The James Altucher Show

If you're running your own business, then you know by now that you have to care about what you're doing if you want to be successful. Making money can be a goal, but it can't be your only goal. You have to work toward something greater than just turning a profit. On today's podcast I talk with Bryan Johnson, someone who knows full well how much you have to care if you want your investments to pay off, and he's found the perfect balance between being financially successful and changing the world.  I talked with Bryan two years ago (and I actually put the interview in my book Choose Yourself!). I invited him to that first interview because he had established Braintree, a payment platform for many online businesses and entrepreneurs, and it was immensely successful. But I'm bringing him back this time around because a lot has changed in two years. Bryan sold Braintree to Ebay for $800 million and has since used that money to start a venture capital fund for what he likes to call "save the world" sort of companie

Today's guest changed my life. Seeing as he helped to invent Blogger and Twitter, he probably changed your life too! The Internet's last decade and a half of development as a forum for writing has taken place in large part on platforms built in part by Ev Williams. Evan "Ev" Williams is on the show today to talk about his new blogging platform, Medium, and how he worked his way up to the top spot he is now. "I worked my whole life basically broke and in debt," he tells me, and this may be a familiar situation for you. Struggling to realize your dreams, working hard to create something new the public wants - we've all experienced these efforts in one way or another, and some of your attempts may have been more successful than others. The hardest part about running your own business is not only having the confidence to take the risks, but also to pull yourself together if that risk should fail. Even success can come with its own stress. Working to create Blogger and Twitter led Ev to a ton of success in media,

Naveen Jain is the founder and CEO of one of the biggest companies from the dot-com boom era, and now he has set his sights on the moon.   His company, Moon Express, plans to send a rocket to the moon as a business venture to collect rare minerals and resources, and then bring them back to Earth. He also plans to make travel to the moon and other planets accessible to all of us at some point in the future. Naveen is the founder of InfoSpace, the first company to develop services that were sold to other companies that then white-labeled those services on their own web sites. According to Naveen, InfoSpace was the first company to realize that people would eventually want to use the internet on mobile devices. Naveen co-founded Intelius, the information commerce company that gives users access to basic information about people all on one site. In 2010, Naveen started Moon Express with the goal of bringing rare minerals back to the Earth for use in a number of applications, such as energy uses. Going to the moo

Are you willing to disobey your parents? Cassey Ho came from a typical Asian family. They gave her three choices for her career... doctor, lawyer or engineer. She had to bring honor to her family. But that wasn't Cassey's calling. She had the entrepreneurial spirit, and she just had to follow her dream. Fast-forward to today, and Cassey has almost 2.5 million subscribers to her YouTube channel Blogilates TV, with one of her videos now approaching 7.5 million views. And that was just the beginning. She has created a whole line of products that's growing quickly. Listen here today as she shares with James how she advertises her "brand." ------------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.co

This week I've got something important to say to every message board across the internet: "Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help mom with the dishes." Sound familiar? That's PJ O'Rourke, world-renowned talking head and published author, whose political humor and commentary make him the butt of many an insult on message boards everywhere. He's on the show today to talk about politics and why humor is always the best policy, especially if you want to really make a difference. When it comes to being funny in politics, humor is your only option. "You really don't have a choice," PJ tells me. "To take it seriously is to indicate you're an idiot." And the same applies to the way you run your business, so be careful! If you take yourself too seriously, you're only going to end up missing out on the important, finer details. Because even in business you are still involved in politics one way or the other. Maybe you're the member of a committee, maybe you design your staff meetings as a form of de

This is my first threesome on the show! Tucker Max, Nils Parker, and Dr. Jeff Miller are all here to discuss their new book Mate: Become the Man Women Want. But what does dating have to do with business? Believe it or not, marketing yourself for social relationships is related to marketing your business for success. In fact, from Tucker's point of view, they're almost one in the same. "Dating and sex is [seen as] a battle between men and women, and that's totally wrong." He says, "You want to create win-win relationships," a relationship where you and your partner(s), whether they be professional or romantic, both come out on top is exactly what you should be seeking. When Jeff and Tucker met over a steak dinner to discuss Jeff's recent social and evolutionary psychology talk at a conference, it wasn't necessarily a romantic meal. Jeff's point of view is not trickling down to the young men and women who could truly benefit from his kind of information, and both authors were worried about the perceived misconc

How do you summarize a highly colorful life of an inventor, billionaire and philanthropist? In this episode of The James Altucher Show, our guest is John McAfee. James and John talk about the high and low points of John's life. Just days after this interview, John announced he is running for President of the United States. Listen to John and see if you can decide if he's going to get your vote. He is probably best known for McAfee antivirus software, which he created while working as a programmer for Lockheed Martin. Even with extraordinary success, John never measured his self-worth with his net-worth. Rather, he saved more than $30 million since he began McAfee. After a time, he turned the reins of of his successful antivirus company to Bill Larson, former VP of IBM. John has had a controversial career. He's spent his life on the run, has admitted to using and selling illegal drugs and has been arrested for illegal possession of firearms in the U.S. Despite this, he still remains ever-relevant decades later

