Andrew Bustamante poses with a copy of “Outsmart Everyone.”
Books That Changed My Life.
The former intelligence officer and founder of EverydaySpy unpacks “Outsmart Everyone,” his new book that brings spy skills to civilian audiences.
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, September 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Andrew Bustamante is back on Books That Changed My Life, and this time he’s not talking about someone else’s book. The former CIA officer returns to Chris Collins’s interview series to discuss his new release, “Outsmart Everyone: Spy Skills to Gain an Unfair Advantage in Work and in Life,” a book Collins calls “the book I always hoped Andrew would write.”
Bustamante’s premise is disarmingly simple, and he lays it out inside sixty seconds: “You outsmart everyone by making their brain skip steps so that they reach a conclusion they already like and already want — and you’ve taken specific actions to get them to that outcome.”
At CIA, he explains, this was called a net positive-sum gain. Everyone wins. The magic is that only one person knows why. “Human beings actually want to be outsmarted,” he tells Collins. “We want someone else to do the calculations. We want someone else to do the heavy lifting. What we don’t want is to discover that we’ve been outsmarted.”
The tradecraft in the book is real—question-question-confirmation, assessment versus assumption, spotting the difference between a skilled liar and a trained one—but the interview keeps circling back to something softer. Bustamante quotes a CIA instructor who told him, “We repel each other with our strengths and connect with each other through our vulnerabilities.” He describes the three lives every person carries around: the public, the private, and the secret. Then, he draws attention to the shell that keeps most people from ever getting past the first. “It’s like two turtles trying to cuddle,” he says. “Their shells keep their bodies from touching.”
For longtime viewers, the most Bustamante-shaped answer of the interview arrives when Collins asks which three books he’d want with him if he were caught and imprisoned in a foreign jail. Bustamante picks “Frankenstein” (“there’s no way you can read ‘Frankenstein’ and feel bad about your life”), “Treasure Island,” and the Bible. Then, he explains why every CIA officer walks around with a mental list of book recommendations ready to deploy. “Book people don’t advertise themselves. You never know who’s a reader and who’s not.”
Signed copies of “Outsmart Everyone” are being given away to viewers directly through the show. To enter, like the video, leave a comment, and sign up at the link in the description.
To watch the full conversation, click HERE.
ABOUT BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE:
“Books That Changed My Life,” hosted by bestselling author Chris Collins, is a YouTube show exploring how great books transform us in profound and unexpected ways. Each episode features a special guest sharing a book that shaped or inspired them, sparking deep conversations and unearthing unfiltered personal stories.
Recent guests include actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, soap opera legend Susan Lucci, singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, actress and reality star Lisa Rinna, Dancing With the Stars pro Jenna Johnson, Good Morning America icon Joan Lunden, and television legend Kelsey Grammer.
Press Contact: Ryan Oshinsky
Syndicate X
+1 650-773-8983
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
TikTok
X
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
