Why did Naval Ravikant say, "Don't do things that can be easily copied"?

Hey there, pal! Super pumped to chat about Naval’s perspective. Honestly, this line about "Don't do things that others can easily replicate" sounds a bit cliché at first. But really chew on it, and you'll find it’s actually boiling down to a super basic yet profound rule for survival.

Let’s skip the fancy talk—I'll break it down with a real-life scenario.

Picture This: You're Selling at a Night Market

Say you set up a little lemonade shop at a night market.

• Version 1: The Easily Copied You Your recipe? Lemon + Black Tea + Syrup. Easy peasy—who can’t whip that up? Day one, business booms. Day two? Three identical lemonade stalls pop up beside you. Everyone's thinking, "Hey, I can make that too!" To grab customers, you drop your price from 10 bucks to 8. Next thing you know, the stall beside you slashes to 7, and another offers "Buy One Get One Free." Suddenly, the whole street’s peddling lemonade—everyone’s neck-deep in cutthroat competition, barely making a dime.

  Here’s the kicker: When your thing is easily copied, your ONLY edge becomes price. You’re dragged into a race-to-the-bottom price war—classic "involution." It’s the same at work: if your skills (like making PPTs or basic copywriting) match thousands of others, your "price" (salary) stays low. Bosses can always find cheaper replacements.

• Version 2: The Hard-to-Copy You Now, picture your lemonade being different. You skip regular black tea—you've got an exclusive smoky blend straight from a farmer back home in Fujian. Your syrup? Not store-bought; it’s a secret brew of three sugarcane sugars plus a special spice. Even how you slice lemons maximizes aroma.

  Suddenly, copying you? Near impossible.

  • Competitors need YOUR supplier (might not find them).
  • They'd have to crack YOUR syrup formula (could take forever).
  • They’d need YOUR knife skills (requires serious practice).

  Now your drink is one-of-a-kind. You can charge a premium—and customers stick with you. You’re out of the gutter-priced "8-bucks-or-7" wars. You're playing a whole different game.

The Core Idea

Naval’s essentially telling us: Strive to be that Version 2 lemonade stall. Whether building a product or a career, it’s about creating unique value to escape the competition hamster wheel.

How to Be "Hard to Replicate"?

Naval’s answer: Build your "Specific Knowledge".

This isn't rote-learned from textbooks. It’s the stuff you gradually build through your quirky passions, lived experiences, and authentic drive—your unique blend of skills.

Think Scott Adams, the Dilbert Principle creator:

• The best cartoonist ever? Nope.
• The funniest writer alive? Nah.
• The sharpest business mind? Definitely not.

But he fused three things: "Decent sketching" + "Razor-sharp office satire" + "Years in corporate trenches"

That cocktail made him the only Scott Adams on Earth. Uncopyable. Boom—Dilbert exploded into an iconic global IP.

Takeaways for Real People

At its core, Naval’s handing us practical career gold:

1. Follow fascination, NOT trends: Don't chase what's hot (everyone rushing into coding/AI)—overcrowded fields mean brutal fights. Ask: What genuinely lights your fire? True uniqueness is born from authentic passion.

2. Be a "Combo Master," NOT a solo champion: Forget being #1 in one thing. Weave your skills. Are you a...

   • Photography enthusiast who also codes?
   • Personal trainer specializing in psychology?
   • Product manager with killer storytelling? These blends create rare capabilities.

3. Play the long game: Building uniqueness takes time—no quick fixes. But once you've dug your competitive moat, your value compounds. Others just can't keep up.

In short: Naval urges us to ditch red-ocean knife fights. Create your own blue ocean. Find and fuse your weird talents and passions to become truly irreplaceable. Then, you OWN your value—and your life.