Reinvent Yourself PDF Summary

Half a decade ago, James Altucher asked you to choose yourself.

Now, he’s back with another advice:

Who Should Read “Reinvent Yourself”? And Why?

If you have heard anything about James Altucher, you probably already know that he is an incessant experimenter and that he absolutely abhors the idea of 9-to-5 jobs.

“Reinvent Yourself” is for those who share his hate on the latter and want to become the former.

About James Altucher

James Altucher is an American entrepreneur, podcaster, blogger, and bestselling author.

According to his count, he has founded more than 20 companies and has, in addition, invested in at least 30. Many of them have failed, but those which have succeeded have thriven.

Altucher hosts a famous podcast, “The James Altucher Show,” and has authored 18 books, including “Choose Yourself” and “The Rich Employee.”

“Reinvent Yourself PDF Summary”

The only thing constant in the life of James Altucher is, undoubtedly, his hair.

Everything else is flux and change, inventions and reinventions all across the board!

Who knows – T. S. Eliot may have written these beautiful two lines for him and not for some other guy with the initials J. A.: “In a minute there is time/ For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.”

After imploring you to choose yourself back in 2013, Altucher is now back with an update, telling you to reinvent yourself.

Constantly.

But what does he mean by reinvention?

Well, in his words,

Reinvention is life. This is the call to adventure that constantly whispers to us. Do we answer it? Do we take the call?

The answer, is, of course, a resounding “yes.”

And the way?

Well, start by redefining the word freedom.

Sure, the dictionary will tell you that freedom is “the condition of being free of restraints, especially the ability to act without control or interference by another or by circumstance,” but ask yourself: what does that mean in practice?

Capitalism should have – and, in some sense, it did – brought freedom, but why do you wake up each day at the same time with the same obnoxious alarm sound only to spend the next eight hours working a job you don’t actually like and the remaining few talking about how unhappy it makes you?

We’ll tell you why: because you need to have money to be free.

Which brings us back to Altucher’s main lesson from “Choose Yourself”: if you need money to be free, it’s pointless to earn them by not being free; so, find/choose/invent a job you would like to do!

That way, you’ll both be free while earning money and have money to be even freer afterward! Was it Confucius the one who said: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”?

Altucher endorses this.

Next step of reinventing yourself: acquiring the right habits.

According to Altucher,

You are not just the average of the five people around you. You’re the average of the five habits you do, the things you eat, the ideas you have, the content you consume, etc.

The third step on the ladder to a total makeover: improving your relationships.

You are a part of much more than your own life, and this is true for everybody. Meaning: a large part of your happiness and success depends on other people.

In terms of your reinvention, it seems that three are the most important ones: your plus (someone who knows more than you), your equal (your peer), and your minus (someone who knows less).

Which brings us to the fourth, and final, step: your plus should, in fact, be your mentor and finding the right mentors to teach you how to become the person you want to be should become your top priority on your road to reinvention.

In fact, “Reinvent Yourself” doesn’t only include “the ultimate guide to finding a mentor,” but also an explanation of “how to have 1,000 mentors in your life.”

And, of course, numerous pieces of advice from many of them in the following chapters.

For example, Altucher learned from Louis C. K. the Tao of not spending any energy on things you can’t change and the uselessness of saying that you’re bored.

From Picasso and Isaac Asimov he learned that “action is the foundational key to all success” (aka the reason why Picasso produced 50,000 works of art and Asimov wrote 467 books!) and that you should “learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

From Elon Musk he learned that it’s not a bad thing to have all the eggs in one basket – if you can control that basket.

From Malala and Louis Armstrong that suffering can be transcended and turned into something bigger, whether art or cause to fight for

From Albert Einstein – the beauty of what comes after the “I don’t know.”

From Mick Jagger Altucher learned that, in the beginning, you should take every gig and that it takes about 15 years to master something: 3 to study, 2 to start making money, 4 to make a comfortable living and 6 to become a rock star!

And we’ll stop here.

