Reinvent Yourself
5.0
12 min

Reinvent Yourself

by James Altucher

Brief Summary

“Reinvent Yourself” (2017) by James Altucher offers valuable insights on how to find your true calling. Learn to choose the right path for you and get what you want. Through inspiring examples, the book teaches us how to succeed in a desired field.

Key points

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Key idea 1 of 8

History knows many outstanding people. The most creative ones always worked efficiently. For example, Pablo Picasso painted over 50,000 works. Imagine, it's like creating two paintings a day. Being creative doesn't mean working non-stop. Today, this is not the case. Yet, your productivity can positively affect you. With practice, you will make progress and develop your talents.

Let's turn to an example. Barbara Cartland, the writer, emphasized that you need to work hard to achieve the desired result. In 1983, she created the most significant number of novels in just one year. There were 23 of them in total. She was especially fond of writing romantic stories. Every day, she set aside some time to write them. In the end, she published more than 700 novels and sold over 600 million copies of her works.

Also, consider the story of rapper Coolio. From the age of 14, he went into the music field and began writing song lyrics every day. He continued to practice for quite a long time and constantly improved himself. It took more than 15 years to get what he had wanted for so long. In 1944, his song "Fantastic Voyage" became a real hit. The same thing happened a year later with the track "Gangster's Paradise." It was the most popular song in the world. Now, we would call it viral.

So, choose a skill and work on it. Do this until you achieve significant success. Not sure what to dedicate your time to? Recall your childhood. What was your dream activity? Think about what hobby made you forget about everything in the world. Try starting with this, and it may turn out to be your life's work.

Let’s look at the situation with Chip Conley, the head of the hospitality department at Airbnb. What prompted him to work here? As a child, Chip imagined himself as a restaurant manager. His childhood dream made quite an impact on his future life. At the same time, his friend had an even more exciting story. She worked as a lawyer for a long time. But one day, she remembered her favorite childhood game – making pies from mud and sand. It inspired her to become a world-famous confectioner.

01
Recall your childhood dreams, find your vocation, and work on it daily
02
The traditional way to success can hinder you
03
Go beyond your degree and find a mentor to inspire you
04
Help others in difficult times and use obstacles to thrive
05
Get rid of difficulties and fears with the help of a strong desire
06
Determination strengthens talent, and failure becomes an incentive for success
07
Make decisions that let you progress, and don't forget your values
08
Final summary

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