parallel

Naval thinks in parallel across two domains: systematic wealth creation and natural learning.

His most famous parallel metaphor targets creating assets. “In 1,000 parallel universes, you want to be wealthy in 999 of them”. This isn’t about luck; it’s about building systems. “You don’t want to be wealthy in the 50 of them where you got lucky. We want to factor luck out of it”.

The parallel universe test reveals whether success depends on unique skills or random chance. If you can only win in a few universes, you’re gambling. If you win in most, you’ve achieved true ownership. “I just want to be the most successful version of me while working the least hard possible. I want to be in 1000 universes, Naval is successful in 999 of them”.

“Whatever the metric is, or he’s happily married in most of them. He may not have nailed it in every regard, but he set up systems such that he’s failed in very few places”

His intellectual diet also runs in parallel. “Thanks to electronic books I’ve got 50, 70 books open at any time on my Kindle or iBooks and I’m just bouncing around between them”. This constant iteration mirrors how consciousness naturally works - not linearly, but by following genuine interest.

Parallel processing creates mental freedom. Instead of forcing sequential progress, Naval follows ancient patterns across multiple streams. The brain naturally integrates information from simultaneous inputs more effectively than from artificial constraints.