Though there are many more lessons Altucher shares with his readers, whether coming from rappers such as Eminem and Ice Cube, from regular people such as his daughter or a friend’s grandma, or even some acquired through playing poker and chess or watching “Star Wars.”

Needless to say – they are all interesting and useful!

Mentoring at its most entertaining best.

Key Lessons from “Reinvent Yourself”

1.      Reinventing Is All About Four Things
2.      Find Yourself a Plus, a Minus, and an Equal
3.      Reinvent Yourself in Five Years

Reinventing Is All About Four Things

Reinvention is not something you should fear, nor something you should think of in terms of a painfully long and excruciatingly tiring process.

On the contrary, you should try to reinvent yourself constantly.

First, by redefining what the word “freedom” means to you at that specific moment. Then, by acquiring to right habits which should guide you to your imagined end. Thirdly, by improving your relationships. And finally, by finding yourself some great mentors.

Find Yourself a Plus, a Minus, and an Equal

Speaking of finding –

This is a strategy James Altucher borrows from Ryan Holiday’s “Ego Is the Enemy,” where the approach is presented as Frank Shamrock’s system for self-improvement.

It consists of choosing a plus, an equal, and a minus.

The plus is someone who knows more than you – i.e., your mentor; the equal is a peer to constantly challenge yourself against; finally, the minus is a student you can impart your knowledge on.

The goal?

Getting real and continuous feedback.

Reinvent Yourself in Five Years

If you want to reinvent yourself completely, you’ll probably need half a decade.

Use the first year to learn, experiment, and start doing some things. Then, the second year, start doing them on a more regular basis, i.e., each day – while finding some time to network with the right people. The third year you should start making some money.

But only the next – the fourth year – you’ll earn enough to make a good living. If things go well, by the fifth year, you should become a wealthy person by doing the things that you love!

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“Reinvent Yourself Quotes”

Despair = Suffering – Meaning. Click To Tweet Talent is the tiniest of sparks. A spark lights the fire. But you have to feed the fire more fuel to keep it going. Else it dies out. Click To Tweet Don’t be afraid to go silent. Mirror and then have the confidence to go silent. Click To Tweet It’s never too late to do what you love. What you love is always on the shore, waiting for you to arrive, waiting with open arms. Click To Tweet We were put here to try. Nobody will grade us. Click To Tweet

Our Critical Review

James Altucher is undoubtedly an idea machine, but, truthfully “Reinvent Yourself” isn’t that original – not if you have followed him well enough during the past decade or so.

Even so, it’s still Altucher – “the Oprah of the Internet” – and, moreover, it’s Altucher and his 1,000 mentors.

So, plenty of great minds.

Multiple that by five for the good advice count.

Choose Yourself PDF Summary – James Altucher

Be Happy, Make Millions, Live the Dream

In life, you are faced with thousands of choices.

So, what do you choose: the best university out there or the joy of being homeschooled? A steady job and a career, or an enticing, but risky business move that may not pay off? A faithful spouse and three children or a passionate love affair that may go down in flames?

James Altucher says: “Choose Yourself.”

Who Should Read “Choose Yourself”? And Why?

If there ever was a time in the history of humanity when you could choose yourself without serious repercussions – that time is certainly today.

And – James Altucher adds – this is a chance you mustn’t blow!

Choose yourself over conventionality and become one of the newest breed of humans: entrepreneurs, the lone wolves capable of disrupting the economy and changing the world.

And this book may help you become as great an entrepreneur as you can be since it will help you understand the current state of the economy and teach you how you can transform this knowledge into wealth.

And it’s easier to make choices once you have the money.

About James Altucher

James Altucher is an instantly recognizable entrepreneur, venture capitalist, hedge fund manager, angel investor, bestselling author, podcaster and a chess master.

He has founded or co-founded more than 20 companies, 17 of which have failed. The rest, however, have been pretty successful, such as, among others, Reset Inc. and StockPickr, the latter called one of the 50 best websites in the world in 2007 by “Time” magazine.

Altucher has also written about 20 books, two of which – “Choose Yourself” and “The Power of No” – have been WSJ bestsellers. His bibliography includes few other influential books such as “Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth,” “The Rich Employee,” “Reinvent Yourself,” and “I Was Blind But Now I See.”

