Tell us YOUR recommendations.

Books, podcasts, YouTube vids and movies.
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AGF
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Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:37 am
Goal: $1,000,000 until 2025
Age: 28

Sun Jul 05, 2020 8:02 am

I have a list of at least 20 book recommendations but I believe that just throwing out recommendations without explaining them is useless, so I will post them one by one in this thread, whenever I feel like writing something. Here's the first one:

Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins
This book tells the story of David Goggins. If you don't know him, watch his appearances on the Joe Rogan Podcast. The short bio: he used to be a fat, black kid with a terrible childhood until one day he made the decision to get his life in order. I think he lost more than 100lbs in a few weeks in order to qualify for the Navy Seals BUD/S program, one of the toughest classes you can go through. He went through "Hell Week" (the hardest week in the program where the majority of people give up) not only once but three times due to injuries and then ended up completing the last weeks of BUD/S with two broken shins. He then went on to become an ultrarunner and world-record holder of most pullups in 24h.

Why you should read this book: no matter how sorry you feel for yourself or how depressed you are, after reading this book you'll realize that it's all just excuses. The book is extremely motivating and shows you what is really possible. If you think you know what your physical and mental limits are, read this book and you will get a whole new idea of what the human body is capable of and how important a strong mindset is. The book also contains a lot of useful exercises to facilitate your personal growth, as well as interesting concepts (my personal favorite is the 40% rule). I highly recommend getting the audiobook on Audible. It's actually a combination of Audiobook and podcast. After each chapter, the speaker talks with David about what he just read to the audience and you'll gain a lot of additional insights that you wouldn't have from reading the book.
Cilindric
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Joined: Sat May 30, 2020 1:04 pm
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Age: 40

Sun Jul 05, 2020 8:37 am

Learning English was perhaps the crucial element in my self-improvement journey (I am from Germany).

I never learned English properly in school, and I've never needed it in my job.

So I started learning English from scratch with 34 through reading a ton of books and attending courses (had eventually a IELTS score of 6.5 in a test six years ago).

Books, podcasts, forums, all of of this wouldn't have been accessible for me without knowledge of the language. Self-improvement literature in German is of mediocre quality unfortunately.

English is the lingua franca in Europe, and making friends and getting girls in Eastern Europe would have been an almost impossible task without speaking English.

Yes, learning English improved my life tremendously.
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AGF
Posts: 196 | Thanks: 133
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:37 am
Goal: $1,000,000 until 2025
Age: 28

Sun Jul 05, 2020 10:53 am

KillYourInnerLoser wrote:
Sun Jul 05, 2020 9:56 am
@AGF I'm eventually going to write a post called "other people's recommendations". Mind if I use this in it? Giving you credit of course.
Sure, go ahead. I'll try to post at least one book recommendation here per week
JaegerBombastic
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Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2020 4:20 pm
Goal: Enjoy the present
Age: 33
Location: USA

Wed Jul 29, 2020 6:48 pm

The book that helped me with mental health the most is Feeling Good by David Burns. It completely opened my eyes to the idea that I wasn't responsible for the thoughts that popped up in my brain, only for how I responded to them. And it really worked well for my analytical/engineering mind since he breaks everything down into concrete steps. It was an excellent intro to CBT. The only weakness (that I believe he addressed in later publications) is that the book makes it seem like you should almost NEVER feel badly. Regardless, his 3-column technique is one of the most helpful exercises I've ever come across - I still use it to this day, it's the quickest and easiest way for me to get to a powerfully calm place.

