Will Chou's Personal Development Podcast Archive

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” -Benjamin Franklin<br />
One common, frustrating theme I have found when talking to people who have mediocre lives is that they’re all excuse-generating machines.<br />
Every time I try to give reasons that their obstacles are solvable and tactics to do so, they come up with a mediocre excuse so that they can remain where they are. I recently had an especially frustrating case of this recently with an Indian man I met who had trouble making friends.<br />
After hearing about my own struggles with this, he came up to me and told me he had similar problems but he was over a decade older than me.<br />
He also had insecurities with his race because most of the people he met were white and he thought he couldn’t relate to them.<br />
But as I dove into the issue, my eagerness to help quickly turned into frustration as I discovered he was immovable as a rock with his beliefs about the world…

Oh, the frustration and stress that comes with information overwhelm.<br />
You feel like there’s so much to consume yet so little time.<br />
How do you even begin to deal with all the articles, videos, books, and information out there?<br />
I have felt this way many times before and it sucks. I feel overwhelmed because there is simply too much out there. I feel like I am missing out or not doing what I could be doing. I end up giving up because I can’t get to it all.<br />
Today, I want to share with you some innovative strategies to deal with information overload.<br />
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You can listen to the audio version of this (with unmentioned bonus tips) through my podcast episode here:<br />
1. You have the luxury and obligation to be choosy in this era<br />
For centuries, useful information was a rare privilege. Those who were lucky enough got their hands on a single book over their lifetime. Then, the printing press was invented and books were available to the masses. An

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is one of the only books that exist on how to make friends. And it’s wildly successful, selling millions of copies.<br />
But after reading the book and the reviews, I realized there were critical components on how to make friends that were missing. People complained about the following in the book:<br />
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* Short-term manipulative tactics are used that can destroy your long term success with making friends.<br />
* Some of the tips are focused on ways of getting people to like you for business and networking, which is different from making friends because you’re encouraged to be someone other than your true self.<br />
* The tips to smile more, be nice, and be interested fail to account for the female gender. When women do this, it can be misinterpreted as a sexual advance and encourage harassment.<br />
* Pretending to be interested in something you’re not and being too agreeable can cause you to end up

A year ago, I stumbled on an article on how to be mentally strong that got a ton of comments and shares. It confused me. Why do all these people care about this?<br />
I didn’t care about being mentally tough. I wanted money and happiness. And I didn’t see how mental toughness would help me with that unless I wanted to change my goals to becoming a Navy SEAL. But everything’s changed since then.<br />
Mental toughness is incredibly important to your peak performance.<br />
Today, I’m going to share with you everything you need to know on a critical skill you may be overlooking. I’ll share with you why mental toughness matters and how to improve it. And if you’re wondering why you should trust me, it’s because all my advice comes from people you can trust: the world’s top performers.<br />
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What is Mental Toughness?<br />
Mental toughness is the strength of mind to keep pushing through when your body and other psychologi

What matters in life in order to success? The standard debate goes something like this, “What bring success in life: luck vs hard work?”<br />
But that’s the wrong approach. Both are at play. It is not one or the other. Also, there are more factors you can leverage to succeed.<br />
Today, I cover the following topics:<br />
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* How luck plays a role in someone’s success.<br />
* How hard work is a lot more valuable than you think.<br />
* Keys to motivating yourself and having a strong work ethic.<br />
* What matters more: luck, hard work and effort, or other factors (I’ll explain what these other factors are).<br />
* Does luck play an important role in life success? (Hint: It depends. Are you aiming to be #1 in the world or just to earn a good living?)<br />
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You should trust my advice on the luck versus hard work debate because I reference proof and case studies from successful people like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.<br />
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Listen

Imagine finding yourself in the only social event you will go to for the day, ready to talk to people. You’ve prepared yourself for the moment. You know you’re deathly shy and scared of talking to new people. But if you don’t take action in this one moment, you will regret it. There won’t be many more chances to make new friends or meet a hot date.<br />
But despite your preparations, you freeze up when it’s time. You find yourself doing anything except talking to other people. Then, the event is over.<br />
You are kicking yourself in your head and you dwell on the fact that you did nothing for the next hour … or even the entire week.<br />
I’ve been there. I’ve had crippling shyness. It sucks. It still sucks. But you are not alone. There are hordes of perfectly kind, mentally healthy people who are just too shy to do meet others. To this day, I still run into people (even successful, attractive young women) who struggle with these issues and fail to reach their potential.

