The James Altucher Show

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 tail

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

A lot of people call Jim Kwik a brain expert. On today's show, he gives us a sneak peek into his seminars that teach people how to optimize their brains to be more productive and powerful every day. "With great power comes great responsibility." Jim reverses the iconic saying to put normal people in control of their own accelerated learning: With great responsibility comes great power.  When you take control of your own learning techniques, you are capable of great things. What if you were born with superpowers but nobody showed you how to use them? You may not feel like you can excel at accelerated learning, but that does not mean you aren't capable. Jim reveals that even he experienced learning difficulties as a child after an accidental fall when he was in kindergarten. "It took me two years longer to learn how to read," he says, and because of these difficulties, he was able to find new ways to learn and excel. Your brain never stops learning. You may have been told that your memory is fixed, like your sh

Brett McKay is the founder of The Art of Manliness, a website dedicated to delivering inspiring, actionable, and life changing advice to both men and women. A lot of times men just need a little more help being organized and getting their lives together than women do. As James says, "Women just grow up faster." Brett's wife Kate is also his business partner. While there are many advantages to having your spouse involved with your business, it also introduces the difficulty of separating work time from personal time. Even during dedicated work time it sometimes is hard to clearly define roles and responsibilities in the business. This is a theme that spans most business relationships, but generally your business partner isn't also the person you share a bed with each night. Brett keeps it simple by living by the mantra that both you and your spouse should "Seek to Serve Each Other." This doesn't need to be an equal relationship all the time. Go out of your way to be generous and giving to your loved ones. The

Surrendering to what the universe has put in front of you, being able to set aside fears, and living in the moment sounds like an awesome way to go through life. Today's guest, Michael Singer, has written two books that say it is entirely possible to do that. His first book, New York Times No. 1 bestseller The Untethered Soul, was released in 2007. In The Untethered Soul, Michael explained ways to find inner peace. He also found himself on the other end of a phone call from Oprah, who loved the book and wanted to interview him on her show. He never thought of giving an interview. He made it a point not to. When The Untethered Soul came out, he paid for marketing but said he would not do interviews... That is, until Oprah called him directly. They talked on the phone for 45 minutes and he went to Chicago. That was his first and only "in-person" interview. The "second in-person interview" was... You guessed it, the one with Claudia and me, "because there was something there." Claudia and I  both e-mailed separa

Hal Elrod was dead for six minutes. The car he was driving crashed head on into a truck. His girlfriend, sitting next to him, was unscratched. The roof of the car sliced open his head, causing brain damage. Bones in his face, his arm, all over his body were broken and he was in a coma for six days (during which time his girlfriend broke up with him). When he woke from his coma the doctors told him he might never walk again. You are the alchemist of your life. The universe, perfect for 14 billion years, has given you everything you need to thrive. And yet...we often want to forcibly change the universe to fit our own selfish needs.  What idiots! I'm sure Hal did not want to hit that car. Did not want to be told he might not walk again. Did not want to go through years of therapy and misfortune as a result of this single event. This is where alchemy comes in. We're all given this chance at some point in our lives. We're all given the tools to turn misfortune into gold. 15 years later Hal is a father, runs a suc

If you want to see into the future, and live longer, healthier and happier then you must tune into today's podcast. It may scare the hell out of you but there is no holding it back. The future is here and you can't get out of its way. Steven Kotler, the best-selling author, journalist and entrepreneur joins James for today's show. Steven's books include Abundance, The Rise of Superman, Bold, and his newest release, Tomorrowland: Our Journey from Science Fiction to Science Fact. Tomorrowland offers an optimistic look into the future, but at the same time it is a bit scary. With an introduction of, "The future is here," Steven's book outlines the rapid pace that technology is and will continue to define us in every way imaginable. Some of the highlights from the book include: Strap-on bionics that reverse the aging trend and put force back into our bodies. Extending life using stem cells to swap out old body parts for new ones. Artificial vision that restores what was lost. With all these advancements, question