Find out more at JamesAltucher.com. You can also reach him on Twitter (@Jaltucher), on Instagram (@altucher) and even on his personal cell phone ((203) 512-2161).

“Choose Yourself PDF Summary”

The American Dream is dead.

It may have been ever since the 1970s for a group of disillusioned intellectuals and rebels, but after the economic crisis of 2008, it seems that it is an ex-dream for the majority of Americans.

A good education doesn’t mean a good job anymore and, what’s worse, it’s far from synonymous with phrases such as “steady job” and “long-term security.”

in the globalized tech-driven market, American companies have either replaced people with technology or opted to outsource many jobs to developing countries.

Either way, many Americans are today living in a state of existential dread.

They shouldn’t be – says James Altucher.

Because the death of the American Dream means the birth of something much better: the “Choose Yourself” era.

As opposed to any previous era, today you don’t need to wait to be “chosen” by somebody; you can “choose” yourself from the very start.

All you need is a laptop and a smartphone – in addition to an idea, some self-confidence, and the readiness to fail forward:

Everyone is an entrepreneur. The only skills you need to be an entrepreneur are the ability to fail, to have ideas, to sell those ideas, to execute on them, and to be persistent so even as you fail you learn and move onto the next adventure.

You have written a book, and you want to publish it?

You don’t need to wait to be chosen by a publishing executive to do that! Just publish it yourself via any of the digital publishing platforms! You need almost zero money to do that!

Hell, nowadays you can even make an award-winning movie for as little as two months’ pay!

But how do you actually get to that state of mind?

James Altucher’s advice:

What you need to do is build the house you will live in. You build that house by laying a solid foundation: by building physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.

In other words, you are a composite of four bodies. And you need to take care of each of them to stay healthy and acquire a “choose yourself” mental attitude.

In the case of your physical body, staying healthy means literally that: try to get enough sleep, get regular exercise and fresh air, eat two meals a day, etc. Well, you know the drill – you just need to put it into practice.

Taking care of your mental body means mastering the art of thinking positively. You need to stop worrying about unimportant things and start reading about the important ones. Read few of our summaries (on different topics) and jot down few ideas they inspire in you on a daily basis.

In order to build a “choose yourself” emotional body, you need to distance yourself from the people who drain your energy and surround yourself with those who actually love you and want to help you. Life is too short to live it in any other way.

Finally, your spiritual body will profit a lot if you start living in the present and stop time traveling to the fields of regret located in the past or the cities of uncertainty everyone’s future is built from.

Just do what you can and want now – and, step by step, you’ll get to a tomorrow of your dreams.

Key Lessons from “Choose Yourself”

1. Welcome to the “Choose Yourself” Era
2. Your Happiness Depends Upon the Health of Your Four Bodies
3. Stop Searching for Purpose, or You’ll End Up Committing a Pseudocide

Welcome to the “Choose Yourself” Era

Up to about a decade ago, most Americans sincerely believed in the American Dream.

Nowadays, the majority of them are either jobless or depressed.

Why?

Because after the 2008 financial crisis – which inspired many companies to start outsourcing – the American Dream is all but dead for the citizens of the United States.

But, that’s a good thing!

Since it inaugurated a new era, one which James Altucher calls the “Choose Yourself” era.

Unlike any previous era, this one offers you the full freedom to choose who you want to be.

In a nutshell, you don’t have to go to a university anymore; you have many other alternatives to educate yourself. You don’t have to look for a job anymore as well; you can create one yourself.

The best part: it can actually be the one of your dreams.

Your Happiness Depends Upon the Health of Your Four Bodies

In order to develop a “choose yourself” mental attitude, you need to take care of your four bodies: the physical, the mental, the emotional, and the spiritual.

In other words, this means eating healthy and staying fit (physical), thinking positively (mental), distancing yourself from bad influences and surrounding yourself with people you love and who love you back (emotional) and living in the present as much as you can (spiritual).

