Choose Yourself! Kindle Edition

I was fortunate enough to read this wonderful new book by the author James Altucher (I first read his work by following him on twitter @jaltucher and reading posts on his website jamesaltucher.com).

It is one of the most enjoyable and informative books I've ever read, and I highly recommend folks take some time to check it out. It's not that long but, wow, is it packed with powerfully-good information.

I could write about it for a while but, rather than doing so, it is probably more efficient to just mention a few of my favorite tidbits from the book in hopes that you'll give it a read.

My personal favorite aspect of the book is its unique ability to be both practical and idealistic.

Some quick examples:

First, his impressive intertwining of the importance of mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional harmony. Here are one of his recommendations from each of these four pieces:

Mental: "Read two hours a day."

Spiritual: "Do this every day: wake up and think of five people you are grateful for in your life right now."

Physical: "Am I sleeping enough?"

Emotional: "Am I expressing gratitude to the people who are good to me?"

Lastly, a few short snippets:

I really enjoyed his insight into an alternative way of creating value (which I personally feel is an important key to cultivating capitalism optimally):

"The only way to create value for yourself is to create value for others. Exercise: think of two people in your network who don't know each other but you think can add value to each other's lives. Introduce them. Do this every day. Get better and better at it.Read more ›

I've read a lot of James Altucher's work including I Was Blind But Now I See. I find him insightful, unconventional, thought-provoking. This time he's brilliant. He's tightened his style and delivered his message like a bullet. No pussyfooting around here.

This book is for those of us who have found ourselves lying on the floor, barely able to lift our heads, not sure where to turn, just as James did once (twice, three times?). It's for those who are stuck. For those who are successful but want to take it to the next level.

If you strive to be a better version of you, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

James doesn't ask you to believe him. He just asks that you try the Daily Practice, which is practical, doable, possible for all of us. He asks that you don't ignore the only fire worth cultivating, the one inside of you. After all, he says, you are the only one capable of cultivating it.

I'm taking that to heart. I have my own daily practice. But I'm going to put it into high gear. Because last night, when I finished the book, I felt like I could be extraordinary.

"That's when it clicked...if I was going to thrive, survive, I had to choose myself...We can no longer afford to rely on others and repeat the same mistakes from our past...every second, you have to choose yourself to succeed."

James Altucher's latest work, "Choose Yourself" is the new textbook for the American Dream. James starts with a healthy dose of American history, discussing how what we thought was the American Dream is, in fact, the American nightmare--a dissolving middle-class with replaceable workers; a consumer-based society giving us just enough to be happy and not rebel. "Your bosses hate you," James says to those of us working hard to achieve this "dream." James states that as workers create more and more wealth, jobs go overseas, job security decreases, and we're all lucky to have jobs. He has the graphs to prove it.

We're all suffering from "postsocietal traumatic stress disorder." Society's changing. The global economy has shifted. We need to be able to make that shift to succeed.

What does this mean? It means, James says, that the "Choose Yourself" era is here. In our parents' time, people worked for The Man and retired with a pension. Today, we will be controlled by layoffs, shifts, restructuring, and be at the whim of the economy and corporations--unless we choose ourselves.

"We are taught from an early age we are not good enough." This book argues otherwise. We are good enough--we have to use our creativity and entrepreneurship muscles. This stuff works. I know. We are all artists and entrepreneurs. Time to "unlearn the imprisonment," as James says. "Every time you say 'yes' to something you don't want, your fire goes away.Read more ›

First of all, it's free. But in a very clever and useful way. If you prove to James that you read this book - and he gives you plenty of easy options on how to - he'll refund your cost or donate the amount to a great charity: Women for Women International.

I don't think I've ever seen that done before. I like it. He's so confident in the value of his message - a message that made him wealthy - that he's willing to forgo any money. All he wants to do is make sure that you read it. He chose himself to succeed and he wants to make sure that you choose yourself as well.

Even if I hadn't followed his amazing blog for years, I'd still read it just for that.

Another important thing: He's honest. Painfully honest. Tells you about how he made money, lost it all and hit rock bottom, and how he raised himself through it to become a major figure in media on the internet. And he did it all by going outside the box. Everything he did, he did himself. No middlemen. No one choosing him. He chose himself.

And that's what the rest of the book is about. Working for old corporate, the nine to five, the 401k, the dream of owning a house (or it owning you), all that society taught us gives us happiness - that's a big lie. James shows how to create real wealth and happiness, how to create your own destiny.

Talking about when he hit rock bottom, he says, "That's when it clicked. When everything changed. When I realized that nobody else was going to do it for me. If I was going to thrive, to survive, I had to choose myself. In every way. The stakes have risen too high not to."

That nails what the book is about. Not only does he give hope, he inspires and shows exactly how he did it, the details, and how we can do that ourselves. And it's really well-written and lots of fun to read. Of all the books available to read, this is one that shines.