Another book I liked is Intimate Connections, also by David Burns. Slightly dated nowadays but he has great ideas of how to mentally approach dating. Most of it is still applicable today.
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Mav
Posts: 247 | Thanks: 171
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:46 pm
Name: Mason
Goal: Level Up
Age: 32
Motto: There Is No Tomorrow
Location: Florida

Fri Aug 14, 2020 4:57 pm

Just got done listening to both Rogan/Goggins podcasts a few times, as well as Can't Hurt Me Audiobook. The audiobook is really good. He came from nothing and did the seemingly impossible, even with two heart surgeries. While I couldn't relate with a lot of the stuff in it (ex. his military career, running, etc.), it shows you what can be done with the right willingness and mindset. One of the more minor things I took away from it, was seeing his terrible stretch marks all over his arms and how he just didn't give a fuck. Much easier for me to bite the bullet in my personal life and say "roger that".

Looking for more recommendations like this. Basically just listen to podcasts/audiobooks all day at work/gym.

While Grant Cardone rubs me the wrong way and I kind of despise the guy, I'd recommend his 10X audio book. Also, Jordan Belfort's Straight Line, especially Module 5 called "Inner Game of Sales".
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Ralstig
Posts: 4 | Thanks: 2
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2020 6:24 pm
Goal: Develop Self Worth
Age: 31
Motto: "It's ok to suck", "Embrace the suck"
Location: Daytona Beach, FL USA

Thu Oct 22, 2020 1:52 am

I've been really enjoying Peter McWilliams' books.
"Love 101" - Helped give me some excellent insights on; Self-worthiness, self-acceptance, loneliness, different types of relationships, meditation, and a bunch of general life advice. If I could give one book to 15 year old me, this would be it.

"How to Heal Depression" - Really helped me realize that I need outside help for my depression. It's something I have been battling it for over half my life and that, for me, it might be true medical issue.

“Can’t afford the luxury of a negative thought” – Andy has said more than I ever could about this book. 11/10 must read.
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Rise
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Joined: Sat May 01, 2021 11:01 pm
Goal: Lose fat
Age: 28
Motto: No excuses

Sun May 02, 2021 12:52 am

Bigger leaner stronger - Michael Matthews (men)
Thinner leaner stronger - Michael Matthews (women)

This book covers basic-intermediate workouts, nutrition, and supplementation without the bullshit you can run into online.
If I had this when I started, it probably would have saved me years.
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Holden
Posts: 1640 | Thanks: 562
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2021 1:36 pm
Goal: Rotation
Age: 28

Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:57 am

Finished Arnold Schwarzenegger's autobiography "Total Recall" earlier today, in audiobook form. I was planning on listening to only half of it, because I'm more interested in what he did to get to the top compared to what he did once he was at the top. I ended up listening to all of it anyway. The first half was the most interesting part but near the end there's some nuggets too.

Some things that stuck with me:
  • He writes goals and things to do for each year and reviews them daily (becoming Mr. Olympia, landing a movie role, running for governor)
  • As a kid, he had posters of bodybuilders all over his bedroom to serve as a vision board (his mom thought he was gay)
  • He was so dedicated he felt physically sick whenever he missed a workout
  • He always surrounded himself with mentors and other guys on the same path
  • "Reps reps reps" is his philosophy of becoming good at anything, of course, inspired by bodybuilding. He rehearsed a speech he gave to the United Nations as governor a total of 55 times
  • As an actor, he was very careful of his public image: he turned down a lot of movie roles (even when he wasn't a successful actor yet) because the role wasn't that of the leading man. He wanted to make sure the public knew Arnold as the leading man, not anything less
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Avihihi
Posts: 268 | Thanks: 101
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 1:12 am
Goal: Get laid. Get Paid.
Age: 26
Motto: I'll never quit. Ever.
Location: New Jersey

Sun Aug 22, 2021 5:44 pm

I don't know if any one book changed anything for me but I can tell you a few resources that were the catalyst for larger things i've managed to do. I'm writing this quickly so i'll update it if anything else comes to mind:

When I was 17 I started a business which got me to nearly 5 figures of passive income (I don't have it anymore for a variety of reasons but it paid my way through college without me ever needing a job). I was able to do this because of:
- Steve Pavlina and his passive income series
- Leo Gura and his videos from Actualized.org
- Stefan Pylarnos for his courses, as well as Dale L. Roberts for mentoring me