Stop Searching for Purpose, or You’ll End Up Committing a Pseudocide

In the dictionary of James Altucher, “pseudocide” doesn’t mean literally faking your own death – it means killing your past and starting anew due to the fear of living wrongly.

But that’s an anxiety your future plants in your present.

Stop doing that!

Most of us don’t know what our purpose is, and the majority will never find out.

Who cares?

The point is to not sweat over it and enjoy your present.

Do that – and a purpose (or many purposes) may just shape itself along the way.

Like this summary? We’d like to invite you to download our free 12 min app, for more amazing summaries and audiobooks.

“Choose Yourself Quotes”

Only think about the people you enjoy. Only read the books you enjoy, that make you happy to be human. Only go to the events that actually make you laugh or fall in love. Click To Tweet

The only truly safe thing you can do is to try over and over again. To go for it, to get rejected, to repeat, to strive, to wish. Without rejection there is no frontier, there is no passion, and there is no magic. Click To Tweet

Forget purpose. It’s okay to be happy without one. The quest for a single purpose has ruined many lives. Click To Tweet

We’re taught at an early age that we’re not good enough. That someone else has to choose us in order for us to be…what? Blessed? Rich? Certified? Legitimized? Educated? Partnership material? Click To Tweet

No matter who you are, no matter what you do, no matter who your audience is: 30% will love it, 30% will hate it, and 30% won’t care. Stick with the people who love you and don’t spend a single second on the rest. Life will be better that… Click To Tweet

Our Critical Review

James Altucher is an old inspiration of ours. Some time ago, we even had the privilege of spending an evening with him in London and, by the end of it, we were at least ten lessons richer.

So, it’s no wonder that we included “Choose Yourself” in our selection of top motivational books in history.

But we could have easily added the book to our list of top business books as well: according to “USA Today,” it more than deserves it.

And there aren’t many books which are considered best in more than one category.

“Choose Yourself” is the exception.

Because James Altucher is an exception as well.

Read this book and learn to become one as well.

Top Motivational Books

We’ve already made two lists which people interested in this one will certainly like to check out: top mindfulness books and top inspiring books. In fact, some may say that we made this list merely to add few books which we didn’t have the chance to include in these two.

And, if we’re perfectly honest, they may be right. But, who cares?

In a world of so many crises and misfortunes, so much suffering and put-me-down people, motivation and inspiration are two things all of us need on a daily basis. And even if we repeat ourselves, we know how helpful these books can be. And, we tend to recommend them to you as many times as necessary.

Because, you see, we know that they can inspire you to change your life. And there’s nothing we’re more interested in than seeing you happy.

So, here are our picks for the 15 top motivational books out there.

#1. “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel H. Pink

Daniel H. Pink is a behavioral scientist and one of the most provocative thinkers of our age. And “Drive” is his best-known and already classic study in the topic which interests us most for this list.

Throughout the book, Pink challenges the conventional idea that motivation stems from external impulses, such as money or rewards and punishments. Through numerous examples, he demonstrates that while this might be true – and mostly in the case of mechanical jobs – it is only true to a certain extent.

However, “artists, scientists, inventors, schoolchildren, and the rest of us” are evidence to the even counter-intuitive notion that money and rewards may have a detrimental effect on our motivation. In other words, in their case, motivation is something intrinsic.

Or, to put it in laymen’s terms, we want to do stuff simply because we want to do it. And because one of the most typical human characteristics is an innate love for autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

#2. “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen

James Allen died more than a century ago. So, if we’re including him in our list, you are pretty safe in assuming that motivational books today would have been a lot different had he not existed.

Allen’s 1902 classic “As a Man Thinketh” is oftentimes referred to as “the original bestseller.” Quite a burden to carry, but it seems as if the book has no problem bearing it. In fact, it’s still widely read and it has inspired so many motivational authors that it’s impossible to even list them here.

It’s quite easy to relate the philosophy behind “As a Man Thinketh.” Based on the idea that every man has a substantial – if not total – responsibility for the events that happen to him during his life, it offers practical advice on how you can improve yourself and, consequently, improve your fate.