Hank is one half of the popular YouTube duo VlogBrothers. The show is co-hosted with his brother John Green, author of the New York Times bestselling book The Fault in Our Stars. The show boasts a loyal group following, amounting to around 2.6 million viewers. The brothers are also the brains behind a fundraising campaign called "Project For Awesome," through which they're organizing the community to take over YouTube with charity work for a day. Hank is well-known for being an Internet entrepreneur, article writer/contributor to a variety of publications like the New York Times, Scientific American and Mental Floss. In addition to the successful Brotherhood 2.0 project, he's also produced science-based videos like the popular "SciShow" and "Crash Course." He is also the inventor of 2D-Glasses for those who have trouble watching 3-D movies; this is his least successful business venture to date, by the way. Speaking of merchandise, he also owns DFTBA records, an online store he co-founded with his friends. He'

Penn Jillette is a famous magician - he's one half of the duo Penn and Teller. He has made a career out of sleight of hand and tricks. He credits Teller with getting him into magic. Penn's specialties are juggling, writing, and comedy. He suggests that when you choose a career you go into a field in which you know you can improve. He continued his education at "clown college." He was "forced" into comedy, but he wanted to be a brooding French poet. While at clown college, he learned wire walking, juggling, and tumbling. Penn says card tricks are actually a form of juggling. ============ Special Note: Both Penn and James will be presenting LIVE at next month's Stansberry Conference in Las Vegas. If you're interested in joining them and more than 30 additional speakers for two full days click here. This year's conference will take place at one of the newest and most luxurious destinations on Las Vegas Boulevard - the Aria Resort & Casino. ============ When he first began with Teller they went to bad magic s

This weekend Dr. Wayne Dyer passed away.   James wants to recognize the influence Wayne Dyer has had on his life. We're very sad about his passing. Here is one of the last interviews Wayne Dyer has done and it is with James...  During that interview James asked Dr. Dyer what he saw as the arc of his career. "What has your message been and how have you seen it evolve?" Without hesitating, Dr. Dyer responded... "Well, it's really been always about self-reliance, in one form or another. I've often said that I really feel that I had a conversation with God just before I showed up here on this planet in 1940 and I was asked, 'What would you like to do on this trip?' And I said, 'Well, I think I'd like to teach self-reliance.' And God said, 'You want to do that for an entire lifetime? Just teach self-reliance?' "I said, 'Yes, that would be a great lifetime.' And he said, 'Well, then, we'd better get your little ass into an orphanage and we'd better let you have all of these different experiences, so that once peopl

Today James welcomes Josh Foer to the podcast. Josh is a U.S. Memory champion, award-winning journalist, and bestselling author of Moonwalking with Einstein, which details his journey to becoming a U.S. memory champion.                                            ============ Special Note: Both Josh and James will be presenting LIVE at next month's Stansberry Conference in Las Vegas. If you're interested in joining them and over 30 additional speakers for two full days click here. This year's Conference will take place at one of the newest and most luxurious destinations on Las Vegas Boulevard -- the Aria Resort and Casino.                                         ============   Taking some of the ancient memory techniques he learned during a yearlong trip to Europe, Josh was quickly able to master techniques that have not yet made their way across "the pond." Having this advantage over American competitors allowed him to become very successful in a short amount of time. Once he brought these European techniq

James Hong is one of the founders of the infamous site Hot or Not. What started out as an innocent experiment turned into a cultural phenomenon and lucrative business. Hot or Not was a website that allowed users to upload their photos to the site so that other users could rate them as "hot" or "not." Soon after, a dating site was added, and a new form of internet speed dating began. Hot or Not was part of the dawn of social media, preceding Youtube, Facebook, and sites like Tinder. James shares his observations of human nature and how the site proved age-old truths about attraction. People who submitted the photos were, for the most part, confident enough to know the site was all in good fun. Others took it too seriously. In the long run, "hotter" people found the site and stayed based on the reaction to their photos. James and his partner built the site as a side project that started out with an invite to friends - and grew to 30 thousand visitors. Online source photos were used to begin the concept of the s

What if someone told you that your behavior was controlled by a powerful, invisible force? Nick Morgan, the author of Power Cues, joins James today to tell the fantastic story of how, after a serious concussion that left him in a coma for about 10 days, Nick lost the ability to read other people he knew. He could no longer read their body language. He couldn't read the cues. After a couple of months of agony, something switched back on. That experience awakened in Nick a lifelong interest in body language, gesture, and voice, and a drive to understand how people really communicate with each other. Listen here today as Nick relays some amazing stories about how you can take control of your communication. Regards, David Newman   P.S. For a very limited time, I want to send you a brand-new, hardback copy of my new book for FREE! All I ask is that you cover the shipping costs (just $5). ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us

