Choose Yourself: The James Altucher Story

After James Altucher lost millions of dollars for a second time, he realized he needed to make a change. He realized when life was going well for him, his 'four bodies'- physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, were all working for him. So he started bettering himself in those areas and made the decision to choose himself in every aspect of his life. This is his story.

The Daily Practice is a wellness regime that involves doing one thing a day to improve your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. As James says, you don't have to go crazy, but you must do a little every day to take care of these four areas of your life. When James stopped doing the Daily Practice, he lost all his money again. But when he does the Daily Practice, he is his best self.

Habits don't change in a day. But 1% a day makes every habit work. In this episode, James shows how he seeks to improve or learn by 1% every day and how that 1% has compounded over time. And he says, compounding tiny excellence is what creates big excellence. Learn how James has used this skill to grow in different aspects of his life and how you can do the same.

James surrounds himself with three different types of people: Pluses, minuses and equals. Pluses are the people you are able to learn from, like a mentor. An equal is a person who challenges you, like your peers. And a minus is someone you can teach and have an impact on. This episode gives insight into the importance of all three types of people in your own life.

The worst moments in James' life have been times when he thought he was at the peak of his intelligence. Now his simple mantra, 'I know nothing' has helped him countless times. He says his secret investing technique is to always assume he is the stupidest person in the room so he can learn from everyone around him. Learn the Power of Stupidity from James in this episode.

James shares the 7 habits-like procrastination and 'Do Anything to Get a Yes,' that helped him achieve success in life and business as a self-described 'mediocre' person. Some of these habits, like be a 'Poor Judge of People' may seem counter-intuitive, but James explains why these skills are actually perfect for most people, as they have worked time and time again for him.

Idea Sex is a term James came up with that means two ideas combining into a better idea. In this episode, James talks about how constantly exercising your idea muscle will make you better and better at coming up with ideas. And for him, constantly coming up with new ideas has changed his life in incredible ways.

Any day you don't focus on your relationships, improvement, and your sense of freedom (which means choosing yourself instead of letting others choose you) is a day you waste in this short life. In this episode, James shares how living life to the fullest can be done by anyone and doesn't require money. It simply requires making your own decisions and investing in yourself by choosing yourself.