Key Messages
How To Take Control Of Your Life And Stop Worrying
By reading Choose Yourself by James Altucher, you can become more decisive and carefree.
Instead of worrying about things that you have no control over, you will be able to put your energy into ideas and pursuits which bring creativity, joy, and meaning.
You will also find the courage to take charge of your life and make decisions for yourself instead of allowing other people to dictate what you should do.
Finally, the book can help you become aware of who is worthy of your time – those who fill your energy up rather than drain it away or make you angry.
The Death Of The American Dream Has Led To A New And Promising Era
The American Dream of a steady middle-class job and “keeping up with the Joneses” is no longer applicable in today’s world.
This is largely due to the global financial crisis in 2008, which spelled the end of The American Dream.
For many years prior to this momentous event, families had both men and women entering the workforce – something that was unprecedented at that time.
It meant that more families had disposable income than ever before, sprawling outhouses and buying new cars to show off their successes.
But not all was as it seemed.
Behind this facade of success was a sinister force: marketing that encouraged this consumer behavior, prodding people to spend money on “stuff” instead of investing in a secure future or education.
The Rise Of The Self-Empowered: Taking Control And Finding True Happiness
We are now in the era of “choosing yourself”, where it is essential for you to take control of your life.
That’s because the traditional methods of building a career have changed and no longer require anyone else to choose you.
Gone are the days when you needed someone else to give you a promotion or turn your ideas into reality.
All you need today is a laptop or smartphone plus an internet connection, as these empower you to create whatever success that you desire.
Rather than just chasing money, this new era encourages us to strive for something bigger – something that brings personal joy and fulfillment.
So by choosing yourself, we have the freedom to do what makes us happy – even if it doesn’t pay the bills right away.
And importantly, we can be sure that we’re working on things that excite us and bring out our best selves!
The Need To Empower Yourself And Stop Letting Others Choose Your Path For You
Most of us are afraid of rejection, and so we tend to let others choose for us when it comes to determining our future.
Stanford Psychologist Stanley Milgram demonstrated this in a subway-based experiment which showed that 70% of people would give up their seat without even being asked.
This fear of rejection makes us feel as though we need to wait for somebody else’s approval before making decisions or taking action.
We want someone else to determine our fate.
We don’t have faith in ourselves, and think that if someone more official or experienced gives their stamp of approval, it is more valid than if we simply decided for ourselves to do something.
Unfortunately, if you put all your trust into someone else deciding your future, you can be left disappointed.
This was the case with author James Altucher who had worked hard on a TV project called III:am (for HBO), only to have it rejected by one person at the network.
It goes to show that leaving your fate in the hands of another is not a reliable road to success or happiness — you must choose yourself first!
Make Daily Self-Care A Priority To Thrive In The “Choose Yourself” Era
In order to choose yourself, it is absolutely necessary that we take proper care of both our physical and mental bodies.
Our physical body is obviously essential to our health and wellbeing, thus it is important to make sure we get adequate sleep, no more than two meals per day, regular exercise and time in the great outdoors.
But the task of taking care of your mental body can be a little harder.
Often we end up wasting too much mental energy on worrying over things that are out of our control.
Doing this will eventually lead us to burnout.
So, how can you prevent this from happening?
You need to train your mind in a positive direction by exercising your ‘idea muscle’ everyday.
This involves reading or skimming different chapters every day from a range of books – ranging from celebrity memoirs to scientific journals – then jotting down at least ten ideas based on what you’ve read.
These ideas don’t have to be grand or ambitious ones; even the simplest of well-thought-out plans are worthwhile!
Doing this will help us become so busy with generating new ideas and plans that there won’t be enough time for helpless worrying anymore!
Nourishing Your Three Bodies: Physical, Mental, Emotional And Spiritual For Optimal Thriving
Having a solid foundation for choosing yourself doesn’t just mean nourishing your physical and mental bodies, it also involves taking care of your emotional and spiritual “bodies”.
To nurture a healthy emotional body, you should be mindful of the people in your life; try to get rid of those who make you angry or negative.