When I was 19 I meditated + spiritually journaled very seriously for 270 days and as a result had reality-breaking experiences which positively broke many structures of my mind but also negatively almost sent me to a psych ward. It was a net positive though because of the freedom I got from it. For this I mainly got help from:
- Leo Gura from Actualized.org - He has good videos on doing "real" meditation, as in meditation for it's original purpose - enlightenment
- Jed Mckenna's books (He has a practice called spiritual autolysis, use it at your own risk)

I got decent at sex in a way that my ex-girlfriend refused to believe I was a virgin and would beg me for sex because of:
- Sex God Method by Daniel Rose - This book changed my mindset on sex early on and taught me how to tap into a more primal/emotional state in the bedroom. It also taught me how to frame myself as the sexual prize in the relationship so that my girlfriend would do things for me so we could have sex

Books that I just think are useful to read are:
- The millionaire fastlane and Unscripted by MJ Demarco - just good stuff on entrepreneurship and learning. I learned 14 out of 17 chapters of a python course in 1.5 months using the advice here
- Ultralearning and just everything from Scott Young -Because of his stuff and Steve Pavlina's I got through many classes in college pretty easily. Ultralearning is really cool too if you just want to learn how to learn better
Lays from KYIL: 19

Insta: @AviDaviPavi
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AviDaProdigy [@avidaprodigy]
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canderson
Posts: 121 | Thanks: 6
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:56 am
Goal: Travel
Age: 28

Mon Sep 20, 2021 6:00 am

Here are a couple of recommendations I have for those who are learning a language:

1. Spaced Repetition Software (SRS)
SRS is essentially flashcards where you grade yourself on how well you knew the answer. Based on your grade, the software will determine when next to schedule that card. This reduces time spent on cards you know well and increases time spent on cards you don't know well until you get better. I found this to be massively helpful in learning vocabulary. The software I would recommend is called Anki, which is free and open source. It also lets you create an account and sync your cards across all devices.

2. Find a language exchange partner
The idea is to find someone who is fluent in the language you want to learn and is learning the language you're fluent in. For example, if you speak English and want to learn Spanish, find someone who speaks Spanish and wants to learn English. Then, schedule video calls with that person to have random conversations, where the first half is one language and the second half is the other. This is tremendously helpful for a few reasons. First, the best way to get better at being conversational is to have conversations. Second, because the other person is fluent, they will effortlessly be able to help you with grammar and vocabulary. Third, because the other person is also learning a language, you won't be as nervous speaking. The site I used to find my partner was conversationexchange.com.
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colgate
Posts: 909 | Thanks: 1741
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2021 9:23 pm
Name: bulldog
Goal: BANG!! japanese chicks!
Age: 27
Motto: KEEP WORKIN BROWN MAN
Location: japan
Contact:

Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:07 am

To add onto @canderson's language post, I really recommend HelloTalk for meeting language exchange partners. It's a social network where you can post status updates/pictures in the language you're learning, and natives will correct your posts.

I only studied Japanese for <6 months before incidentally discovering the app. I basically messaged nearly everyone who corrected my posts or whose posts I liked, exclusively in my really broken Japanese. When messaging people on the app, I recommend you just stick to your guns and message people in the language you're learning, even if they try to respond to you in English. You end up screening for the people who would rather talk to you in their native language and your language skills basically skyrocket if you can persevere (it can be really tempting to just switch to English early on when you can't say something). I would say 80% of the Japanese I know is from messaging people on HelloTalk and then exchanging LINEs with them and continuing daily chatting and occasional video calls. Eventually I made a lot of long-term friends in Japan through this method (I ended up going to Japan to meet a lot of them, saved a lot on lodging because many let me crash at their places, and was able to do the entire trip without using English).

