Game Changers: What Leaders, Innovators, and Mavericks Do to Win at Life (Bulletproof Book 4)
The bestselling author of Head Strong and The Bulletproof Diet answers the question, “How can I kick more ass at life?” by culling the wisdom of world-class thought leaders, maverick scientists, and disruptive entrepreneurs to provide proven techniques for becoming happier, healthier, and smarter.
When Dave Asprey started his Bulletproof Radio podcast more than five years ago, he sought out influencers in an array of disciplines, from biochemists toiling in unknown laboratories to business leaders changing the world to mediation masters discovering inner peace. His guests were some of the top performing humans in the world, people who had changed their areas of study or even pioneered entirely new fields. Dave wanted to know: What did they have in common? What mattered most to them? What made them so successful—and what made them tick? At the end of each interview, Dave asked the same question: “What are your top three recommendations for people who want to perform better at being human?”
After performing a statistical analysis of the answers, he found that the wisdom gleaned from these highly successful people could be distilled into three main objectives: finding ways to become smarter, faster, and happier. Game Changers is the culmination of Dave’s years-long immersion in these conversations, offering 46 science-backed, high performance “laws” that are a virtual playbook for how to get better at life.
With anecdotes from game changers like Dr. Daniel Amen, Gabby Bernstein, Dr. David Perlmutter, Arianna Huffington, Esther Perel, and Tim Ferris as well as examples from Dave’s own life, Game Changers offers readers practical advice they can put into action to reap immediate rewards. From taming fear and anxiety to making better decisions, establishing high-performance habits, and practicing gratitude and mindfulness, Dave brings together the wisdom of today’s game-changers to help everyone kick more ass at life.
Reviews (185)
A compilation of thoughtful recommendations for better performance.
I admire Dave Asprey’s journey as a writer—starting with The Bulletproof Diet, then Head Strong, and now shifting gears towards a more holistic piece, Game Changers. I've just finished reading it and, in fact, was my favorite one. That’s why I am happy to share some thoughts before you commit to the book itself. It's written in a more conversational tone—taking a closer look at life purpose, happiness, and spirituality. He by no means forgets to include worthwhile advices on physical and mental performances. Simply put, the book is a compilation of powerful recommendations he distilled from over 450 conversations/interviews with accomplished guests. This is quite an intimate book, representing essential values Asprey has assimilated throughout his experiences. Although I haven’t listened to more than 100 of his interviews, I could feel that the present book was carefully written—he took the time and energy to document something precious. Asprey divides the book into 3 main parts—smarter, faster, happier—where each part is broken down into chapters filled with a total of 46 “laws”. One of the highlights is that at the end of each “law” we find a honest/feasible action plan to implement the advice, as well as recommended readings and podcast episodes for further research. Before sharing thoughts about the content itself, I just wanted to mention I could draw a direct comparison between Tim Ferris’s Tools of Titans and Game Changers. They both compiled hundreds of interviews into a book, and even though Tim Ferris and Dave Asprey have similar interests such as high-performance, health, business, spiritualism, science, happiness, and self-improvement, there are differences on how the information is laid out throughout the chapters. Ferris summarizes key takeaways from each interviewee, one-by-one. Asprey, however, distills the information in a broader and more interconnected perspective after running his “statistical analysis”. That said, Tools of Titans and Game Changers complement each other positively. Now let me share with you some pieces of advice I took note to further reflect and explore as I get the chance to read the book again—but on a slower pace next. The “laws” are in order of appearance. [Law 1] To focus on what matters most by saying “no” more often. Knowing what matters the most brings clarity, making it easy to take decisions and focus our attention and energy exclusively. As a regression, I could connect this “law” with another valuable book called “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown. [Law 3] Words are powerful. We should be mindful by choosing truthful words to build trust and break free from our own limitations. Asprey explains how certain words can be detrimental to us. He suggests us to pay attention to often used words that make us weak—sharing also techniques to avoid them. [Law 8] Asprey encourages us to access altered states by taking advantage of valuable tools we have these days, ranging from silent meditation retreats all the way to trusted ayahuasca experiences in the Amazon. [Law 10] We must learn to confront our irrational fear of criticism and failure. Negative emotions are rooted in fear, while positive ones are rooted in trust. When we manage to spend more time in the positive states, a sense of comfort surrounds us. Asprey shares tips on how to dissolve expectations and attachments that may be holding us back. [Law 12] Passion and purpose are key to happiness. Finding the things we care about and devote time and energy will certainly pay off in the long run. As Asprey puts: “Every idea that doesn’t work is simply a stepping-stone to a bigger success. Success comes when you are still curious and still learning.” [Law 20] Striving for quality sleep is better than more sleep. Fascinating studies are presented to help us sleep thoroughly. I enjoyed reading about wild animals patterns, that they prefer sleeping on the hard ground with their heads slightly uphill. It seems that maintaining our heads slightly above our hearts while sleeping may be a good idea to avoid the increase of pressure in the brain due to the blood flow circulation under the effects of gravity. Reading about sleep made me think about an important and personally favorite book called “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker. [Law 22] Learning to move our bodies the right way is a must for long-term health. I sincerely appreciate this point because we often forget to prioritize this aspect due to high demands we face at work. Going back to the basics and getting the right posture and movement patterns will certainly improve the quality of our lives. Asprey shares good recommendations and I’ve used some of them—after listening to his podcasts—in tandem with my favorite ones. GMB is formed by a small but knowledgeable group of experts in physical therapy, gymnastics, martial arts, and human movement that have been developing courses and tutorials to help us move with more autonomy. Both of GMB’s training programs, the Elements and the Vitamin, have helped me immensely with rock climbing performance. In terms of books, my favorite book calls “The Practice of Natural Movement” by Erwan Le Corre. It’s a gem! [Law 25] This is a profound topic on meaningful food consumption. I was touched by Cynthia Garcia’s story on how she overcame her struggles through a combination of dietary changes with psychological and spiritual work. The message here is that emotional eating is sadly entrenched in our culture that we aren’t aware of the effects. We learn tips that signal excess of emotional eating. [Law 26] Here we find the solution to the previous “law”—which is about eating real food, about paying attention to what our relatives at generations ago used to eat, about eating genuinely according to our true nature and needs. This topic stands alone as a concise diet guide. [Law 33] Striving for happier habits improves our creativity, productivity, relationships, and even the odds to earn more money. But besides that, one of his interviewees, Vishen Lakhiani, got my attention. He says we should focus on “end goals” described as: [1] the things we want to experience in life, [2] ways in which we want to grow a as human being, and [3] ways in which we want to contribute to the world. [Law 35] Seeking out social interaction through a supportive community brings positive impacts in many aspects. Dr. Zak explains the role of oxytocin, a hormone released during social bounding. It’s intriguing to know how this hormone works—on a feedback loop—amplifying empathy throughout human connections. [Law 39] Here we learn about the importance of proper breathing. Wim Hof is a pioneer of extremely cold temperature exposure through breathing techniques. Even though I've taken cold showers 2 times a week since 2016 and learned to prefer lukewarm showers over hot ones on the other days, I've been delaying to test Hof's exercises since I first heard about his breathing techniques. [Law 41] One of my favorite excerpts of the book is as follows: “Spend more time outdoors. See trees. Smell plants. Taste real food. Sweat in the sun. Shiver when it’s cold. Give your nervous system a taste of the environment it evolved in so you can reap the returns as your biology changes to increase your performance.” [Law 45] The power of forgiveness can’t be beat. Asprey encourages us to forgive with the same intensity we bring our mission in life in order to access new levels of energy and happiness. This “law” was probably my favorite one—insights that I hope to carry for life. I hope this review helps you. Even if you have listened to most of Asprey's interviews, this book is a convenient piece to revisit the information in a well-documented version. Game Changers has the potential to impact our lives positively in many forms. After all, it’s about taking the time to discover our own priorities, then finding the right action plan at the end of each “law” to create better habits or boost our performances over time. Take good care, Haical
One Big Advertisement
My wife bought this book for herself and I started to read it because it got good reviews and I like self-help/self-improvement books. The whole thing seems like one big advertisement pushing the Bulletproof brand. Starting off the advertising assault, the "Praise For Game Changers" on the back cover consists of all other self-improvement authors. Best-selling authors pushing each other's books to sell to the same customers. No reviews from scientists, newspapers, or any source that does not have a product they are also trying to push to the same target audience. Throughout the book, the book mentions the things that lots of successful people do. But the successful people mentioned are mostly people who run companies that sell self-improvement products. Like Brendon Burchard, founder of High Performance Academy, and Tony Stubblebine, founder of Coach.me (those two are in the first few pages). There seems to be few references to influential people that aren't trying to also push their own products to the same target audience that Dave Asprey is. It seems like these self-improvement CEOs/authors are mostly the "Game Changers" the book references. Don't get me wrong, starting a company that grosses millions is impressive, regardless of what the company sells (self-improvement in most of these cases). But I'd like to see a little bit more diverse sample size of "Game Changers." The way this book does reference other successful people is almost in a laughable way sometimes. "Steve Jobs credited LSD with contributing to his success with Apple." This definitely feels like Asprey has an argument he personally wants to use and is using sparse facts to sell it, rather than drawing facts from data. I feel like Steve Jobs would rank LSD use very, very low as a contributor to his success (if he would mention it at all). The biggest put-off about this book though, was the constant referneces to his own and others products. The recommended reading/listening that is listed throughout the book is almost entirely, if not entirely, from his podcast or are products that people he interviews on his podcast sell. It would be nice if there was some recommended reading/listening from others (and I would feel like these sections existed for more than just advertising). As a disclaimer, I did not finish this book. There is probably some really good information in it. But when reading it I got the feeling that I was the product. That the propose of this book was primarily to get me into the Bulletproof brand so that I could improve myself, rather than simply improve myself.