It’s important to be kind but also remove these influencing factors so that you can think positively.
As for the spiritual body, it is all about existing in the present moment and breaking free from time traveling – focusing or dwelling too much on past events which cannot be changed nor worrying too much about the future.
This will allow us to reach our fullest potential, not through burning out but instead taking the time to appreciate the beauty in everyday life, like admiring buildings around us and exploring their design.
Applying these two things together ensures a solid foundation for when we choose ourselves!
Feel The Power Of A Daily Routine And Helping Others To Boost Your Health And Happiness
The key to changing your life and staying healthy, both physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually is to establish daily routines.
You can do this by incorporating simple maxims such as, “No TV or junk food!” into your routine or taking the time to think of 10 people you’re thankful for.
Another important component to boosting your overall health is to help others as often as you can.
Doing this releases large amounts of oxytocin into the bloodstream which helps with reducing stress and anxiety levels.
This hormone can be released through various ways such as expressing gratitude towards someone, giving gifts or simply hugging someone or liking their Facebook post.
And, ultimately that’s what “Choose Yourself” book summary is all about.
It encourages us to take time out of our day-to-day lives, create new positive routines and habits that set a strong foundation on which healthier choices will arise – creating an optimal environment for ourselves to flourish in today’s world.
Don’T Get Stuck Searching For Purpose—Try This Meditation Exercise To Recharge Your Life
Searching for one’s life’s purpose can be an arduous and stressful task, yet many people still feel the need to do so.
Unfortunately, this desire to find a purpose in life can lead us to much stress and can often even lead individuals down the unhealthy path of pseudocide – an attempt to escape your current situation by essentially starting over.
Colonel Sanders was well-known for his Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise, yet he only found success after franchising when he was 65 years old.
Likewise Peter Roget, the creator of the now-famous thesaurus didn’t find his purpose until after he retired from his job at 70.
These stories suggest that it is fruitless to try searching for a grand purpose in life as some people never even manage to find it at all.
Rather than focus on finding our sole purpose in life, we should be working towards freeing ourselves from our stresses and anxieties by finding things that bring us joy or pleasure and focusing on those instead.
This meditation explores what it would feel like without anything other than yourself – no goals or objectives just an immense sense of freedom – this exercise is one possible method of taking a break from your worries found in today’s world.
The Power Of Self-Marketing: How To Succeed Financially In The “Choose Yourself” Era
In the ‘choose yourself’ era, cutting out the middleman and making the most of your sales is key to success.
Bryan Johnson, founder of e-commerce company Braintree, used this mindset in order to make a living and succeed financially.
Rather than working for someone else in a customer service role selling credit card services, Johnson decided to do it himself.
It paid off — he earned a multimillion-dollar fortune working for himself without having anyone else as an intermediary.
Furthermore, for one to gain financial success in the “choose yourself” era, self-promotion and marketing are essential.
Other than doing good work, you have to showcase your product or services effectively and foster relationships with potential customers or partners.
Honesty Is The Only Way To Success In Today’S “Choose Yourself” Era
It’s a new era, and one that demands honesty if you want to succeed.
This is the “choose yourself” era and if you’re not honest, you may find yourself in a world of trouble.
Take Bernie Madoff, as an example – he was conning people left and right before getting caught and being brought to justice.
No matter how successful you become when you’re dishonest, it will only be a matter of time before people catch on and your luck runs out.
Nobody will trust you again, which can be incredibly damaging for your career or business.
On the flipside, however, being honest compounds itself and leads to even greater opportunities down the line.
When people trust you, they are willing to do business with you and go out of their way to spread the word about your company or product.
Even if things don’t turn out as planned, those same people whom have trusted you from the start might be more likely to help pick up the pieces and get back on track.
Wrap Up
The key takeaway from the book “Choose Yourself” is that it’s no longer enough to wait for someone else to give you a hand up.
You have to choose yourself and take full control of your dreams, goals, and successes.
To do so, you need to form healthy habits and routine, and tell yourself every day that you love yourself in order to build up confidence and self-empowerment.
Finally, only do those things that make you truly happy!
