The James Altucher Show

Brandon Webb served as a Navy Seal for almost ten years. He decided to leave. He was burnt out and he wanted to watch his kids grow up. And he's had a philosophy since he was thirteen, if he's not enjoying what he's doing he's going to find something different. When he left the military he got into real estate, then he got four years into a business that failed and then after all that he got divorced. He had hit the bottom. But he learned how to pull himself back up. He started a blog as a passion project and turned it into a very profitable media company. Today, he is the CEO of the media and E-commerce business, Hurricane Group, Inc. which focuses on military news and entertainment and outdoor products and clubs. He is a New York Times bestselling author of The Killing School and The Red Circle. Look for his newest book, Total Focus that is now available. ------------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

Geno Bisconte is the most hilarious, high energy person I've ever met. He finds humor in almost every single sentence and he's always in a good mood. He's been a stand up comedian for more than fifteen years, headlining and hosting some of the most popular comedy clubs in New York City. He's written for the Comedy Central Roasts, featured on multiple radio shows and was a cameo in HBO's series Crashing. Every week he hosts his own podcast, In Hot Water with Aaron Berg on compoundmedia.com and his newest album, Uncle Geno Is Amazing is available to buy now on iTunes. ------------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,

Alex Blumberg is the founder and CEO of Gimlet Media. Before this, he was an incredibly successful radio journalist. He won multiple awards in the industry. Alex hosted and produced popular NPR shows, "Planet Money" and "This American Life". When he saw the new industry of podcasting booming, he risked it all and reinvented himself. He started his own company. Today Gimlet Media oversees and produces multiple podcasts at one time. Visit gimletmedia.com to discover a variety of new podcasts you can start listening to today! ------------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

After a long journalism career, Chris Anderson became the curator of the TED Conference in 2002. Since then he has expanded the conference to cover all topics including science, business and global issues. He introduced the TEDx initiative, giving licenses free of charge to local organizers who want to put together their own live event. In 2016, Chris published his book, "TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking". It's an insider's guide to creating an unforgettable talk. Listen to thousands of free TED Talks on ted.com and follow Chris on twitter @TEDchris. ------------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 b

Noah Kagan was fired from Facebook. He was employee #30. "I think they made the right decision to fire me," he said. "One of the big realizations I've had in the past few years is that people need to stop fighting their natural skill. My sweet spot is getting things going. My sweet spot is promoting products I love. That was the lesson learned. What I was strong at was not what Facebook needed anymore." He wrote about it in his free ebook "How I Lost 170 Million Dollars: My Time as #30 at Facebook". I asked him "how does the average person know what their strong at?" That's what we talk about in this interview. Today, Noah is the CEO of sumo.com, appsumo.com and kingsumo.com. I use these sites to grow and market my business. He also hosts a great podcast, "Noah Kagan Presents" and writes for his blog, okdork.com. 3 min - Noah first came on my podcast 2 years ago. He gave me a challenge: go to a coffee shop and ask for 10% off. The cashier was confused. "You want what?" "10% off," I said. And I didn't give a r

Ramit Sethi is a bestselling author, personal finance advisor, entrepreneur and author of "New York Times" bestselling book, "I Will Teach You to be Rich". He's taught thousands to manage their personal finances and how to become rich on his website, iwillteachyoutoberich.com. He's been featured in ABC News, CNN and the WSJ. ------------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

Ramit Sethi is a bestselling author, personal finance advisor, entrepreneur and author of "New York Times" bestselling book, "I Will Teach You to be Rich". He's taught thousands to manage their personal finances and how to become rich on his website, iwillteachyoutoberich.com. He's been featured in ABC News, CNN and the WSJ. ------------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

Mark Manson is a writer, blogger and author of the "New York Times" bestseller, "The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F-ck". Visit his blog, markmanson.net, to read some of his best articles on self improvement, dating and relationships, culture and life choices.   2 mins - I tell Mark why I didn't initially want him in the show... and why I changed my mind 4 mins - Mark and I first met at a friend's poker game. then I ran into him a few weeks later. But I didn't remember meeting. "Hi I'm James," I said. Then I remembered. And I realized he was the guy from the poker game... the guy who's name I kept trying to figure out all night. "I just thought you were a chill guy," Mark said. We laughed. That's how I'd like to start all new moments in life. With a laugh. 8 min - Mark says where he got the inspiration to write his bestselling book, "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck" 10 min - We talk about what "giving a fuck" actually means. And how to decide what's worthwhile. "I joke around with a lot of people," Mark said

DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE, TO BUILD A LIFE WORTH LOVING "I was shot twice by the time I was 13," Wally told me. "I owned six guns. Everyone I grew up with then is dead," he said. He then walked back to his side of the ping pong table. He took out his iPhone. Using his iPhone as the racket, he served the ball. He beat me 11-0. "Ok," he said, "everything you are doing is wrong." ------ The way I held the racket was wrong.  The way I stood with my legs was wrong.  The way I hit the ball and then the way I followed through after the hit was all wrong.  The angle of my wrist was wrong as I waited for the ball to come to my side was wrong.  The way I held the racket at a slight angle to the table was wrong.  My backhand was all wrong.  The way I had grown up and lived my life was mostly wrong. He kept streaming shots at me non-stop. "No, no, no," he said. "No! Go up!...No!...Close the racket...No!...Use the other foot to shift weight...No! No!" So we stopped. He came over to my side of the table. He was looking down. I

Shawn Stevenson, host of The Model Health podcast said, "In the lab, they found anti-depressants in the New York City water system." Anti-depressants! Ok, no problem. I'll drink tap water. Save on therapy costs. In NYC everyone has to go to therapy. It's a requirement. "This week my therapist said..." "There's also these other chemicals in water.." and he was about to list them for me. "No no no," I said. "Shhhh!" I put my hands on my ears. "I'm good. Don't need to know more." Shawn is obsessed with health. Every week he interviews the best people in the world on health. He's interviewed hundreds. And now I get to ask him for this BEST advice. Don't abuse what he tells you, James! Shawn was 200lbs overweight. He could barely get from room to room before collapsing with exhaustion and pain. He was diagnosed with an incurable spinal condition called degenerative disc disease. His spine was deteriorating to nothing. The way an old person leans over and over until they collapse dead. "You have the spine of an 80

Shane Snow is a well known journalist, entrepreneur, co-founder of the content technology company, Contently, and bestselling author of "Smartcuts: The Breakthrough of Lateral Thinking". You can find his writing in "Wired", "The New Yorker", and "Fast Company" and a dozen more top publications. ------------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 jamesaltucher

Jason Calacanis is an angel investor, serial entrepreneur, writer and blogger. He is the founder and CEO of inside.com. Listen to Jason's podcast, "This Week In Startups", interesting stories from the world of entrepreneurship. ------------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 thi

When Patton Oswalt, one of the top comedians over the past several decades, was going through the worst experiences of his life this past year, he wrote an entire post about one joke Gary Gulman made. ONE JOKE. Oswalt starts off: "This is...so perfect." I like the pause in there. LIke there are no words so he had to notch himself down even though it doesn't express exactly what he wants to say: ... "so perfect". He analyzes Gary's joke and why it's so difficult to do a joke like this (nobody sees how the sausage is made, they only see the final joke after years of perfecting). Patton closes with: "Thank you Gary Gulman. I know a lot of my shit's gonna get angry these next four years, but it's stuff like what Gary's doing that reminds me I gotta make sure it's funny first. Angry doesn't change shit. Funny disarms the horde." Gary is one of the best in the world. And no matter what area of life you want to improve in, studying in detail someone who is among the best, will up your game. It ups my game. I am infi

Alex Berenson had the dream job. But he was unhappy. And perhaps it even scarred him in some ways.   He switched it up. To his true dreams. To the dreams he had for himself since he was a child.   I want to do this.   First off, Alex has written 11 bestselling thriller novels. Alex knows how to get the reader to turn the page and ask, "What happens next?!"   This is an unbelievably hard skill.   But it's not the  most  important skill when you are moving into your dream job.   I will tell you the most important skill. And Alex explains more clearly how he did it when we are in the podcast.   The most important  skill is to have this weird sort of "active arrogance".   Here's the gap: The best in your profession have skills, experience, and they know how to sit down and DO something every day.   The beginners: they WANT to do something. They PLAN to do something. They SAY they will eventually do it. They THINK they have the skills they need.   But they never do it.   The ones who succeeed. They have the arroga

Ryan Holiday, stop writing books that are just for me! With "Perennial Seller" you just answered an obsessive question I've had for years: What makes something, someone, some product, some art, withstand the test of time? What is the magic sauce? The secret formula? What makes something sell a million copies a year (music, art, books, products, etc)... forever? I want to know. I'll try my best to summarize our conversation and your book but people should buy the book for your 1000s of examples:   BE COUNTERINTUITIVE If you write what everyone else is already thinking, then nobody needs to read your work, or use your product. They already have it. It doesn't matter if you are 50% better than anyone else. Nobody understands how to judge that except the experts in your field. And those experts don't care about you. They might even hate you. Create your own field. And be 1000% the best in that field.   DON'T TRY TO COMPETE The 100th person who writes a "50 Shades of Grey" style book, or a disco pop EMD album can

