The James Altucher Show

I was getting good at saying, "no thank you" to certain thoughts. Sometimes it was just conversations I didn't want to have. Like this one I'm writing. If I were sitting with you, I doubt I'd say any of what I'm about to. I guess that's why I have questions. Because maybe you know something I don't. Maybe I can learn from you. And I do. I always do. There's a formula for loneliness and a formula for connection. No matter the gravity of your sinking, we are all just inches above the ocean. When I ask question, I watch people discover answers they didn't know they had. And I feel them light up. They connect with themselves. But I pretend it's me. I asked Tony Hawk about his career. We talked about falling a lot. But I'm avoiding the metaphor about "falling" and getting back up. Because then you'll think I'm transitioning from falling to failing. And there's already enough dirty, failure porn out there. So maybe, here's something new.... 3 questions I asked Tony Hawk: (on my blog) ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You have a unique set of advantages and disadvantages. And you'll hear a lot about overcoming difficulties in today's podcast. But these are the steps:  Step 1. Find out what's different about you Step 2. Use your setback to create your skillset Step 3. Stop trying to figure it out Listen now and go to my blog for the full show notes. ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Imagine... If you had suddenly learned that the people and the places and the moments most important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse- had never been." I was in LA at Imagine Entertainment. It's Brian Grazer's studio. He produced A Beautiful Mind, 8 Mile, a bunch of Jim Carrey movies. He's worked with Eddie Murphy and produced my favorite TV series, Arrested Development. "I bought the book A Beautiful Mind with the thematic intention of trying to make a movie that would help de-stigmatize mental disability," he said. So he created an alternate reality. And he's done this in his own life. "You see, the nightmare of schizophrenia is not knowing what's true," the psychiatrist said in A Beautiful Mind. He was talking to John Nash's wife as she watched her husband get electroshock therapy. She loved a schizophrenic man. A brilliant man. She let me him keep his delusions. They weren't real. But what's the harm? Nothing. Unless you almost drown your baby. He won the Nobel Prize. And I cried. His mind brought him delusions but it also brought him love. Between two realities, he chose himself. I don't try to be everything I am. Because some of me is jealous. Some of me feels sad. Some of me ran out of things to say. So I become the rest of me. The side that practices difficult gratitude and improves just 1% a day. The part of me that listens. And flies to LA to be in an alternate reality. Brian Grazer says, "Curiosity propels storytelling. All stories, incidentally, need propulsion. It not only creates the story, but it gives life to energy, and energy is what stories need." It's what life needs. Or at least, my life. Brian also produced Apollo 13, another one of my favorite movies. He used his curiosity muscle to reframe the story. "People think it's about space. They thought it was about aerodynamics," he says. "To me, it was only about human resourcefulness." "Perspective is everything," Brian said. "It's everything." His perspective comes from curiosity. Which he wrote about in #1 New York Times bestseller, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life.   I don't know where my curiosity will lead me. I can only hope it helps you. ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"You're scaring me now," I said. "Don't scare me." I was laughing. But I meant it. The news, the doom and gloom, the fear, it makes fresh air turn to vomit. Chunky streams of acid. I bet Ron Paul has thin stomach lining. We were talking about freedom. And if there's any left. I usually ignore all the doom and gloom. That's what works for me. But we talked about opportunities, hope, trends, the innovation economy.  And freedom. "I don't even like politics. I did it only because I could get a voice out there telling people what was going on, what you need to do, and what the substitute has to be. Believe me, we're going to have a chance," Ron Paul says on today's podcast. Did you hear that? "We're going to have a chance..." I like that. If you pay attention, you'll see the future is already here.  What does that mean for you? I don't know. Maybe you'll go to space or make millions investing in robotics. You have thousands of new opportunities to create your own wealth and freedom. And you can start right now.  I'll tell you how to make money off of rising trends in today's podcast. This is rare. But you'll hear about my plan to profit in this innovation economy. I don't want to choke on my own vomit. I'm choosing myself. Voting for me.  Because if I don't nobody will. ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I'm homeless. By choice. I wrote about it. And it turned into a debate. Now I'm sharing the discussion with you. My podcast listeners and answering your questions.  "Does minimalism mean having no accomplishments?" "Does minimalism mean not having a lot of possessions?" "How do you deal with kids if you are a minimalist?" "What's the first step I should take? Should I throw things out?" This isn't something I usually do. Welcome to my experiment of the day.   ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I would've taken the money. A couple hundred million. He could've sold the business for a 100, 200 million dollars. Bill Gates wanted to buy it. But he didn't sell. I wanted to know why Steve Case, co-founder and former CEO of AOL said no to being a millionaire. "The simple answer is I really believed in the idea of the internet and believed in AOL and believed that it could change the world," he says on today's podcast. Investors said, "What are you talking about? This internet thing? Why would normal people ever want to get connected to this?" People thought he was crazy crazy. But he could see the future. That's the thing about the future. Nobody wants to see it coming. Back then, nobody wanted to connect to the internet. They missed opportunities. "It was a hard struggle for a decade before we finally broke through," he said. The future paid off for Steve Case. And now it can pay off for you. He believed they could change the world. He was right. "Six, seven years later, [AOL] had gone from a few hundred million dollars to tens of billions to then over 150, 160 billion." But he didn't stop there... The Third Wave is coming. Steve talks about it in his New York Times bestselling book, The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future. These are the opportunities you haven't missed yet. We're offering you the future. In my interview with Steve Case, you'll learn about the first wave (building the internet), the second wave (social media, community, Facebook, Snapchat... all the billion dollar companies you