I got a question:<br />
“I’m driving myself to insanity with over-thinking, self-analysis, self-doubt, self-loathing, internal misery and zero action. What do I do?”<br />
Well, you’re talking to the king of overthinking. I’m definitely in the top 1% of overthinking and over-analyzing everything (I mean just look at this blog).<br />
I didn’t think I was that bad until I started journaling all the thoughts I remembered happening after dates or stressful situations. I ended up with essays that were multiple pages long analyzing every issue. These thoughts included:<br />
“If I say this, will I look weird?”<br />
“They’re judging me because I’m one of the only Asians here.”<br />
“Do I look weird or awkward? Why aren’t they talking to me? Do they hate me?”<br />
When I showed it to people I trust, they were blown away by how much I thought. For some guys, all they think about during a single date is

Did you know that human psychology is one of the most powerful tools to getting what you want inlife?<br />
Humans are slow to evolve. So, as legendary businessman and advertising legend, Claude Hopkins says, once you learn human psychology, you will never have to unlearn it.<br />
The truth about humans is that they are emotional creatures that make many illogical decisions. If you can understand and master these cognitive biases, you can use them to your advantage to safeguard your own decisions and ethically guide others to the decisions you want.<br />
Before we continue, I want to emphasize that what I am going to tell you next must be used for ethical reasons. Otherwise, it will backfire for you in the long run.<br />
To use the power of science and our research of the mind to improve your success in life. If you’re looking to level up your life by discovering new opportunities to succeed, this is the episode for you. There are plenty of psychological biases and faulty ment

Josh Waitzkin became a national champion in two skills by his early thirties: chess (as a teen) and Tai Chi Chuan, a competitive martial arts. Later on, he became a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the first student to do so under Marcelo Garcia, a man widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound grapplers in the world.<br />
He was also the basis for the popular chess film, Searching for Bobby Fischer. What was his secret for mastering so many skills so early when most people can’t master one skill in their entire lifetime? <br />
According to Josh, the secret was that he was better at learning than others. He succeeded in his second skill after quitting chess by applying his ability to learn. The great news is that Josh wrote a book, The Art of Learning, to teach you how to learn better.<br />
Here is my The Art of Learning summary. You will learn the top accelerated learning techniques to learn faster, retain the information, and progress in your chosen craft quicker.

Imagine hitting all your life and financial goals. Sounds great, right?<br />
But many people who get there hit a funk.<br />
Pat Flynn, an online entrepreneur, received this chilling email not long ago. He shared this email in his book Will It Fly? It’s worth sharing if you think money alone is all that matters:<br />
Subject: I make $20,000 per month and I’m not happy.<br />
Hi Pat, I’m sorry to email you like this, but I had no one else to turn to. I feel like I know you because I listen to your voice all day. You’re like a friend, even though we’ve never met. Sorry if that sounds weird.<br />
Anyway, I want to thank you. You don’t know this, but you’ve taught me so much about how to build a successful online business. I currently generate over $20k per month in recurring revenue, but here’s the thing…<br />
I’m unfulfilled. I’m not as happy as I thought I was going to be.<br />
A few years ago, before I started my company, the thought of making this kind of money online