What is difficult is to speak about James Allen’s style. Sometimes epigrammatic and sometimes even biblical, you can be sure that it will strike a chord deep within your heart and soul.

#3. “Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead” by Brené Brown

In the world of motivational thinkers, Brené Brown is all but a legend.

To quote some of the reviews, “with a fresh perspective that marries research and humor,” she has “given us a new vocabulary, a way to talk with each other about the ideas and feelings and fears we’ve all had but haven’t quite known how to articulate.”

“Rising Strong” is her call for “a critical mass of badasses who are willing to dare, fall, feel their way through tough emotion, and rise again.” And the rising process she suggests is a simple 3R procedure. First, you reckon with your emotions; then you rumble with your stories; and, finally, you revolutionize your existence.

Trust Brown: stories have an immense power to help us fight through traumas. Just have a look at our top biographies booklist: one of those books has helped a girl conquer rape and racism. And become one of the most famous poets of the 20^th century.

#4. “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero

You Are a Badass Summary If Brown wanted a little help from the badasses of the world to help you become one yourself, she couldn’t have found a better assistant than Jen Sincero. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Sincero is a motivational coach who has helped numerous people worldwide transform their lives and finally experience happiness.

And “You Are a Badass” was her debut book, followed by a more recent companion volume, “You Are a Badass at Making Money.” Both will motivate you to start achieving your dreams, but, we believe, the first one a bit more thoroughly.

Hilarious and inspiring, “You Are a Badass’ is a 250-page tour-de-force of inspiration, shared out in 5 parts and 27 chapters. Through quite a few inspiring stories, wise advices and simple exercises, Sincero goes on a mission to teach you “how you got this way,” “how to embrace your inner badass,” “how to tap into the motherlode,” and “how to get over your b.s. already.”

You know, the lot which will help you learn “how to kick some ass.”

#5. “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth

And one more book about falling seven times, and getting up eight. And just like in the case of #3, this one is also written by a Ph.D.

Angela Duckworth is not your ordinary fellow. She is University of Pennsylvania’s Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology and a 2013 MacArthur Genius Fellowship awardee. And, need we add, she is a regular speaker at many conferences and Fortune 500 companies’ meetups, in addition to advising few NFL and NBA teams.

But, why are her studies so interesting to so many important and prosperous people?

Well, because she claims that talent is only one part of the equation for success. Moreover, it may even be the least important part. As she repeatedly shows in “Grit,” the ones who succeed are rarely the ones who are the best.

It’s the ones who are the grittiest. Or, to clarify it a bit, the ones with the passion and the perseverance to succeed.

#6. “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson

Even though it’s not exactly true, Spencer Johnson’s “Who Moved My Cheese?” is widely considered to have been the first motivational business fable. And that speaks volumes of its influence and the impact it had both on many motivational authors and people searching for some motivation.

A very short 32-page barely illustrated story, “Who Moved My Cheese?” tells the story of two mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two little people (Hem and Haw). They live in a maze and are in a constant pursuit for cheese. After they find a whole bunch of it, the little people seem quite content with the discovery, while the mice are already thinking about the day they’ll have none.

Sure enough, that day comes. And the little people have no choice but to learn how to deal with the scarcity of food. One of them deals with it better. And tries to motivate the other.

And, much more importantly, by way of proxy, you.

#7. “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch

What if you suddenly find out that you have barely few months left to live on this planet? We know what you’re thinking: there are so many things I’d do, so many dreams I have yet to achieve. Well, what’s stopping you know?

In a nutshell, that’s the question Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, thinks is the most important one you can ask yourself. And the question he tried to answer in a one-hour talk he gave before a packed audience, merely 8 months before he passed away.

And, in case you’re wondering: yes, Pausch knew he was going to die when he was giving that speech. In fact, that’s what makes his lesson both so poignant and so motivating. Just seeing his cheerfulness in face of the ultimate adversity may be enough.

Well, “The Last Lecture,” written over the last months of his life, packs this sentiment in the best way possible. It’s so good, in fact, that we can honestly say to you this: if Pausch can’t motivate you to start achieving your dreams, well, we don’t know who can.