wish you thought of or invested in...) And finally, the third wave. The future. Listen now to learn how to master your future. Before it's too late. And read what I learned from Steve Case at jamesaltucher.com ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Everyday is a new day." ...unless you have a routine. Then it's just "eat, sleep, shit, repeat," like they say in Billions. "Don't you want to create memories? Don't you want to build your life resume and get as much out of life as you can?" Jesse Itzler said on my podcast. He's the co-founder of Marquis Jets, owner of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, endurance athlete, former-rapper and now he's an author. "I didn't have a resume," he says. "I didn't want to have a resume. I didn't want to work for anybody." Jesse built his life. "I had no background, no experience and I had no connections." He's self-made. I don't know who's in charge of my life. Maybe me. I chose myself. And I still do. Everyday. But I also lend my life out. At least once every 24 hours. "We're constantly dodging arrows," Jesse said. "Each arrow is time." "Routines are great, but they're also a rut," he said. "I thought wow, this is amazing. I have great balance. I have a great routine. I'm in my routine. Everything is my routine..." And he needed to get out of it. So he did something crazy, which you'll hear on today's episode. And you'll learn his tricks to becoming self-made. Then you can enjoy your life. I hope. And forget your resume too. Listen to my podcast with Jesse Itzler. Or read my notes here: 6 simple steps to becoming self-made on jamesaltucher.com ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You have no idea. None of us did. Until now.Everything I've done for the past two years is unfolding before me.I interviewed Dr. K Anders Ericsson. You know his work. He discovered the 10,000 hour rule.The rule that says if you do 10,000 hours of "dedicated practice" you can master a field. But what we've been lead to believe is false. And it's finally being corrected. Today.  Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise uses thirty years of research to reveal what we never knew before, including:What you're truly capable of, how you can achieve it, and where to start. I started this podcast two years ago. And I just realized what it's actually about.  Everyone I interviewed has one thing in common: peak performance. They excelled in their field. They're the smarter person in the room. They mastered their craft. Go to jamesaltucher.com for 7 things I learned about how to become a PEAK performer ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author known for 'The Power of Habit,' discusses the relationship between success, productivity, and societal pressures. He emphasizes the importance of experimentation in our daily routines to combat modern distractions. Duhigg shares strategies for effective networking and personal storytelling, revealing how they can enhance self-awareness and connection. He also explores the diversity of motivation and highlights the joy of reading as a tool for personal growth and inspiration.

He didn't have permission. But he did it anyway. And one day Elon Musk called him. "He was either going to make life really horrible on me or he was going to cooperate with the book" said Ashlee Vance, author of the New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal's "best books of the year," Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. Ashlee did 200 interviews before Elon agreed, proving permission is not a starting place. I wish I wrote the book. But I didn't. My "quest" is different. Instead, I mastered curiosity. I called people and recorded. I did a ton of research. I read every book, article, interview and watched every talk. I've spent 10,000 hours interviewing and more than 10,000 hours preparing. I didn't need permission. And neither do you. Here are 5 ways to bypass the gatekeepers: A) Master something Like anybody, Elon is smart in some things and probably stupid in others. But he mastered his interests. Mastery is learning 90% of everything you could learn about a subject. You can't reach 100%. I hope that's comforting. Explore your interests. Combine them and you'll find what works for you. Then improve 1% each day. Along the way, you'll master it. B) Make your own decisions Elon doesn't let people make decisions for him. They'll choose wrong. And he knows it. If you choose for yourself you will choose yourself. C) Play for pay I remember my childhood. Some of it. I read comic books and Dear Abby. Now, at 47? 48? I search for "superhero" stories. And I get to be Dear Abby. "Ask Altucher." Every Thursday at 3:30 PM EST, I have a Twitter Q&A. I answer texts and emails from strangers. 203-512-2161 I answer Quora questions and co-host a podcast with my friend, Stephen Dubner. He wrote the New York Times bestseller, Freakonomics. I wonder if he read Dear Abby growing up, too. We answer questions with questions. But before all of this, I worked in finance. I did what "they" wanted me to do. I got lost. Elon did, too. "He just got swept up in the internet for a little while," Ashlee says, "and then once he made a ton of money (from PayPal), the light went on and he just said, 'Now I can go chase everything I've ever wanted to go do.'" "Elon appears to have some kind of calling to go save humankind," Ashlee says. "When he was 12, he designed a video game that was exactly that concept." But at one point, he changed course. We all do. We forget play. Now he's saving humanity. D) There are always problems When I interviewed Derek Sivers last week, I said "You can always disappear from your problems." And you can. He did. But then what? Derek spends a lot time answering emails and giving advice. And Elon is exploring electric vehicles and life in space. Everyday, I have a choice: find new problems or help others with theirs. Create problems or solve them. When I help people with their problems, I forget about mine. Sometimes. Elon sees extreme problems and extreme solutions. All his basics are covered. He's doesn't worry about his boss or the mortgage. "The weird thing to me," Ashlee says, "was that [when] you started talking [to Elon] about mankind being wiped out, he wells up with emotion." Suffering graces all life. There are always problems. "What I saw with Elon is that he's very clear-eyed. He meditates on what he thinks is important and has a absolute devotion to pursuing these goals" "He gives you a sense of urgency in your life. Maybe I'm just getting older," Ashlee says, "When I finished doing the book, I sat back and I said, 'I need to be much clearer about exactly what I want to do with my life.'" I don't have the same problem as Ashlee or see the same problems as Elon Musk. And I'm grateful. E) Be on the right side of history You only have a certain amount of energy each day. Don't waste it fighting the inevitable. "Going against Elon is the equivalent of going against Steve Jobs these days and you... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.