YouSaid · the spoken record

Pavel Durov

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212
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2025-10-01
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2025-10-01
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podcast

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  1. “Yes, because this way I can contribute to the progress of society, or at least I like to think this way. And this makes me happier.”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “I don't think a phone is a necessary device I remember growing up, I didn't have a mobile phone. When I was a student at the university, I didn't have a mobile phone. When I finally got to use a mobile phone, I never used phone calls. I was always in airplane mode or mute. I hated the idea of being disturbed. My philosophy here is pretty simple I want to define what Important in my life. I don't want other people or companies to be. All kinds of organizations telling me What is important today and what I should be thinking about. Set up your own agenda, and the phone gets in your way.”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “So that you end up consuming the same information, the same stuff, the same memes, the same news as everybody else. But rather, you should be proactive. You should deliberately try to set a goal, an area that you want to explore, and then actively search information. That is relevant to this field so that one day you can become the world's number one expert in this field. And it's not quite that difficult to do that. Have to just remain consistent because nobody else is trying to do that. Everybody else is just reading the same news and discussing the same news every day. But this way, they don't get to have a competitive advantage.”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “So obviously, in order to contribute to Society To the economy of the country you live in, you have to do something that is valuable. But if you're doing something that everybody else is doing anyway, What's the value of it It sounds easier than it is done to do something that nobody else is doing because we humans are surrounded by all kinds of information, which makes us want to copy what we're perceiving. At the same time, there are so many areas which you can explore that have nothing to do with the information you receive on a daily basis. So it's extremely important to curate the information sources that you have. So that you wouldn't be somebody who is left. The will of AI based algorithmic feed telling you what's important”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “And it's quite irrational if you think about it. It was something that made a lot of sense. Years ago It makes zero sense today. Because if you think about it, if you do the same thing everybody else around you is doing, you don't have any competitive advantage. And you don't get to become outstanding at some point in your life”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “Be known at all. I've been always ready to stand my ground and say no when I feel something's not right. And it's extraordinary how easily we humans are affected by what we perceive as majority because nobody since ancient times since million years ago Wants to be left out by the tribe. Are scared that. I'm accepted anymore Thousands of millions of years ago meant we're going to starve to death. We have to consciously Fight this inclination. Be agreeable with everything that the majority imposes on you because it's quite clear that many things that the majority in many activities the majority is engaging in. Are not bringing you any good”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “Very often people are trying to escape something in their lives with alcohol. What is it they are trying to escape? What is this problem? You have to get to the bottom of it. Your mind is trying to tell you something valuable. And instead of addressing it directly, you are flooding it in alcohol. Which is sort of a spiritual painkiller, but works only temporarily. And then you have to pay the debt with interest.”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “First of all, don't be afraid to be contrarian, set your own rules. Secondly, if you feel you need to drink, there must be some problem you're trying to conceal. There's something, some fear you're not ready to confront. And you have to address this fear. If there is a good looking girl, you're afraid to approach. Get rid of this fear, approach her, practice, do it again and again. It's pretty banal. But this advice works.”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “One is quite easy. When I was 11 years old, my biochemistry teacher, he gave me this book hero that was called The Illusion of Paradise. And there he would describe the biological and chemical processes that happen in your body once you consume this or that substance. It was mainly related to illegal drugs, but alcohol was one of these addictive substances that he covered. So it turns out that when you drink alcohol, the thing that happens is that your brain cells become paralyzed. Become literally zombies. And then next day Sometime after the party is over, some of your brain cells die and never get to normal. So think about us. If your brain is this most valuable tool you have in your journey to success and happiness, why would you destroy this tool for short-term pleasure? This sounds ridiculous.”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “Oh, yes. In a way, you have to go against your instinct of self-preservation. It's not easy. We are all biological beings hard coded to be afraid of death. Nobody wants to die. But when you approach it rationally You leave and then you die. There's no such thing as your death in your life. You stop experiencing life once you die, so you have to ask yourself this question, is it worth living a life full of fear of death? Or it's much more enjoyable to forget about this and live your life in a way that makes you immune to this fear. At the same time, remembering that death exists so that every day would count”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “The biggest enemy is of freedom are fear and greed. So you make sure that they don't stand in your way. If you imagine the worst thing that can happen to you and then make yourself be comfortable with it. There is nothing more Left to be afraid of You stand your ground and you remember that it's worth living your life according to. The principles that you believe in. Even though this life can end up being shorter. The longer life, but lived in slavery.”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “I get to experience the difference between a society with freedom and a society without freedom pretty early in life. I was four years old when my family moved from the Soviet Union to northern Italy and I could see that a society without freedom cannot enjoy the abundance of opinions, of ideas, of goods and services, even for a four or five-year-old kid it was obvious. experience all the Toys, the ice cream of sorts, the cartoons in the Soviet Union that you can access in Italy. And then I got to realize something even more important. You don't get to contribute to this abundance without freedom. And at this point, it was pretty obvious to me.”

    2025-10-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source