Will Chou

Does this situation sound familiar? 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. 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. 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. 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. You may feel lik

If you could only read 10 books for the rest of your life, what would they be? 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. 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. 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. 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

For the last few years of my life, I was constantly in a state of frustration and haste. Why? Because I thought I had wasted the best years of my life. I was told by media, Hollywood, peers, and adults that your twenties are the best years of your life. I even asked one of my friends to confirm if it was true, “Once I get a job, is it all downhill from here?” “Yes, it is,” he replied. He had bought into the idea as well. Despite all my hurried attempts to seize that time, it just wasn’t happening. I didn’t have the money, status, or extroversion to party it up with beautiful supermodels. And then, something happened. I realized the whole thing was a lie. Are your twenties really the best years of your life? No matter what age you are in life, you may have had this idea pop-up. Death is coming. It’s over from here. It’s only going to get worse. Even being the positive self-help enthusiast I am, I couldn&

Oprah Winfrey is one of my favorite billionaires because she’s unique. Unlike the others, she overcame two discriminating obstacles (being black and female) to become a billionaire in an industry where billionaires are rare: entertainment. On top of that, she had a tough early life of sexual and physical abuse, and she miscarried a child as a teenager. If that’s not enough, she was born in mediocre situations. She was conceived after a single sexual encounter under a tree. Her dad left her mom immediately after. It just goes to show you that anyone has the potential to become someone amazing. And she did it, while staying happy and kind (something you can’t say for many rich people). After spending a lot of time studying her (reading her book What I Know For Sure, 

  Billionaires are a rare breed. They are in the top 1% of the 1% of the 1%. They’re world-class at making money and all the skills that come with that. What if we could really break down their rituals? What if we could find patterns we can follow ourselves? That’s what I intend to do. Unlike other self improvement articles out there, I have spent a good portion of my life actually studying billionaires — not just for a few minutes to churn out an article. You will learn: * Daily rituals of billionaires. * Morning rituals of billionaires. * Productivity patterns of billionaires. * The differences between billionaires. * Why you shouldn’t always follow what a billionaire does. * Much more. Click the play button below to listen to the podcast: Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher so you want l

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. So what’s the secret to self-discipline (also known as willpower)? Today, I want to share with you what billionaires and other successful people have to say on improving your self discipline. You will learn: * a special technique I stumbled across that can get you started on good habits immediately. * why self discipline is even more important than you think, based on billionaires’ advice. * how to improve your self-discipline, based on science and case studies. * what some celebrities have to say about improving willpower. * even more surprising advice. Click the play button below to listen to the podcast: S

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. 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. 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. 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&#8

What if there’s something that will take you less than 10 minutes a day that can change your life? 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. 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. 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). So which activities should you choose in the 10 minutes? Well, that’s what I will explain in this podcast episode. Prepare to learn: * 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. You are in the gym going through your standard exercise routine and you see someone with the body you want. 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. 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

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” -Jeff Bezos This is a special episode of Will’s Personal Development Podcast. This is part two to my discussion on “Billionaire Lessons I Learned from Jeff Bezos.” You can listen to part one and its counterpart article by clicking here. For those who are unfamiliar, Jeff Bezos built and grew Amazon.com into one of the world’s leading eCommerce websites. In the process, he became one of the richest men in the world. In this episode, I dive into some of the even cooler business strategies and life advice revealed in the book The Everything Store. Be prepared to learn:

Do you ever feel overwhelmed or confused with so many books out there? 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. 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. Once you’ve had a chance to listen, I’d love to hear from you: * Which book did you like best and why? * Why do you want to be smarter? Leave a comment below and let me know. 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. Thanks so mu

A common question ambitious men in their early 20’s ask me is, “What life changing books should I read?” For me, asking any question about books, especially life-changing books, is a tough one to answer. 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: Listen to the audio podcast version of this post here: 1.Top 5 Regrets of the Dying 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. The author saw hundreds of people pass because she worked in a retirement home. I have definitely changed how I live my life and what I want to do because of the book. My priorities have shifted. Biggest takeaways: Do more things that

Jeff Bezos. Founder of Amazon.com. The 5th richest person in the world. Leader in modern retail. How did he do it? Recently, I learned just that. I read the book The Everything Store, which details Jeff Bezos’s journey as he built Amazon.com into one of the world’s largest, most successful companies. The author interviewed hundreds of Jeff’s closest associates, including the man himself. In this article, you’ll learn timeless strategies from a man who built an Internet company from nothing to one of the largest companies in the world in under 20  years. Here are the top lessons I learned from the book: For an audio version of this article, you can listen to my podcast episodes: Part 1: 1.Choose The Option That Will Give You Less Regret Jeff invented what he calls the &#

Here’s a question that a lot of us struggle with: 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. 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. Views – 1198

There’s only a couple reliable ways you can listen to free self-help audio books: * Check it out at a library. * Find them on YouTube. * Podcasts. 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. The downside is: * Sometimes, they still don’t have what you want. * You have to wait in line for it. * It might be old or used. * You can use it for a limited time before returning it. * Depending on where you live, your public library collection could be worse. 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. Now, let’s talk about the YouTube option. People will sometimes i