Game Changers by Dave Asprey is a comprehensive guide that distills the wisdom from over 450 interviews with highly successful leaders, innovators, and mavericks. The book focuses on three main objectives: becoming smarter, faster, and happier. It offers 46 science-backed 'laws' that provide practical strategies for optimizing diet, exercise, sleep habits, and mental performance. Asprey combines insights from human biology and psychology with real-world examples to help readers upgrade their 'operating system' to better align with modern goals. The book covers a wide range of topics, including taming fear and anxiety, making better decisions, establishing high-performance habits, and practicing gratitude and mindfulness[1][4][5].
In 'Choose Yourself,' James Altucher argues that the traditional paths to security such as college, employment, and retirement are no longer viable. He advocates for individuals to take control of their own lives, focusing on building physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. The book provides actionable steps for personal growth and creating a fulfilling career and life on one's own terms. Altucher emphasizes the importance of doing what you enjoy, surrounding yourself with positive people, and continually expanding your horizons to achieve success and happiness[1][3][5].
In 'The 48 Laws of Power', Robert Greene and Joost Elffers synthesize three thousand years of the history of power into 48 laws. These laws are derived from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz, as well as the lives of influential figures such as Henry Kissinger and P.T. Barnum. The book provides tactics, concepts, and lessons on how to achieve and maintain power, emphasizing prudence, confidence, and self-preservation. Each law is illustrated with historical examples and is designed to help readers understand and navigate the dynamics of power in various aspects of life, including work, social hierarchies, and politics.
In 'Mastery', Robert Greene argues that mastery is not an innate talent but a skill that can be developed through a rigorous process. The book outlines several key stages: finding your life's task, undergoing an ideal apprenticeship, finding the right mentor, acquiring social intelligence, and fusing intuitive with rational thinking. Greene draws on the lives of historical and contemporary masters such as Mozart, Einstein, and Temple Grandin to illustrate his points. He emphasizes the importance of deep practice, self-directed learning, and the ability to read and navigate social dynamics. The book challenges the conventional notion of genius as a genetic gift and offers practical steps for anyone to achieve mastery in their chosen field.
A Note from James:
So the question is, I really feel that in order to get not good at something, but great at something, you have to be obsessed. You can't just wake up and decide to be obsessed—it has to be deep, almost irrational. Obsession is like addiction. It throws your life off balance, and yet... there’s this insane joy when you enter the subculture of your obsession and get better at it.
I’ve seen this recently in crypto. I saw it in chess in Norway, commenting on what might’ve been the best chess tournament ever. And I felt it again when I sat down with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam from New In Chess.
We didn’t just talk about chess. We talked about obsession, aging, failing at something you love, and trying to find your place in a subculture that’s moved on without you.
If you care about learning, obsession, or just love chess, you’re going to get something out of this episode. Dirk and I recorded this in Stavanger, Norway. I hope you love this conversation as much as I did being a part of it.
Episode Description:
What does it mean to return to your first love after nearly 30 years away? In this special crossover episode, James Altucher sits down with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, editor of New In Chess magazine, to reflect on his lifelong (and recently rekindled) obsession with chess. They explore how obsession shapes mastery, why wisdom sometimes trumps raw skill, and what it’s like to try and reclaim an old identity as an older version of yourself.
James opens up about losing games to kids half his age, obsessively chasing improvement, and why it still might be okay to fail—as long as the journey is honest. From teenage blitz tournaments to dinner with Garry Kasparov, from neuroscience to narrative writing, this episode is as much about how to live as it is about how to play.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why obsession is both a superpower and a danger
- How James approaches relearning chess after a 27-year break
- What changes in the brain as we age—and how to work with it
- The surprising ways chess opens doors in life, business, and writing
- Why storytelling and vulnerability matter more than "success" alone
Timestamped Chapters:
- [00:00] The Power of Obsession
- [01:00] Travel Tales: Norway and Crypto
- [03:00] Chess Commentary and Podcasting with Dirk Jan
- [05:00] Dirk Jan's Intro on James Altucher
- [08:00] James' Curiosity and Love of Learning
- [10:00] Starting Chess at 17 and Becoming Addicted
- [13:00] Losing to Irena Krush and Facing Limits
- [17:00] Chess, Ego, and Real-World Consequences
- [22:00] How Chess Skills Apply to Business Problems
- [26:00] Writing as a Path Through Vulnerability
- [33:00] Returning to Chess: Memory, Aging, and Rediscovery
- [37:00] Eric Rosen, Coaches, and Mental Decline
- [41:00] Pattern Recognition vs. Calculation
- [47:00] What Makes Chess Players Unique
- [50:00] Interviewing Kasparov, Judit Polgar, Hikaru
- [56:00] Obsession and the Myth of Talent
- [58:00] Will the Book Get Written?
- [60:00] The James Altucher Invitational
- [62:00] Reflecting on the Journey
Additional Resources:
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The James Altucher Show 