#8. “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It’s All Small Stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life” by Richard Carlson

A famous Russian writer once said that he writes his stories in order to show that there are some big things in life which people think small; and, that there are some small things which people confuse for big.

Richard Carlson, a renowned psychotherapist and motivational speaker, spent almost all of his (unfortunately short) life studying the latter. One of the most famous stress management trainers in the U.S., he successfully summarized his philosophy in the trademarked title of his most famous book: “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… and It’s All Small Stuff.”

Profoundly believing that “stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness,” Carlson goes on to show how important is to calm down and chill out; and how you can’t start before eliminating “the noise in the system.”

True, the idea is simple, but so is Carlson’s style. Which makes both for an enjoyable and an inspiring read.

#9. “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny” by Robin Sharma

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari Summary Happiness is not something material. And yet, strangely enough, most people believe that only material things can help you achieve it.

But, take a lesson from Robin Sharma’s book. A litigation lawyer until 25, he gave up his career to write motivational books. Because, he suddenly realized that law is not his cup of tea, and that self-perfection is something everybody should pursue – even though very few people actually do.

In a novelistic fashion, “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari,” retells the story of Sharma’s personal transformation. A motivational fable, it’s a conversation between two friends, Julian and John, during which the first one, a successful trial lawyer, recounts to the second one how he sold his Ferrari and his holiday home after suffering a heart attack.

And how that decision was the best in his life, because it funded a Himalayan journey which will, ultimately, change his whole perception about himself – and life itself.

Like this summary? We’d like to invite you to download our free 12 min app, for more amazing summaries and audiobooks.

#10. “Choose Yourself: Be Happy, Make Millions, Live the Dream” by James Altucher

Choose Yourself Summary We have had a great relationship with James Altucher right from the start of getnugget.co. We’ve learned quite a few things from him just after meeting him, and you could say that, in time, he became a sort of a mentor to us.

But, still, nobody can blame us for nepotism for including his 2013 “Choose Yourself” in a list of the 15 best motivational books of all time. After all, we’ve passed on the opportunity to include it among our top business books, even though “USA Today” called it one of the 12 best business books in history.

Rife with interviews and life lessons, “Choose Yourself” is one of the best self-improvement and motivational books you’d ever read. The basic premise is, once again, quite simple (just see the title), but the way it’s related and the sheer force of the arguments is compelling.

Because, as Altucher says, if there ever was a time in history when you could choose yourself – that time is today.

#11. “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale

Norman Vincent Peale is one of the fathers – nay, grandfathers – of motivational writing. And there are so many people who have listed “The Power of Positive Thinking” as a defining influence in their lives that’s really impossible to ignore it.

Published in 1952, “The Power of Positive Thinking” is, in a way, the book which first structured the philosophy which brought us books such as, say, “The Secret,” and, which is most succinctly presented in its very title.

Unlike James Allen, Norman Vincent Peale doesn’t believe that you can control the things that happen to you. However, just like him, he believes that you can control your reactions to these happenings. And if you’re reacting in a positive manner, you can be certain that you can expect a more positive outcome.

In addition, the book is much more than a theoretical analysis; it’s also a list of practical ideas which can help you transform your negative thoughts into positive energy.

Once and for all.

#12. “Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!” by Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins is a motivational powerhouse. In fact, just seeing him or hearing him talk may be enough to realize that he’s all kinds of a powerhouse. And “Awaken the Giant Within” – in itself, a giant 600-page book – is probably his best-known and best-loved book.

Now, Robbins’s infomercials and seminars are so ubiquitous that, as it’s only natural, many have started growing tired of him. In fact, quite a few readers have blamed him for being unoriginal and merely borrowing other people’s ideas, before digesting them in a friendlier manner.

Blame us for populism as much as you want to, but that’s the best part about “Awaken the Giant Within.” Just think of your teachers: those who taught you most were probably those who managed to motivate you the best.

Not those who knew the most about a certain subject.

