Game Changers: What Leaders, Innovators, and Mavericks Do to Win at Life

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

First I would like to state that I have read all of Daves books, including The Better Baby Book most recently. I have been trying to find a way to get my wife more into keto and “real” health conscious dieting before we have a baby. I really like Daves writing style and his way of analyzing specific topics. His computer hacking background gives him a unique way of looking at things and I really like that he is very into Chemistry/Biology as well as statistical data analysis. Like many other people, I was extremely skeptical about the keto diet; specifically bulletproof coffee. Until, one of my friends got me to try it and it changed coffee forever for me. This led me to later giving Dave Asprey’s second book a try, The Bulletproof Diet. After reading the book I thought I’d give the diet a try, leading me further down the rabbit hole and completely altering my life forever. I have been mostly sticking to The Bulletproof diet for over two years now and feel great. After reading Dave’s third book, Head Strong, I really got into it; getting good quality meat and cooking easy bulletproof meals daily to keep more variety in my diet. Dave Asprey writes fantastic book’s that are loaded with great information, using statistical data to back all of his statements. Many double-blind studies are used to back up much of his research; yet some theories have not advanced yet (requiring lots of funding for the studies), but much evidence is still there. Since I started my Bulletproof journey; I have been a firm believer in trying it for myself and forming my own opinion. Based on price and my physical/mental return on the product, I form my own opinion. It is nice to have a reliable guide on this journey, such as Dave, to point me in the right direction. I can then try things out for myself and see what works for me personally. I recently finished Daves latest book Game Changers and I must say this is the most informational dense books I have ever read. I will refer back to this book annually for the rest of my life, just because the information in it is so beneficial and vast. Yet again, we see Dave’s statistical analysis at work; taking his information gathered from 500 Podcast interviews and analyzing it statistically to organize the given information from most beneficial to least. Also, incorporating the Return on ones investment (ROI), which is very important when getting into more advanced and expensive biohacking tactics. It is hard to find someone that is reliable in the nutrition/health realm, but I have come to really rely on The Bulletproof articles to get my information. Dave and The Bulletproof team have put out so much free and useful information online. This also shows that the company has their customers best interest in mind, not just trying to rob them as much as possible before they realize the products are useless, like many other health producing companies. My most recent purchase, which I just started reading yesterday is The Longevity Paradox: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age; by Steven R. Gundry, MD. It is a little wild and out there, having a completely different understanding of how we humans came to be, but I have a feeling I am going to get a lot out of this book as well. Like many of these theories; the extreme funding may not be there for double-blind human studies, but the evidence is there with little advertisement. With all that being said, I am really looking forward to gaining more super powers from Dave’s next book coming out later this year; Super Human.Thank you

Great informative material .

It’s always intriguing to read or listen to anything presented by the father of bio hacking, Dave Asprey. And this book is no different, it is a summary of some of the most important interviews he conducted with experts in different fields on his podcast Bulletproof Radio.The range of topics are pretty diverse: from the science behind “willpower muscle”, to the “codes” we insert into our supercomputer brain, to neuroplasticity, meta moments, stem cell, minimalism, a super weird chapter on LSD, the 4th state of water after liquid solid and vapour, the importance of recovery, “mindfulness masturbation”, the science behind shamanic medicine, a very useful fear-happiness spectrum, to human zoology (yes that exists).The book also analyses fluid intelligence and how to raise our memory capability by 40% using scientifically-proven methods, altered state using breathing meditation, the fact that “porn is the high-fructose corn syrup of sex”, why celebrating failures is a great bio hacking tool, why violent criminals have very high level of trace metals in their blood, a simple breathing technique to connect the left and right hemisphere of the brain, all the way to an interview with a dominatrix on BDSM as a flow-state-generating bio hacking tool. Fun!It’s weird, it’s nuts, but it works, and scientifically proven. I guarantee that your reading experience won’t be a dull one, and you might just learn one or two new tools to hack your life with immediate effect.

Maybe if you are new to the realm of self improvement, you might find this book interesting.Otherwise the author just brushes over many topics without really delving into any of them in detail.Seems the book is just an overgrown advert for the long list of podcasts and other peoples books and programsyou should check out so you can get the benefit and information that I would expect to be described in a lot moredetail in this offering.

Not narrated by Dave and instead by someone who does a passable job but doesn't know how to pronounce some of the things he's saying. Dave comes in for a brief appearance in each chapter but it's distracting not to hear it all in his own voice. Especially knowing him so well from the podcast.I didn't find a ton of new value in this book simply because I've listened to every Bulletproof Radio episode he's ever made. So it was a nice summary and reminder.If you've not listened to them all, this certainly saves some time and gives some great highlights!His next book however: Superhuman, is excellent (and narrated by him!).

I got this as soon as it was released in the United Kingdom. And itdidn’t disappoint, in fact I think this is the best yet from Dave Asprey, I loved Headstrong and Game Changers, well this is an amazing reference tool. To distil so much information into a number of rules across about 500 podcasts is an achievement in itself and it’s packed with usable information. To also make it readable, good fun and way to understand ... and something to which you can constantly go back to with these is a fantastic achievement. Massive gratitude to you Dave for giving us this opportunity to share your own learning and dedication.

This book is truly what it says it is, and I would say even more if you are new to the self-improvement game. Dave Asprey brings a large number of movers and shakers together with their research to create a workable and enjoyable set of parameters by which to live one's life.Philosophically there is probably nothing new, but it is great to see the references to medical studies and research backing up historical common sense. Asprey has the additional advantage of being a big player himself, which has given him access to so many other fascinating high achievers.I enjoyed this more than I expected to. Thank you for an inspirational read.

One of the best books I have ever read on how to improvise lifesimple instructions how you can tak eprductivity and energy to the next level