looking puzzled. “What happened?”

“I cannot go along with you” I said, “I turn left from here.”

One by one, came people I loved, respected and looked up to. They all tried, in their own ways, to goad me into taking the right turn, the right decision.

Eventually they stopped appearing, and I was left alone with myself, with a cacophony of voices in my head, providing me with justifications, rational explanations and emotional appeals. “You have an appointment today.”, They said, “You are late, you can’t be daydreaming here in the middle of the road.”, “You come by often, you can try the other way some other day, today is not that day.” They continued, “You’re dehydrated.”, “You’re seeing things, perhaps it’s the heat of the sun.”, “You’re too old to change your ways, it’s too late.”, “You’re still young, you have enough time ahead of you.”, “You just don’t have it in you, you can’t do it.”, and finally – “The test is over, you are now free to turn right.” They tried pulling my muscle fibers, bribing my hands to block my vision, pushing my legs to step away from under me.

But I stood still, for now I saw the wizard and his magic. I waited and waited through what felt like a raging thunderstorm until the only voice that was left, was mine.

I woke up, the scorching sun directly above me, burning my face. Sitting up with dust clinging to the sweat on my skin, I found the road to be deserted still. Looking ahead, I noticed the diverging paths that lay before me. I glanced down the right path, and for the first time, I felt a wave of ennui washing over me. My muscles did not push me any further and instead waited on me to decide the way forward. I could no longer go with the flow, as the flow had simply disappeared.

I had been here countless times, always taking the only path that I could see, the familiar path. But I had never looked, never really looked. The alternative had always been there, a part of the landscape that my eyes skimmed over but never really acknowledged or seen as a real prospect. It looked familiar from the junction, yet every step into that path would be new and unfamiliar.

I closed my eyes, and gave out a sigh of relief. I noticed the touch of the wind caressing my skin. Dusting off my clothes, I pushed myself up and went on my way.