By its very nature, social media lends itself to users showing the highlights of their lives and sharing their best moments, but only after they've cropped, edited and refined those moments. Casey Neistat, the prolific creator of YouTube videos that have made us look at our world a bit differently, thinks it's time we use social media to share the authentic moments of our lives. His new app Beme allows for social media interaction to take on a new level of realness. Casey Neistat, film director, producer, and YouTube creator, has gained a huge following. Millions of people look forward to his daily vlog on his YouTube channel. Casey and I recorded a podcast back in January 2015 (Ask Altucher Ep 202). What brings us together this time is a new app that Casey co-founded that  could significantly change how people view social media. Named Beme, the app uses snippets of videos the user takes and then sends them to other Beme users. It does so without giving the user the opportunity to edit the video. Casey says t

Is it possible to transform your life on the eve of your 40th birthday, and experience meaning, vitality, and purpose like you've never before imagined? Rich Roll is a wonderful example of how a person can transform his life. Overweight and burdened by his own demons, on the eve of his 40th birthday, Rich began a transformation that resulted in him becoming an accomplished vegan, ultra-endurance athlete, wellness & plant-based nutrition advocate, and motivational speaker. His wife, Julie Piatt, is an accomplished yoga teacher, chef, artist, and musician. Their recent book collaboration, The Plantpower Way, includes guidance, recipes, and outstand photography that is designed to guide the reader to long-term wellness in body, mind, and spirit. Together they join Claudia and me for this episode that is in the spirit of a great chat around the dining room table with good friends. Some of the topics we discuss over tea include: Working together as a married couple and the relationship of the family The posit

The infamous Miami-based rap group 2 Live Crew caused quite a stir in the early 90s when its provocative lyrics and album covers caught the attention of Tipper Gore and the like. Luther Campbell (once Luke Skywalker) of 2 Live, drove out of his way to talk with me about what it's like to work against the politicians and the money-making machine of the music industry. His new book - The Book of Luke: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and Liberty City - drops on Tuesday (August 4), and he offers a few tips for us who are trying to change the game and re-invent the way we do business. Luke calls me an innovative individual, but I am sincerely inspired by his ability to constantly stand out and re-invent himself. "I try to be a trendsetter," he says. "I never liked being a follower." Take his new book, for example. It's not necessarily a fashionable thing for hip-hop artists to write and release books, but Luke wants to break down barriers and start a new conversation. In these pages he covers what it was like to be c

Tom Rath knows the secret to happiness. On today's show, I talk with him about his new book, Are You Fully Charged?, and with it, he offers key insights into finding the happiness and passion you need to feel fulfilled in your work and in your daily life. With over 5 million copies of his books sold worldwide, Tom knows what inspires you and what hinders you. He also knows what you can do to overcome your own personal weaknesses to build a better and stronger business within yourself. I had some specific questions to discuss with him during this show, and his practical answers and optimistic perspective will definitely kick start your quest for meaning in your life. When it comes to finding meaning, the best place to start is a book. "I read a lot of books out there, especially in the business field," Tom says. He recommends taking the information you find in books and applying it to your day-to-day business in order to stay grounded in the goals that matter. By breaking down your goals into daily, achievable

Scott Young spent $2,000 and got a "degree" from MIT... And he never had to leave his house. He calls it the "MIT Challenge." Scott believes you might learn better without having to go to college for four years. He spent four years getting a business degree and he still had a longing to learn computer science. But he didn't want to spend four more years of his life in school and accumulate all that debt. He wanted the education, but not the school. He has taken a few classes online before and thought, "If you can learn a class, why not an entire degree?" But when he was done, would anyone hire him? Listen today to find out. Regards, David Newman P.S. NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WITH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?   A great new resource shows a clever way to start a business, get a new job, find a retirement career, publish a book, make extra money in your spare time, and more. ------------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 pod

My guest today, author Oliver Burkeman, has a strong opinion on the power of positive thinking: he can't stand it. In his book, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking,Oliver writes in a humorous and thoughtful way about how self-help books are ineffective. Oliver believes we should coexist with both our positive and negative thoughts, be attached to neither, and take the actions we need to take without giving into emotions. His approach is partly Stoic: he believes that telling people that everything will work out doesn't replenish their optimism tanks. He also believes it can be paralyzing for people to think that whatever success they are seeking must be realized. We talk a bit in-depth about one of Oliver's favorite quotes from Shoma Morita: "Give up on yourself. Begin taking action now, while being neurotic or imperfect, or a procrastinator or unhealthy or lazy or any other label by which you inaccurately describe yourself. Go ahead and be the best imperfect person you can be

Mac Lethal (born David McCleary Sheldon) is another overnight success, 17 years in the making. In November 2011, he released a video on YouTube of him rapping over the beat to "Look at Me Now" while he prepared pancakes in his kitchen. The video became a viral hit and got millions of views in a matter of days, but he'd been practicing his craft for years and years. As he tells James on the extended version of Ask Altucher, high school bored him so he started writing rap songs in study hall. Rapping wasn't his passion, but it worked. As he became better at it he became much more passionate... By 2011 he'd finally made it. Today he often spends hours listening to rappers and learning from them. He tells James that he believes it takes 20 years to become a real master at your trade. It takes you a couple of years to move past a beginner, and by year five you start to find your voice and stop mimicking others. By year 15 you finally focus and become an authentic voice. But he didn't stop there. He's written a boo