“It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes.” – Warren Buffett.<br />
This quote means a lot to me because people don’t learn from others’ mistakes. Instead of studying the history of business, successful people, and failures, most people spend their time watching YouTube, television, or Netflix. Because of that, they consistently repeat the mistakes of their ancestors.<br />
“History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes” -Mark Twain<br />
This provides a huge opportunity for you to get ahead if you just spend a bit of time to study the past and look for patterns. You could save years of time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in failed investments. Personally, I’ve learned quite a few financial lessons this year from the mistakes of others, here’s one:<br />
Make sure you read and understand all of any contract you sign.<br />
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* An older example:

Does this situation sound familiar?<br />
You buy something, maybe it’s a house, because you think it will make you happier. But then, you realize you need accessories for your house: a fancy garage opener, a beautiful garden, and sun-powered lights.<br />
All of a sudden, you are overwhelmed by an infinite amount of products you can buy. You feel you need these to be happier and keep up with your neighbors. It’s a never-ending chase and businesses are more than happy to up-sell you on these to make more money.<br />
You may be able to afford all of this stuff, so you get it. You end up with too much stuff, yet you feel no happier. In fact, you feel worse because these possessions own you rather than the other way around. Too many possessions clutter up your workflow.<br />
A similar phenomenon can happen when it comes to your to-do list. There’s always something more you can do to earn more money, have a higher impact, or get better at a skill.<br />
You may feel lik

If you could only read 10 books for the rest of your life, what would they be?<br />
Today, I took a stab at answering this tough question. I thought it’s a great one because the limitation it places on you really forces you to cut the fat.<br />
Obviously, this list will differ if your goals are different. I tried to answer the question by targeting books that will make you wiser, happier, richer, healthier, and more fulfilled when you die. Therefore, these books are not the best for solving niche goals, like becoming a top athlete, famous musician, or self-actualized individual.<br />
As far as why you should listen to me, I’ve gone through hundreds of books and have a much more thorough knowledge of the self-help book universe than 99% of people alive.<br />
There were plenty of books I wanted to add to this list that unfortunately didn’t make the cut. But if you’re strapped for time, this list will do you good. Click play on the player below to listen to my

Self-discipline (also known as willpower) seem to be an obvious key to success. Successful people seem to be able to focus and stay on track. They form good habits and are less tempted by unproductive or unhealthy activities. All of that seems to revolve around the idea of self-discipline.<br />
So what’s the secret to self-discipline (also known as willpower)?<br />
Today, I want to share with you what billionaires and other successful people have to say on improving your self discipline.<br />
You will learn:<br />
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* a special technique I stumbled across that can get you started on good habits immediately.<br />
* why self discipline is even more important than you think, based on billionaires’ advice.<br />
* how to improve your self-discipline, based on science and case studies.<br />
* what some celebrities have to say about improving willpower.<br />
* even more surprising advice.<br />
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Click the play button below to listen to the podcast:<br />
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Today, I want to share with you the most powerful bit of advice I have gotten from reading hundreds of self-help themed books. If you put this advice into action, it will multiply your income, fulfillment, health, and happiness. That is a bold claim, so I will prove to you that it is true.<br />
Once you discover what it is, I will through how it logically makes perfect sense. In fact, it is common sense. Yet most people don’t exercise it.<br />
Usually, I don’t agree with “magic pill solutions.” In every industry, whether it is fitness or business, you get lazy people who want some “quick trick” to achieve their goals. And that’s exactly not what I am talking about here, so if you are one of those lazy people, you’re in the wrong place.<br />
I don’t believe you need only one technique to solve all your problems, but I have definitely stumbled across some incredible techniques that transform a large portion of your life. You can

