Choose Yourself

Another book review coming off of a vacation and tackling some of the bookshelf from Christmas. Next up is “Choose Yourself” by James Altucher. If you haven’t heard of James Altucher, I suggest giving him a follow, listen, or read up on him online. https://jamesaltucher.com/

So I first heard of him, during the pandemic I think when he got really popular for writing an article that NYC was dead, and then Jerry Seinfeld rebutted. He was on an episode of History Hyenas, where I first heard of him, and his story. Quick synopsis he made millions and lost it all ~3 times. He capitalized on some good investments into the website development space in the early 2000’s lost everything, and then built himself back up again. He went through a-lot, and overall took advantage of any opportunity that came his way. One of my favorite quotes by him is; “Ready. Fire. Aim”.

He accepted jobs, pitched different services, and got himself into deals all before knowing how he was going to do anything. It’s a real “figure-it-out” attitude. Not to mention he is also a grandmaster at chess (so yeah being pretty smart with a computer helps a bit as well).

Back to the book review — The book delves into his history of what he did to make his millions, lose it, and make it back again. He also gives the reader some real life, no bullshit advice honestly. Stuff that wasn’t surprising to me, but it was kind of reassuring to hear when someone successful like that, thinks the same way you do. He just went out, did things, and figured it out later.

I think one chapter of the book, really resonated with me because he touches upon the topic of jobs. Everyone my age and society I think secretly hates them. No one really grows up and says, “I want to be a developer, project manager, or data analyst”. They fall into those roles because they are good at them, and they need money to support their loans, and rent. Anyway he talks about the worst that happens when you lose your job. Actually, that’s it. You just lose your job, and then you feel like the world crumbles around you, but it’s okay. You’ll get another one. It’s easy to just write it out, or say it. He gives some real advice like taking some time to go the gym, take care of yourself, and find your routine to get yourself right.

All simple ideas, but they are all relatable. He helps breakdown those “Dream Big” ideas, into something bite size. There is a disadvantage of an idea that is to big. Why? It’s too all consuming and then you have no way of getting there. All real talk and he’s not trying to sugar coat anything, he’s just saying what he did.

I loved it. He’s an interesting guy, and really respect what he does, and how he presents himself. Give it a read or listen. Highly recommend.