300 page promotion for products of his brand, "self-help" entrepreneurs, and scam artist doctors
I'm very disappointed in this book as I had high hopes due to all the good reviews. I assume most of the 5-star reviews are due to his podcast following buying the book and leaving 5 stars. My problem isn't in the recommendation of LSD and mushrooms. In fact, that was one of the more interesting topics in the book and there definitely valuable information in this book However, in order to find the value, you have to sort through countless pages of him endorsing quack doctors and "entrepreneurs" who haven't achieved anything other than coming up with a great story for themselves and selling some kind of "self-improvement" product. This book mostly reads like one big infomercial. When I read high praises of this book, I was expecting a culmination of what Dave found when talking to people like NAVY seals, Olympic athletes, fortune 500 CEOs, leading physicists, and doctors who had made real discoveries. And yes, there are some people in this book worthy of reading about. But what you (mostly) get is a bunch of endorsements for random people selling random products and fraud doctors who have become rich selling things with literally 0 scientific evidence to support their claims.
A Biohacker must-have!
I preordered this book in September, and was able to read ALL of it today :). I had the opportunity to meet Dave Asprey in Chicago for a biohacker meet-up, and this man definitely practices what he preaches. He was one of the nicest, most genuine guys I’ve met. He truly cares about helping others live their best life. The information in this book is priceless, and is a must read for anyone wanting to make their life more kick ass! I became a fan after reading the Bulletproof Diet. I suffered a spinal cord injury from a back surgery, and his information has helped me manage the effects of that surgery to the point I no longer take medication, and I feel better than I ever have — minus the partial paralysis lol. You won’t regret buying this book...
Life changing
This book absolutely changed my mindset. It condenses the best advice from tons of experts. When you see all the recommended books you realize that what you’re getting in one book is really the summary of 20+ other books, saving you tons of time. I read it on the kindle. It does ask you to write stuff down which you can’t do on the kindle. So if that bothers you then I would get a physical copy of the book.
Definitely a game changer this book is next level. Dave Asprey is the truth
Awesome book. I’ve been listening to Dave asprey podcast for years dude is a beast. I’ve also read his book head strong and the bulletproof diet. Two good books. This book is so good on so many levels. It breaks down the everyday routines of people. What they do. What they eat. How much they value sleep and recovery time. I listen to Dave religiously and I’ve applied a lot of his diet and brain hacks with remarkable results. I highly recommend this book to anyone. I left so much from mediation to yoga to mentors. It’s well written book also. Dave is becoming quite the writer and it laid out good to.
All About Money
I couldn't get through this book because I was so turned off by how many recommendations there were for products. This book seemed more like Asprey's personal endorsement guide rather than insight on skill set. It's an interesting book and I enjoyed the parts about bio hacking. I just wish I got more from this book and not a list of stuff to buy.
THE. HYPE. IS. REAL.
Game Changers by Dave Asprey is a book you will read once and want to read over again just to relive the feeling. It is a book you will reference for a lifetime and want to share with everyone you meet. If Elon Musk is Tony Stark, then Dave Asprey is Dr. Strange. Dave looks forward in time and gives you a jump start on improving multiple facets of your life (nutrition, breathing, sleep, sex, psychological, spiritual, tech, etc). This is a new compilation unlike the books you've read before; Dave uncovers the practices elite performers use in their personal lives to get an edge on the competition. There are "46 laws" which are very straightforward and eye opening, you will find yourself using them immediately. When you hold this book it will feel like a treasure chest.
Not good book
Terrible-advocates the use of psychedelic drugs!!!i shouldn’t have to pay for return postage!!!!!
Love this book
It's a treat to read vignettes of many of the best BPR podcast episodes highlighted as Game Changer laws. "Game Changers" is filled from cover to cover with distilled wisdom from 500+ interviews that Dave Asprey has conducted with top health and leadership professionals. There's an incredible amount of on-point information that makes you think and reconsider your premises, and get excited to try new approaches. A note about BPR: of all the podcast shows I've listened to, I keep coming back to Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Radio. He consistently has interesting guests, and just as important, his interview style keeps the topics flowing and gets the most out of the hour with these very busy people. Dave has exceptional interview skills, and his voice is musical (or, thanks to his interview of Dr. Stephen Porges - possibly the best episode IMHO - we could say Dave has excellent vocal prosody). His vocal tone and inflection are easy on the ears, far more so than many otherwise-excellent podcast hosts. This may sound minor but it's much more important than many of us realize: monotonic, 'bottomed out' vocal presentations put us in fight or flight mode, definitely not a receptive learning state. (I've found that they spike my adrenaline so I actively avoid them.) Thank you Dave for all the work you have done on your voice and interview style and the content, it truly shows. I've listened to around 3/4 of all the BPR episodes, and the information I've gleaned has made a huge difference in many areas of my life. Thank you, and thank you again. Following the book's release, Dave has changed his end-of-podcast focus to longevity. I'm loving the new questions and how they're getting folks to think forward. It's fun to imagine the ways the answers will be shaping the next book.
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