Synopsis
James Altucher is a successful entrepreneur, investor, board member, and the writer of 11 books including the recent WSJ Bestseller, "Choose Yourself!" (foreword by Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter).He has started and sold several companies for eight figure exits. He's on the board of a billion revenue company, has written for The Financial Times, The New York Observer, and over a dozen popular websites for the past 15 years. He's run several hedge funds, venture capital funds, and is a successful angel investor in technology, energy, and biotech.He has also lost all his money, made it back, lost it, made it back several times and openly discusses how he did it in his columns and books.
Episodes
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Ep. 133 - Tucker Max: Mate: Become the Man Women Want
23/09/2015 Duration: 59minThis 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
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Ep. 132 - John McAfee: The Most Interesting Man in the Universe
16/09/2015 Duration: 54minHow 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
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Ep. 131- Hank Green: Redefining the Meaning of Cool
08/09/2015 Duration: 01h05minHank 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'
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Ep. 130 - Penn Jillette: The Brilliant Idea Can Kill You
01/09/2015 Duration: 32minPenn 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
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Ep. 129 - Dr. Wayne Dyer: Namaste
31/08/2015 Duration: 56minThis 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
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Ep. 128 - Josh Foer: Mastering Memory
27/08/2015 Duration: 48minToday 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
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Ep. 127 - James Hong: Hot or Not
25/08/2015 Duration: 45minJames 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
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AA Ep. 336 - Dominating a Room with Your Body Cues
23/08/2015 Duration: 41minWhat 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
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Ep. 126 - Casey Neistat: Beme
18/08/2015 Duration: 26minBy 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
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Ep. 125 - Rich and Julie Roll: Quit the Nonsense
11/08/2015 Duration: 01h41minIs 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
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Ep. 124 - 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell: The Book of Luke
04/08/2015 Duration: 54minThe 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
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Ep. 123 - Tom Rath: What Can You Do Better Than Anyone Else?
29/07/2015 Duration: 54minTom 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
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AA Ep. 313 - Get an MIT Education for 1% of the Price
25/07/2015 Duration: 25minScott 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
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Ep. 122 - Oliver Burkeman: The Positive Power of Negative Thinking
21/07/2015 Duration: 01h07minMy 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
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AA Ep. 306 - Mac Lethal: The Path to Excellence
19/07/2015 Duration: 01h04minMac 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
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Ep. 121 - Jim Kwik: Brain Coach and Superhero
14/07/2015 Duration: 01h23minA 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
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Ep. 120 - Brett McKay: The Art of Manliness
12/07/2015 Duration: 01h17minBrett 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
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Ep. 119 - Michael Singer: The Surrender Experiment
07/07/2015 Duration: 54minSurrendering 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
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AA Ep. 294 - Hal Elrod: How to Win the Day
04/07/2015 Duration: 38minHal 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
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Ep. 118 - Steven Kotler: Tomorrowland: No Matter How Hard You Try You Can't Get Out Of Its Way
30/06/2015 Duration: 01h01minIf 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