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The magic of asymmetric life bets: the small risks that could lead to massive upsides
Most people get risk completely backward and suffer the consequences for decades.
They pour their life savings into restaurants without testing the concept.
They buy franchise licenses that lock them into decades of debt.
They max out credit cards, starting businesses they don’t understand.
They sink years and fortunes into degrees they never use.
I was guilty of this last one. I invested heavily in a master’s degree in real estate and was convinced it would open doors. I enrolled on a whim, excited about developing properties from the TV.
After finishing, my degree gathered dust while I built a design business from scratch that had nothing to do with my education.
High risk, limited upside. Mistake.
Naval Ravikant, the philosopher-founder of AngelList, champions the concept of asymmetric betting. It’s beautiful. His insight is simple: Look for opportunities where the downside is limited or capped, but the upside is unlimited.
This has worked for me massively in content creation over the last 15 years.