Telegram’s founder-CEO, Pavel Durov, has stunned the Internet with his AI-like appearance. The Russian-origin techie is known to have an intense lifestyle, be it ice baths or fathering countless children. But his immensely successful social networking startup, Telegram, wasn’t built by just working on his physique. Training his mind for excellence, Durov has gone nearly 20 years without alcohol, tobacco, coffee, pills, or illegal drugs.
However, this was not a decision he made as a billionaire, but as a child at 11 years old. Speaking to Lex Fridman in a four-hour-long podcast, Durov explained why he said, “If you want to reach your full potential and maintain clarity of mind, stay away from addictive substances.”
‘Your brain cells become paralysed’
Durov recalled that when he was a young, impressionable child, his teacher gave him a book called ‘The Illusion of Paradise’. It described the biological and chemical processes that happen inside one’s body when substances are ingested. “It turns out that when you drink alcohol, the thing that happens is that your brain cells become paralysed. They become literally zombies. And then next day, sometime after the party is over, some of your brain cells die and never get to normal,” Durov explained. He then remarked, “If your brain is the most valuable tool you have in your journey to success and happiness, why would you destroy this tool for short-term pleasure?”
Seeking a comment on the common practice of consuming alcohol in social settings, Fridman remarked that several factors, such as social pressures, lead to people drinking alcohol just to fit in. Giving his take on social drinking, Durov replied, “Don’t be afraid to be contrarian. Set your own rules.” He went on to opine that drinking is often associated with underlying problems “you’re trying to conceal,” he said, calling it a “fear”.
Telegram founder doesn’t use his phone?
We are all pretty much slaves of the “cell” phone by now. Captured by the dazzling 30-second world of social media, our free time is just governed by the unidirectional movement of the thumb.
Fridman was right to point out the billionaire CEO is rarely seen using his phone, except to test out Telegram features. Commenting on this observation, Durov felt that a phone wasn’t a “necessary device.” He then revealed that he didn’t have a phone at his university, either. Looking at the mobile phone as a distraction from one’s own priorities, he said, “Just set up your own agenda and the phone gets in your way.”
He thinks that is the way he can “contribute to the progress of society.” It also goes back to Durov liking his “quiet mornings.” In a peep into Dubai’s richest man’s morning routine, Durov revealed the he is trying to “allocate as much time as possible for sleep.” Unlike several other tech founders, Durov his sleep since he usually gets thinking when he can’t go to sleep – calling it his “favourite time of the day.”
“Beautiful ideas can come to you while you’re doing your morning exercise, your morning routine without a phone. If you open your phone first thing in the morning, what you end up being is a creature that is told what to think about for the rest of the day,” Durov elaborated.
However, the uncanny irony is always going to be present. Since he founded one of the largest social networks in the world, he himself avoids phones. While he preaches “real connection” among humans, Durov, too, feels it is “counterintuitive.”