Also HelloTalk is really good because you can find natives in your area and meet up with them and get real life language practice.
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NightChains
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Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2021 6:07 am
Goal: delete account
Age: 25
Motto: Acceptance
Location: doesn't matter

Thu Oct 14, 2021 6:19 am

Apps and tracker :
Cronometer - food intake tracking whether macros and calories alike
Google fit - syncs with mobile location and trackers to calculate calories burnt and workout progress

Social:
bodyweightfitness reddit - good for calisthenics workout
fitness reddit - Has a good general community and a good wiki for workout theories
flexibility reddit - flexibility and mobility training

Books:
Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength (Second Edition) - Steven Low

research info:
Examine.com - Good database for supplements and nutrition.

Youtuber:
ATHLEAN-X™
The Bioneer

Every 4-6 weeks when I finish my workout period I go over those sources and my workout notebook, I'm currently able to do 2 sets of 3 reps of wall handstand pushup, if It's possible I would love to show vids of those exercises.


Personally I use the bwf move phase 4 routine.
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Suave1
Posts: 59 | Thanks: 10
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2021 7:07 pm
Goal: Get laid
Age: 22
Motto: Hard work compounded pays off

Fri Oct 15, 2021 2:07 am

Hey Andy! I have a couple things:

1. The Headway app. It is basically audio summaries of self improvement books and other nonfiction books. Instead of the 6-10 hour audiobooks that every self improvement book pretty much is, the Headway summaries are around 20 minutes with just the most important stuff. I recently learned a lot of self improvement authors basically write their book on 3-5 pages, but then expand it to ~300 pages because no one will spend $20 on a 5 page book. So Headway removes all the fluff and just gives the good nuggets. For example, I can get the essence of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Think and Grow Rich, and How to Win Friends and Influence people all in about an hour during my gym workout.

2. Kind of stupid but if you take a lot of vitamins, a basic 7 day plastic vitamin scheduler so you don't have to open 5-10 vitamin bottles every day, you just pop the scheduler open, get the vitamins, and move on with your life. Also, filling zip loc bags with the contents of my morning smoothie for 2-3 weeks out, so I don't have to think about it when I wake up(valuable brain energy that early in the day).

3. Using a foam roller with spikes for 30 minutes to an hour a few times a week to massage sore muscles. I go to the gym a lot and tend to hold stress in my body. Spikes I've found are more effective(but hurt more) than regular foam rollers.

4. A monitor I can plug my laptop in so I don't strain my neck looking down(contributes to bad posture). I also have a laptop stand when I am studying for a long time at my college

5. Writing my log... I don't think people understand how valuable writing a log is until you actually write one(at least that's what happened to me).

6. Ordering my groceries online. Saves 2 hours a week. May go back to it though eventually so I can do approaches while shopping :)
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bonzo34
Posts: 464 | Thanks: 87
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2022 2:33 am
Name: Alex
Goal: 50 "made love"
Age: 28
Location: San Antonio TX

Tue Jan 18, 2022 2:17 am

Wanted to say 30 Days of Discipline if it hasn't been said already. It's attached.
This post inspired me to do it- https://www.gll-getalife.com/30-days-of-discipline
It helps with diet, working out consistently and saving money. Similar to the Slight Edge where you see the parts adding up to the whole with 1 thing a day but every single day for 30 days.
dating

resolve job/income

Be an Army Officer

50 lays. 1/50

The first time you quit, it's hard. The second time, it gets easier. The third time, you don't even have to think about it.
be transparent as possible. Stop setting plays. Stop playing chess with life.
you make progress when you face a fear head on
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Radical
Posts: 1791 | Thanks: 1439
Joined: Sat May 30, 2020 12:02 pm
Name: Cam
Goal: Funnel/Product Building
Age: 29
Motto: Take drastic action

Tue Jan 18, 2022 2:51 am

Deleted the attachment

As far as i can see Victor Pride still has it up for sale, so anyone who is interested should go buy the Amazon link
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