This is a personal development book that I read recently and found it most interesting and enjoyable. To the point where I listened to the audiobook 2 or 3 more times, even while cooking and going to sleep.

Don't rush to buy it after reading this!

At first, looking at the cover of the book, I didn't have a very good impression because I saw the cover had the words one of the books that inspire the spirit of entrepreneurship. I don't understand why the words "start-up" are so overused in book titles. Many book titles use this word and paint a rosy picture when you start a business.

And this book is the same…

Just kidding ^ ^

Contraindicated for those who are working because after reading this book it is very likely that you will quit your job. Don't blame me for reviewing this book then. haha

Maybe I like this book because it is so true and suitable for me. What James Altucher thinks is very similar to myself because I am also an introvert like him - I do not like courses, seminars, and workshops whose main purpose is networking.

When I study or do marketing, I mostly self-study through books and reading related blogs, without having many relationships with people in the industry. Because I find it incompatible with the way many people work.

In the book James Altucher worships the idea of choosing yourself. That is similar to Howard Roark's "selfish" ideology in the novel The Fountainhead.

This thought is different from selfishness!

In the book James tells about his life when he went through two periods of economic crisis, many times he failed because deciding his success or failure depended on others.

We live in modern times with technological devices and are flooded with information so we easily look sideways, this person does this, this person does that. It's easy to judge that our success depends on our boss not knowing how to recognize us, our colleagues knowing how to please their boss,...

But not focusing on yourself, what you want, how you want to succeed?

I have also tasted the bitter fruit of this many times. There were times when out of respect I accepted an invitation to work with an acquaintance. I put aside what I pursue and benefit from accompanying them. Before working, I said very well that I would be able to proactively make decisions and offer my own plans and suggestions.

But when working with them, they always follow their own ideas, ignoring what they advise and not caring about right or wrong. Burning a lot of budget on unnecessary things - even though it's not my money, I don't accept doing such irresponsible things.

After many times encountering such cases. I decided enough was enough, I resigned and from now on I will choose myself. Do not allow your success or failure to be placed in the hands of others. Right and wrong are all up to me and I will accept that.

When reading this book, I feel more confident in what I pursue because I feel the sincere sharing from James Altucher.

Unlike other authors, he spoke very honestly about his thoughts, such as admitting that he felt incompetent and stupid, and sharing more failures than successes. This is different from other books that always present perfect images. In particular, his writing style is quite humorous, occasionally there are a few sentences using women and sex as comparative images.

The book's content is full of good perspectives and instructions to help us exploit our creativity to make money while still choosing ourselves. I read on Medium and saw a lot of bloggers citing James's instructions on how to become an idea generator, how to start a business, etc.

Perhaps many bloggers have been motivated by James. And I am not an exception. Even though I haven't achieved any great success, I firmly believe in pursuing what I love more.

Hope this book will motivate you too.