It turns out I’m still not ready to talk about leverage today. After my last post on compounding, many of you shared some great insights. Today, I want to discuss a topic that might seem unrelated to economics at first glance, but is actually its very core: meditation.
In Naval Ravikant’s philosophy, he often speaks of leverage. When most people hear that word, they immediately think of wealth, investment, or shortcuts to success. But they miss a crucial point: leverage doesn’t create power; it only amplifies it. It amplifies sound judgment, but it also amplifies foolish decisions. It can build a fortune overnight, or lead to instant ruin. Remember, leverage is never free; it comes at a cost. Using leverage without self-control is like giving a monkey a torch.
So, before we talk about leverage, I have a question for you: do you truly believe you are in control of your own mind? This is why a note on economics must address meditation. On the surface, economics studies markets, prices, and capital. At a deeper level, it studies human nature.
You’ve likely noticed that in any world, we are surrounded by information designed to manipulate us. If you are clear-eyed enough, you’ll realize how much of your mind is actually on “remote control.” We aren’t really thinking; we are simply reacting to triggers. (The book Influence explores this concept deeply.)
Don’t believe me? Try to sit for just three minutes without a single thought arising.
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If you can’t even go three minutes without a stray thought, how can you be sure you aren’t being steered by the tens of thousands of data points manipulating you every day?
Meditation as a Pragmatic Training
When I talk about meditation, I’m not talking about “manifestation” or sending vibes to the universe. I believe supernatural abilities might exist, but I don’t possess them. My approach is far more pragmatic: meditation is a way to train your attention and observe your own thoughts. It allows us to truly focus and reclaim our minds through reason and awareness.
Years ago, I realized I needed to quiet the constant noise in my head, especially the cultural habit of using fear as a control mechanism. Those fears grow and spawn endless thoughts. I knew that if I didn’t overcome the fear my own brain was imposing on me, I would be imprisoned forever. It would be a waste of life; I would become the executioner of my own talent. So I started meditating.
The Scarcest Resource Is Attention
If economics is the study of resource allocation, then in this era, the scarcest resource is not time; it is attention. Platforms, ads, and politics are all at war for your attention. Meditation is, in essence, the act of reclaiming it. For creators, focus is everything. Deep work (flow) requires long stretches of concentration, yet platforms have sliced our attention into eight-second fragments.
You think you have time, but if you’ve lost sovereignty over your attention, you aren’t truly living in that time. You are being manipulated into watching brain-rotting videos, opening shopping apps, and consuming. You see a news clip and feel an immediate surge of anger, leaving a hateful comment. Or you see an artwork sell for a record price and let that “anchor” your perception of value, accepting mediocrity simply because of a price tag.
In this sense, you aren’t alive. You are spending the currency of your life (time) on things you think are important just to feel significant. It’s one of the saddest things I’ve witnessed. And we remain unaware because we cannot observe our own thinking.
The Three Levels of Mind
To me, the human mind operates on three levels:
- Reaction: fear, desire, impulse.
- Thinking: analysis, calculation, decision-making.
- Observation: witnessing your own thoughts.
Meditation trains the third ability: observing the “self” that is thinking.
I truly experienced what it means to “practice the profound Prajna Paramita” during my exhibition in Spain. I realized that the rising and falling of consciousness is like breathing, a cycle. A thought arises, then dissipates. It happens again and again. In that moment, I understood clearly: we are part of the universe’s breath. Consciousness flashes, fades, and flashes again. When consciousness is present, the world exists. When it goes silent, the world vanishes with it.
The 18th-century philosopher George Berkeley once said, “To be is to be perceived.” If something isn’t perceived, it holds no meaning. Buddhism’s Yogacara shares a similar view: when the mind arises, all things arise; when the mind ceases, all things cease.
Sometimes people think things just “fall into place.” But most “sudden” realizations are the blooming of seeds planted years ago. From the moment I realized my mind needed training to the moment I strictly managed what I see and hear, years have passed. The world doesn’t just “happen”; we move toward it, inch by inch, through years of daily practice.
Mind → Attention → Meditation → Awareness
How Meditation Reshaped My Creation
Meditation has helped me most in the act of painting. I can now clearly distinguish which hand movements are instinctive and which are deliberate. I can sense exactly when I enter a flow state, learn how to prolong it, and know exactly when to stop.
What used to be chaotic and blurry has become organized and “manageable.” I can calmly plan my creative direction for the next two years. I’ve begun to understand which parts of an art career I can control and which I cannot. And so, I learned to let go.
These experiences led me to a realization: if we cannot control our own thoughts, are we truly in control of our lives? Meditation taught me that leverage isn’t the most important skill. Only those who can control their own minds are qualified to use leverage.
Leverage means managing risk. It means knowing exactly what you are willing to pay and what you expect in return. When you look toward the future, you no longer see chaos; you see probabilities. And before facing those probabilities, you already have your script ready. Are you ready to use leverage? See you in the next note.
