Read what you love until you love to read.
There's something quietly radical about this advice, especially when we've all internalized the idea that reading is supposed to be good for us. We load up on "important" books, struggle through dense philosophy we think we should understand, and feel guilty when we don't finish. But this quote flips that script entirely: the goal isn't to become a certain kind of person through disciplined suffering. It's to chase the thing that already pulls at you.
When you start with genuine curiosity—whether that's Reddit threads about true crime, fantasy novels, memoirs, or technical blogs—something shifts. Reading stops feeling like an obligation and starts feeling like discovery. The act itself becomes rewarding, not just the completion or the status of having read something. That's when the real learning happens. You retain more, think more deeply, and naturally start exploring adjacent ideas. You develop taste and judgment through actual engagement, not through a reading list someone else approved.
The counterintuitive part: starting wherever you are, no matter how "lowbrow," almost always leads somewhere richer. The person who reads passionately about one narrow thing learns to read passionately, period. The appetite builds. What matters isn't the prestige of your starting point—it's that you're actually hungry.
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Sign inNaval Ravikant is a successful entrepreneur, investor, and author, known for his expertise in the field of technology and startup companies. He is the co-founder of AngelList and has gained popularity for his insightful thoughts on happiness, wealth, and personal development shared through his popular podcast and social media platforms.