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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Choose Yourself summary
James Altucher
Be Happy, Make Millions, Live the Dream
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Key idea 1 of 9
4.1 (209 ratings)
22 mins
9 key ideas
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What is Choose Yourself about?
Author James Altucher explains that after the 2008 global economic crisis, you can’t wait to be chosen; you have to Choose Yourself. This means you have to take full responsibility for your own success and happiness by reclaiming control of your aspirations and dreams. To do this, the book gives you both tools and effective practices to stay physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually healthy.
About the Author
James Altucher is a bestselling author, successful entrepreneur, podcaster, chess master and blogger. He has co-founded more than 20 companies and regularly contributes articles about technology and investments for TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and Forbes.
Table of Contents
Key idea 1 of 9
The American Dream of a steady middle-class job and “keeping up with the Joneses” is over.
If you were to ask your parents about their ambitions as they were growing up, many of them would probably tell you, “I wanted to get an education, get a steady job and then buy my own house.”
From the end of World War II until the global financial crisis in 2008, the population of the United States was living The American Dream.
What was behind this dream? In a word: work.
Early in this period, as men went off to fight in Europe, many women entered the workforce. Yet when the war was over and soldiers came home, women continued to work. For the first time, both men and women in significant numbers were wage earners, putting food on the table and paying the bills.
With two people working, families had more disposable income than ever before. This meant that they could purchase cars, bigger houses and new appliances, experiencing a standard of living of which their parents could only have dreamed.
However, behind the shiny facade of the American Dream was something sinister: a marketing strategy designed to get people to spend money. Americans were increasingly encouraged to express themselves with their cash, showing off their successes by owning more stuff than their neighbors.
Since the advent of 2008 financial crisis, however, the American Dream has come to an end.
Steady, middle-class jobs are a thing of the past. To reduce costs, companies have either outsourced jobs to developing countries or simply replaced employees with technology.
Today, many jobs are only temporary, and offer a worker no security or freedom. Millions of people encouraged to invest in their education, then find a steady job and live the American Dream are now either unemployed, or overqualified and underpaid for what they do.
It’s a devastating story. But should we be sad about it? As you’ll see, there’s a positive side to the death of the American Dream, as it has led to a new, promising era.
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Who should read Choose Yourself
- Anyone who wants to learn how to become rich in today’s economy
- Anyone who wants better understand the state of the economy since 2008
- Anyone interested in entrepreneurship
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