Today I'm very pleased to welcome David Bach to the show. David is the author of several books on achieving your financial goals, and doing so while reducing stress along the way. With titles including Automatic Millionaire, Smart Women Finish Rich, and Smart Couples Finish Rich, David has become an absolute authority on choosing yourself first. Or as he says, "Pay yourself first." With financial troubles being the leading cause of friction and divorce amongst couples, David has found several key ways that families can manage their finances easier. Steps couples can take to improve their financial lives include: *Talking about small purchases more often. *Twice a year, work with your spouse or a financial advisor to monitor your personal financial statement. *Have a vision for your financial future. This clarifies every decision you make in your financial life. David is a big advocate of "The Latte Factor" and doing small things to save money every day. This helps people overcome the biggest obstacle to

If you're into hunting for buried pirate treasure then this is the show for you. Today I'm very happy to welcome bestselling author Robert Kurson to the podcast. Robert has just released Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship. This is the second book featuring John Chatterton and is about his quest with John Mattera to find the ship of the infamous pirate Joseph Bannister. Bannister, a gentleman and business owner working with shipping companies in the Caribbean, one day turned pirate and stole a boat named The Golden Fleece, setting off on a pirate's adventure for years. Treasure hunting may seem like a romantic,  childish notion, but most treasure hunters are often seeking adventure, encountering huge adversity in their search and often risking all to solve the mysteries they encounter beneath the water. Chatterton (a police officer) and Mattera (a commercial diver) worked all week, used their savings, and spent every free minute of their time searching for this long

"I'm the kind of person who is embarrassed to lie," says "Freeway" Rick Ross. Not the words you would expect to come from a convicted felon. Rick built an empire, a drug empire that is, the notorious Los Angeles crack-cocaine empire. But the man who built this empire is not an evil man as you might suspect. He is charitable, a teacher, and an ideal leader. "I always knew I was going to jail," he tells me. So why did I interview him? First off, his story is the kind that creates curiosity. It is so foreign to me - a good, Jewish boy. It's thrilling. Second, our stories have a common theme: How do you pick yourself up when you're at rock bottom? His rock bottom was finding out he was sentenced to life in prison. How do you stay motivated after discovering your entire future will be in a cage? How do you not run away? Can you "choose yourself" here? Yes. Before bottom, Rick was illiterate. He picked himself up by improving every day. He read 300 books, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and more all

What are you best at? Whatever it is, you should do it more often and get paid for it, too. Do you know the ultimate site to choose yourself (besides jamesaltucher.com)? It's Freelancer.com. It's "a global market for services" and "the eBay for jobs." My guest today, Matt Barrie, is the genius who founded it. This site changed my life. And in today's interview, you'll hear how I used the site to build a business and sell it for millions of dollars eight months later. I've interviewed hundreds of successful people. Matt, on the other hand, watches people become overnight successes in real time. He is an encyclopedia of success stories. You will feel motivated and empowered after hearing these extreme entrepreneur success stories. Have you heard of giantflamingo.com? This guy outsourced manufacturing on Freelancer.com and created an entire pool toy empire. Now, he's a multimillionaire. You'll hear his full story and realize you have the same potential. If starting a business isn't for you, that's OK. You can st

Neil Strauss and James never had met before this interview but you'd think they've been best friends forever. And that's why Neil has been so successful writing about the undercover world of pickup artists. He's a really nice guy. They dive right into some of the techniques that Neil talks about in his best-seller, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists, and he asks James to let his listeners "know him." So James becomes the patient today and Neil does a quick analysis. A lot of what Neil talks about is how you can get out of you comfort zone. Too often people fake it... but to honestly get out, you may need a friend to push you way out of your comfort zone. James asks Neil what's next and Neil tells him... Don't be trapped in what you've done before. "All people know of what you've done from what you've done before. They don't know what you're going to do next." Go do you. Regards, David Newman Senior Producer of Stansberry Radio P.S. NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WITH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE? Great