What if there’s something that will take you less than 10 minutes a day that can change your life?<br />
Well, it turns out a few activities you can do that fall into this category. By turning them into a habit, it can lead to massive amounts of money, happiness, success, and performance.<br />
Now, you’re probably skeptical. Let me explain to you why this is true. A 10 minute a day formula works because of the sheer length of your life. Many of you will live into your 70’s, 80’s, or even 90’s. Therefore, you have decades of time to improve.<br />
With just 10 minutes a day, you will eventually accumulate thousands of hours of practice. I learned about this concept through books by Napoleon Hill, Sir John Templeton, and Darren Hardy (all accomplished entrepreneurs).<br />
So which activities should you choose in the 10 minutes? Well, that’s what I will explain in this podcast episode. Prepare to learn:<br />
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* A number of 10-minute activities

You are scrolling through Instagram. And you see yet another person living his dream life, wearing luxurious clothes, and traveling the world with beautiful women.<br />
You are in the gym going through your standard exercise routine and you see someone with the body you want.<br />
You scroll through Facebook on Friday night, tired and bored after a hard day’s work, and you see a friend of a friend who is having the time of his life at a party and posting pictures of it.<br />
Comparing yourself to others does not feel good. And you know it. But you still find yourself doing it and feeling less happy than you could. What makes this worse is that there are hundreds of things you can measure yourself against where someone has you beat, the Internet bombards with you with comparison temptation, and always a higher level to get to. Even when you reach a really high level of wealth, achievement, or skill, you can still feel horrible because you are comparing yourself to those even be

Do you ever feel overwhelmed or confused with so many books out there?<br />
It can feel confusing deciding which book will actually help you. You don’t want to waste your time. Yet you really feel like excited and ambitious because you want to improve yourself.<br />
In today’s podcast episode, I want to share with you the best books to read to get smarter. You will also learn what are healthy and unhealthy motivators to get smarter, and why obscure, historical, niche books like The Prince are not good books to read to demonstrate your intelligence.<br />
Once you’ve had a chance to listen, I’d love to hear from you:<br />
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* Which book did you like best and why?<br />
* Why do you want to be smarter?<br />
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Leave a comment below and let me know.<br />
Remember, give as much detail as possible. Many ambitious people come here every day for knowledge and improvement and your input could be just what they need to change their lives.<br />
Thanks so mu

A common question ambitious men in their early 20’s ask me is, “What life changing books should I read?”<br />
For me, asking any question about books, especially life-changing books, is a tough one to answer.<br />
That’s because I read a lot more books than the average person and have a lot more to draw from. Therefore, it can be like asking a musician what their favorite song is. But here are my top ten suggestions for now:<br />
Listen to the audio podcast version of this post here:<br />
1.Top 5 Regrets of the Dying<br />
Life is more than about just making money. In fact, I have found a lot of rich people are still unhappy or unfulfilled. Therefore, this book does a great job addressing other life concerns.<br />
The author saw hundreds of people pass because she worked in a retirement home.<br />
I have definitely changed how I live my life and what I want to do because of the book. My priorities have shifted.<br />
Biggest takeaways: Do more things that

Here’s a question that a lot of us struggle with:<br />
How do you compete with people better than you? It’s frustrating to see your peers seemingly making so much money, traveling the world, and outperforming you. How do they do it? Is it talent? Is it luck? Not exactly.<br />
Today, I want to share with you some success levers you can use to increase your results in life. I learned about these from extensive study of billionaires, millionaires, and other top achievers.<br />
Views – 1198<br />

There’s only a couple reliable ways you can listen to free self-help audio books:<br />
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* Check it out at a library.<br />
* Find them on YouTube.<br />
* Podcasts.<br />
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The library is great because you are often surprised by how extensive their collection is. New audio books that you don’t think they would have they sometimes do.<br />
The downside is:<br />
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* Sometimes, they still don’t have what you want.<br />
* You have to wait in line for it.<br />
* It might be old or used.<br />
* You can use it for a limited time before returning it.<br />
* Depending on where you live, your public library collection could be worse.<br />
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Having said that, the library is still an amazing resource. I have managed to save a ton of money by finding old and new books I would have otherwise had to buy. You can even request for them to buy a book and they sometimes will do it.<br />
Now, let’s talk about the YouTube option. People will sometimes i