Kapil Gupta: Conquering the Mind

Highlights:

- Sincerity -

Naval: “I can always tell that people who ask for stock tips, aren’t really serious about investing. People who ask for book recommendations aren’t really serious about reading. People who ask ‘What, what business should I build?’ aren’t really serious about entrepreneurship.”

- How-To’s -

Kapil: “Take the person who “made it’ and became world-class in whatever he did. If he went back and retraced his steps and did everything again the same way, but this time he did it by mimicking himself, he would fail.”

Naval: “I can’t watch Roger Federer play tennis and swing the racket the same way, nor will any description from him on how to swing the racket, get me to swing it the right way. Then we go to intellectual efforts. We start asking Warren Buffet why he invested in a company and there he can try and create a mental construct as to how he thinks and how he invests in a company… But there are just as many details to Warren Buffett’s activities, when he decides what to invest in and how he lives his life and how he thinks, as there are to Roger Federer’s body running around a tennis court, hitting a ball. At some level, the details are not transmissible. They’re not copyable.”

Kapil: “The things that you do greatest are the things that you know not how you do.”

- Truth -

Naval: “Society is a set of collective lies that we all believe so we can get along. It allows us to establish a lower common denominator consensus so we don’t all kill each other and we can cooperate. These shared fictions that we have to maintain for society to function are fine. But there’s a cost to that, and the cost is borne by the individual.”

Naval: “One of the ways in which I know that I am finding truths is then that problem is solved for good.”

- Freedom -

Kapil: “Any freedom that leads to the desire for more freedom is not freedom.”

Kapil: “Freedom comes from the understanding of where things come from, not the conscious attempt to end them.”

- Progress -

Kapil: “A human being becomes his environment. It is absolutely critical to savagely and surgically arrange one’s environment in a way that is in accordance with where he wants to go.”

Kapil: “Looking for progress is essentially looking for pleasure. It is the pleasure of self image, which says, I’m in a better place now than I was before.”

[sams]

This conversation feels like Naval talking to his conscious

[MrTobi]

"Prescriptions". Listening to Kapil and Naval allowed me to shed a new light on a quote from Krishnamurti. The gist of it is to find answers for yourself. Stop looking for external sources to explain you how you should behave.
Here's the quote from Krishnamurti (November 5, 1966) :
"You must understand it, go into it, examine it, give your heart and your mind, with everything that you have, to find out a way of living differently. That depends on you, and not on someone else.
Because in this :
_ There is no teacher, no pupil, there is no leader, there is no Guru, no Master, no Saviour;
_ You yourself are the teacher and the pupil, you are the guru, you are the master, you are the leader.
You are everything.
And to understand is to transform what is."

[JoshSnyman]

"All conflict is self-conflict...the circumstance does not produce pain: it reveals it."

[artbubbletea]

It's fabulous to see Naval as the student, to see how he understands and reflects with information he himself is grappling with. We rarely see the people we learn from, learning. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to witness that and learn from it.

[DanishMohdhacker]

Blown away.
My takeaway:
1. Exposure to the truth.
2. There is no journey.
3. Seriousness, genuineness, and sincerity can be an organ of its own.

My Experience:
I have been following Naval & Kapil for a long time and trying to build an understanding to 'understand problems'.
After reading Atmamun, I spent the time to solve one of my problem - Anger. I would be peaceful, then suddenly if something happens which was not in accordance with my belief or understanding - that would tickle me to get Angry. It went away after I understood the cause - after spending numerous years fighting it.

[np]

"If we do not discuss the truth what is the point of this conversation !"
Truest thing said in a while. Conversation should be about finding and discussing the truth (only)

[DonnyJ]

Naval is the epicenter of lucency. I reset my brain after listening to his podcasts.

[anuragjha]

Mind f#cking blown, no one broke my mental models before, after listening to Kapil, my mental model is shattered. I always felt like solutions are like the gift box which has smaller gift boxes and I never get to see the actual gift. It was like peeling the onion to find the onion itself. Now the whole gift box is lost and all I am left with is the 'present'.
Thank you for this.❤️

[parthasud]

Honestly I can’t understand all of the concepts discussed. But the fact that I’m aware and continue to re listen for the wisdom is definitely a win in my book!

[bearish_bull]

I cried listening to this. I am very aware of when I feel like I’m learning the deepest, I’m emotional. & like every other young person, I have traumas that I have suppressed and that pop up every now & again (childhood abuse, bad confidence, absent parent, extensive drug use, etc) & I just wanted to share myself authentically like you both have done. This is more so for myself but for anyone reading this, I’m so happy to have found this now. & really am doing my best to become the best version of myself daily. This was much needed. Very refreshing & enjoy the high level conversation. Cheers

[curtisboardman]

I love how these conversations give you both new solutions and new problems simultaneously.

[tarkovsky]

I LOVE YOU NAVAL!❤️ I discovered you during this coronavirus lockdown and my life is changing listening to your ideas! bohot bohot dhanyawad!!

[kareemelmenyawi]

Read Mr.Gupta’s book the direct truth - most impactful content for me is solving comes from understanding. Once I understood the true root of my anxiety, I didn’t have to treat it. It’s like lifting a veil off a hooded attacker who’s entire threat stems from his anonymity. I can’t win the game unless I know the rules, but once I uncover them - I’m free from playing

[michellemartinson]

I find Naval so uniquely relevant that it’s hard to wrap my brain around it. I’m not incredibly “intelligent”, but his communication style resonates with me in a way I’ve never experienced. I find that I want to go so much deeper in understand every single point of every single thing that he says. I’m so grateful for this podcast.

[akibdihan]

The conversation, the dialogues are so smooth and seamless that it almost feels like it's scripted. I am fascinated by, how articulate you guys are, and how well your speaking compliments each other.

[soufianedabachil]

Wow!! I'm simply blown away by the amount of knowledge you guys dropped on us on this one. While halfway through the video, I kept checking my phone to see how many minutes were remaining hoping this conversation wouldn't end 👏👏👏

[dravidhemanth]

I have been listening to this particular episode now for the 5th time and every iteration I am able to connect to the contexts of what Naval and Kapil are speaking better with myself and relate to it on a deeper level. This one is GOLD!

[DanielleNewnham]

Really enjoyed this interview Naval. One thing that really resonated: "Society is a set of collective lies that we all believe so we can get along. It allows us to establish a lower common denominator consensus so we don't all kill each other and we can cooperate. These shared fictions that we have to maintain for society to function are fine. But there's a cost to that, and the cost is borne by the individual."

[nbme-answers]

19:44 anxiety
13:32 imprisonment by the mind, freedom

[sombh]

35:55 The very fact that you caught yourself doing it is enough...this is as deep as it gets, superb.
Priceless
Literally dripping