I think I'm in love with Mimi Ikonn. Oh, and also her husband Alex Ikonn. Don't want to confuse anyone! When I was a kid I didn't think I would be happy unless I was a "millionaire". Some kids in my school said they were millionaires and they would make fun of anyone who wasn't. I asked my dad what he was worth. He said $2. Maybe that scarred me so much that I always make sure to have wads of $2 bills on me at all times. A year or so later his company went bankrupt. So he wasn't worth the same anymore. In his mind, he was worth ZERO. For the rest of his life he sat in the living room, depressed, and listened to music. When he was a little boy he loved music and won an award. At some point we all return to what we loved as a child. I suppose that means I will return to comics, Judy Blume, and spying on people. A few weeks ago I met Mimi Ikonn and Alex Ikonn. I was insanely curious about them. How come? Because Mimi makes videos of herself, delivers real value to people, and then makes over a million a year bec

They pick up where they left off... Talking about being obligated to continue doing what brought you success. Success can be a trap, but it's better than the alternative. Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip and author of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, joins The James Altucher Show to talk about his career and how it landed him exactly where he wanted to be. Click here to listen to today's episode. He shares with us the story about he became "super fit" and how that changed his life. He and James dive into what makes a blog posts go viral. It may not be what you think. Scott loves to experiment with what it takes a post to go viral. Is it the title, the content, the angle you choose to take, the target you choose... Or could it be something else. Scott's been doing some Twitter testing. What's the ideal amount of characters, where should you place your hashtags? What he's discovered is that when he mocks a group his tweet becomes popular because everyone thinks he's talking abo

Don't give up on your dreams. "Giving up on your dreams doesn't come for free," says Chris Hadfield, astronaut extraordinaire. Chris followed his dreams for 33 years before they became a reality. Children dream. Children explore. Adults talk. And adults do. "We get the ability to explore way before we get common sense or perspective on how anything works," Chris says. If you stopped exploring, start again. In today's interview you learn how to live the life you want. Take it from Chris. He's an astronaut so he really has an outside perspective. Chris says, "When you're floating at the window of the space station and you go around the world every 92 minutes, you see the world in its completeness." Chris lived his dreams because he explored his curiosity. That's the secret. You need to explore. No matter how impossible they seem, your dreams deserve exploring. That's the other secret. You need to believe in the impossible. Chris made the impossible possible and became the first Canadian astronaut to walk in spa

I'm a freak. I'm a freak for a lot of things: comic books, podcasts, my wife. But none of that matters today (sorry Claudia). I had the pleasure, no, the honor, of interviewing my good friend Stephen Dubner today. This is like being the best man at his wedding. It's a big day for Stephen. Today, he's releasing his new book, When to Rob a Bank. What a great title, right? In today's podcast, Stephen and I take some of our offline debates online. We debate everything from who is most likely to try to kill you (hint: it's not strangers), to why the New York Times moderates comments - which according to Steven Levitt, coauthor of When to Rob a Bank, is because "there are too many people out there who don't know how to think about the world." If you haven't read Freakonomics, SuperFreakonomics, and the whole lot of Stephen Dubner's books, then I highly recommend you do. But first, read his new book. This book is made up of the 132 best stories, thoughts, and discoveries from Stephen's 85,000 blog posts over the pas

Tim Ferriss has a life-changing surprise for you. It was expensive. I mean, it was expensive for him. It cost him a couple hundred thousand dollars to get. It also wasn't easy. He fought for a year and a half to get it. This is going to change our lives. Yes, both of us. Let me ask you this: What's the one skill you always wanted and don't have? Is it Brazilian jiu-jitsu? Flirting? Playing poker? How to get out of a hostage situation? Whatever it is, you can learn it. You just need to know how to learn. Learning is a skill. Tim Ferriss did a bunch of experiments and mastered learning. In today's show, he reveals the secret to gaining any skill you ever wanted. He FINALLY got digital rights to his TV show, The Tim Ferriss Experiment. It's about how to conquer fear in any skill at 10 times your learning speed. Think of it as MythBusters meets Jason Bourne. "My job is to get people from zero percent to the top five percent in six months or less," he says, "The skill I'm refining is meta-learning. It's the toolki