Scot Cohen is the best networker on the planet. I have never seen anything like it. And he used that skill to make tens of millions of dollars, not only for himself but for many others.   I wanted him to explain, in detail, how.   But first:   I'm sorry, Scot. I am really, truly sorry. I am horrified at my behavior. A year of bad behavior.   Imagine: you owe someone a phone call and you say to yourself, "Ok, I'll call tomorrow".   And then tomorrow you say, "Well, maybe tomorrow".   And then you delayed so much you feel awkward about calling. Because you know you have to apologize and you hate confrontation.   Stupid, right?   Let's make this even worse: the person you have to call back has been incredibly generous to you. In fact, he let you stay in his apartment for three months for free. You've worked together for 14 years and he's one of the most successful investors in NYC. And then you did this for no reason.   I'm an idiot.   ---   The day I threw out all of my belongings  and gave up my apartment I wa

She was my partner in crime. Farnoosh recently hosted her own show on CNBC. She also has a super popular podcast. And she's a successful book author and all around writer. But to me she's more than that. From 2006 to 2008 we did videos together every day. We would meet on Wall Street, a video guy would tape us talking about whatever we wanted to talk about, and then we'd send that video out onto the interwebs. The day the first iphone came out we went to the Apple flagship store near Central Park. We interviewed the people who were waiting on line all night. A homeless guy started to pick on Farnoosh. Not that I am so brave but I didn't want to seem unmanly so I stood in between the man and Farnoosh and asked him to please go away. He lifted me up and threw me to the ground. And then he went away. That was a fun story that I wanted to share. But more...Farnoosh is a textbook example of how a career can be made and be a success. She had a fulltime job learning skills she loved and then mastered: financial mark

"Have a spirit of adventure, the desire to learn something new, be an explorer and never get too comfortable."   -------   "Imagine this room is filling up with poisonous gas," Tim said. He's looking straight at me. "There's two doors behind me, one window and one to either side." He points exactly where everything is, even though he's still looking straight at me.   "We have several choices," he said, "I can pick the locks of one of the doors. I can break down the doors. I can smash one of the windows and we can climb out. We have three minutes until we die. What do we do?"   Tim is aware of everything around him. Which is probably why I started off the podcast with:   "We have nothing in common."   "We're 30 seconds into the interview and we're already disagreeing," he said.   It's a creative challenge to figure out how to relate with each person I meet... He's a US Army Special Forces sniper. He's been to Iraq and Afghanistan. He's an MMA fighter. And has multiple black belts.   I have zero black belts. I

In my podcast Charlie and I talked half the time about getting past anxiety. And half the time about this: [14:00] - Charlie's time working for Tim Ferriss, doing a virtual internship with Seth Godin, and marketing Ramit Sethi's New York Times bestseller. He told me how he pitched his heroes (and how he suggests you can too) [23:00] - We talked about getting paid to do what you love (and how the first step usually means doing what you love for free). If you want a job you love, it (usually) has to start free. That's how you build the skill. People in low-level jobs are essentially paid to move away from their dreams. It's up to you to move toward your dreams. Charlie said, "You're brought into school where your spontaneity and impulses are muted. You're forced to work on stuff that is not that interesting to you... I think that's why it is so important to work for free because you have to tap back into what matters to you." [52:00] - Then we began talking about anxiety.  ------------What do YOU think of the s

You have five minutes to kill. That's it. Those five minutes can make or break a career. I don't think I would be able to handle the pressure. I've done a lot of public speaking. And now I've tried standup. For the past three months I've been going up once or twice a week. It's difficult. I thought 20 years of public speaking would help me. It doesn't. It's the Hunger Games on that stage. So Fred Stoller is my hero. He was a standup comic 30 years ago, then he was a writer on Seinfeld, then he's been a guest start on 60+ TV shows including Seinfeld, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Scrubs, and every other show I can think of. He's sitcom history. And he wrote all about it in three excellent books, including his latest, "Five Minutes to Kill", about his five minutes on the 1989 HBO Young Comedians Special and what happened to the specific performers of that show. So I asked, "If everybody thinks you're so funny, then why didn't you have your own show?" But I wasn't the first person to ask Fred this... He aske