Life is short, and the only way we can enjoy it and the relatively few moments we are all given is to not spend them anxious and nervous, constructing fictional scenarios that can drive us crazy. But the great thing about a global economy is that it does recuperate as opportunity finds its way back into the financial system. The key to investing, then, is staying in the game, consistently looking for opportunity and not worrying about all of those things that are meaningless or out of your control.

James Altucher's message is not about how to get rich or how to achieve 100 percent returns or whatever it is that most investment books are about. The message is about how to eliminate the distractions so that you can make sound investment decisions, rest easy, and enjoy all of the other aspects of your life. You don’t want to have to look at your investments every day for the rest of your life. You don’t want to have to follow every tick of the markets or panic if they plunge 10 percent in a week, as they often do.