Why Does Naval Say "Investing Is About Making Friends with Time"?

This is an excellent question! Naval's statement is arguably the most essential and profound idea in his wealth philosophy.

Many people associate "investing" with candlestick charts, chasing market trends, or overnight riches. But Naval teaches us that true wealth creation works the opposite way. It’s not a blitzkrieg but a marathon demanding patience and wisdom.

Imagine treating "time" as a companion with character rather than a cold number—it instantly clarifies everything.

The Core: Understanding the Magic of Compound Interest – The Snowball Effect

The fundamental logic behind this is the legendary concept of compound interest.

Einstein called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world, while Buffett likened it to a snowball. Personally, I find the "snowball" metaphor the most vivid.

Picture rolling a small snowball down a long, wet, snowy slope from the peak.
At first, it's tiny and moves slowly.
But as it rolls, it accumulates more snow, growing larger and accelerating.

In this metaphor:

The long slope = time
Your principal = the initial small snowball
Investment returns = the new snow gathered along the way
Compound interest = the entire process of the snowball growing

"Making friends with time" means you need to find a sufficiently long slope and patiently, consistently roll your snowball down it. If you constantly look for shortcuts—picking up the snowball midway and restarting elsewhere (like frequent trading)—your snowball will never grow.

Time, as a friend, amplifies tiny advantages into monumental results through compounding.

The Mindset: Treat Time as a Friend, Not an Enemy

What does building friendship require? Time, trust, and patience. You wouldn’t expect someone you met yesterday to risk everything for you today, right?

Investing works the same way. When you invest in a quality asset (like stock in a great company or an index fund), you’re essentially befriending the underlying value. You need to give it time to grow and create value.

"Making friends with time" means:

Reduce anxiety, embrace long-term thinking: Stop obsessing over daily price swings. In the short run, markets are "voting machines," swayed by emotions and volatility; but long-term, they’re "weighing machines," reflecting a company’s true value. Just because your friend is in a bad mood today (stock price dips) doesn’t mean they won’t succeed tomorrow. Keeping perspective prevents being scared off by temporary setbacks.
Resist temptation, maintain patience: While your friend slowly rolls your snowball, someone may whisper: "Look, I’ve got a rocket that’ll make you rich instantly!" (e.g., a hyped "meme stock" promising 10x returns). Most of these "rockets" are either scams or fireworks that leave you shattered. Making friends with time means trusting the snowball’s steady power and rejecting flashy, high-risk temptations.

The Choice: Choosing the Right Friend Is Crucial

Naturally, as with real friendships, your choice matters immensely.

Time is a powerful friend, but it only magnifies the outcome of your choices. If you choose a "bad friend" (like a doomed project or a failing company), longer time equals greater losses. Time doesn’t turn trash into treasure.

Hence, "making friends with time" requires investing in quality assets worthy of your time.

Naval’s "right friends" typically refer to assets with long-term growth potential, such as:

Your own career or skills (the best investment)
Equity in exceptional businesses (sharing in a company’s prosperity)
Index funds tracking long-term market trends (e.g., S&P 500, CSI 300)

These grow more valuable over time rather than being depleted.

In Summary

Ultimately, Naval’s wisdom offers an investment "guiding philosophy":

Pick a great "partner": Choose an asset you believe will grow long-term.
Give it ample "time": After investing, ignore short-term market noise. Hold patiently and let compounding work.
Enjoy the "magic of compounding": Let your friend "time" roll your wealth snowball into something massive.
Don’t break up over temporary "mood swings": Never sell quality assets impulsively amid market panic or greed—doing so severs your friendship with time.

When you grasp and practice this, investing transforms from an anxiety-fueled task into a hopeful partnership with the future. That’s how you truly make friends with time.