#13. “Now, Discover Your Strengths” by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton

Now, Discover Your Strengths Summary “You can be anything you want to be” – is not something you’ll hear Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton say anywhere in their books or seminars. In fact, they think that this is the worst advice anyone can give anybody.

However, the fact that you can’t be some of the things you want to be isn’t at all bad. It’s, in fact, a freeing revelation. Because, it means that you can finally start focusing on your strengths. Which you most definitely have.

As its title suggests, “Now, Discover Your Strengths” aims to help you find them. And it does this via the Internet-based StrengthsFinder Profile, based on a multimillion dollar 25-year-long study. Once you buy your book, you’ll discover your unique number to use the program.

And after going through the internet analysis and discovering your strengths, you are advised to come back to the book and find the best way to use them.

Very unique, “Now, Discover Your Strengths” is not only groundbreaking, but also an extremely useful book.

#14. “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life” by Mark Manson

Mark Manson is a 33-year-old blogger and the founder and CEO of Infinity Squared Media LLC. So, it’s safe to say that he’s someone the millennials will relate to very easy. But, judging by Elizabeth Gilbert’s kudos to him in “Big Magic,” it seems that his ideas and style transcend both generations and expectations.

And you can tell from the book title why we had to write that introduction. Manson is not a guy who’ll sugarcoat his words or his messages. And, albeit “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” cites academic studies as well, very early on you get the feel that this book is the best (unsubtle) proponent of the message he’s trying to relate to his readers.

Namely, that life is unfair and that no matter how much you try to make it right, it will certainly find a way to hit you with a hammer at the least convenient moment. Your job is to find a way to absorb the blow.

And not giving a damn about 99% of the things you are – is the best way to do it.

#15. “The Power of Now: An Incredible Masterpiece of Spiritual Enlightenment” by Eckhart Tolle

And now – for something completely different.

After the profane humor and the blasphemous “to-hell-with-positivity-it’s-actually-your-fault” messages of “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,” we move on to a mindfulness classic, Eckhart Tolle’s guide to spiritual enlightenment, “The Power of Now.”

Translated into more than 30 languages and recommended by Oprah Winfrey on numerous occasions, “The Power of Now” is one of the best manuals you’ll ever find on how to conquer your ego and let go of your worries.

A mixture of Buddhism, mysticism and New Age, “The Power of Now” suggests that about nine tenths of your anxieties come not from things which are happening, but of things which have happened or might happen.

And this is something you can – and should – change. Because, living in the now doesn’t merely mean brushing off emotional worries from the past; it also means living a much happier and more fulfilled life.

The Rich Employee PDF Summary – James Altucher

The Rich Employee – James Altucher

Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs and they fail because they are not well prepared for this step. In “The Rich Employee” you will find a new option.

James Altucher is a well-known writer, speaker, and entrepreneur. He is also a podcaster and has been a hedge fund manager. He has started, advised or invested dozens of companies. He admits that 17 of those companies failed, but he also had great success with Reset Inc and StockPickr.

He published 11 books by now and most of them are best sellers.

You probably already read “Choose Yourself”, one of his greatest successes, named by the USA Today as one of the best 12 Business Books of all times or the follow-up – “The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth” that we’ve nuggetized for you already.

10 things I’ve learned from meeting James Altucher

James Altucher Q-A London Team

This week I’ve been in London at the event An Evening With James Altucher where I was part of the team who put together this large event for the Choose Yourself community.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to talk with him about nugget and give him a sneak peek. James loved nugget and gave me some really good advice that we’re going to implement in the time to come. He really is an idea machine.

The interactions with him made me write this post. So, here I go: Continue Reading…

Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth Summary

Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth by James Altucher Best nuggets and book summary

James is one of the authors you either love or hate. His methods are controversial but methodical and so is his writing.

He has some specific views on college education, house ownership and especially working which don’t resonate with a lot of people. This is to say in a nice way that many people are against his disruptive views on these subjects.

The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth builds on previous Altucher-Ian works as ‘Choose Yourself’ and ‘Become an Idea Machine’ written by James’s wife Claudia and creates the full guide to a wealthy and abundant life. Continue Reading…