Ask Altucher

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Ep 309: The End of Jobs Jul 09, 2015

Show notes

Taylor Pearson talks with James today about The End of Jobs, he wrote the book on it. James says about Taylors book “ The most important thing about The End of Jobs is that entrepreneurship is not a choice you can make at your leisure”. “This is something that is actually happening. The train is leaving the station. You have to either jump on the train or lose your chance forever. Now is the time…” James asks Taylor what he would do if he wanted to start a new seven figure a year job right now but you had no experience. Taylor says he’d become an apprentice; there are plenty of great entrepreneurs looking for talented young people to help them grow their businesses. That’s exactly what he did and he tells James his story. They talk about how entrepreneurs are leveraging the democracy of the Long Tail to get rich, how others are using Amazon as their store front to drop shipping or as a testing ground before they launch their own website. As more and more jobs are being outsourced the question remains… Where is this all going? The trend is clear. The middle class is dying. You can choose to exit up or you can choose you exit down. Make your choice. 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.

AA Ep 308: How Does the Daily Practice Turn into Money? Jul 08, 2015

Show notes

James' practice of working to improve four areas of his life (physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental) just 1% a day led to today’s question: How does James' daily practice turn into money? He turns this question around. What if you did the exact opposite of his daily practice? Could that ever lead to money? Instead of being healthy, you stayed up all night drinking. Instead of exercising your idea muscle, you just vegged out all day. Do you think this would turn into money? Create your "“scene" – the people that will help you and those whom you help. Don’t have a goal other than improving 1% today. 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.

Ep 307: What If All of My Ideas Are Rejected? Jul 07, 2015

Show notes

So, you've gone ahead and created 10 great ideas, sent them over to a company to try to help them, and someone from the company has written back and said... We don't need your ideas. James is curious about what his original letter said. What you say when you send your ideas is extremely important... Make sure you don't give them more work while you think you're helping them. Just keep sending out your ideas, keep trying to help people. If they say, "No thanks," try again in a few months. And remember: Don't ask for anything in return. 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.

Ep 306: The Path to Excellence Jul 06, 2015

Show notes

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 book, Texts From Bennett that was optioned by FX. Most things you try probably won't work, but keep trying and eventually one good idea will slip through... And no one will remember your prior mistakes. This is a great interview and you'll want listen to the entire conversation. Listen to today's show and you can find Mac here and here. 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.

Ep 305: Mozart Rap Idea Sex Jul 03, 2015

Show notes

Happy Fourth of July. To celebrate, James and Claudia wanted to give everyone a present. Listen to today's show and click here to get your special present. 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.

Ep 304: How Can I Not Have Strong Opinions? Jul 02, 2015

Show notes

James and Claudia touch on a controversial subject today... opinions. James says whenever he has a strong opinion about something, everybody gets angry. As you probably already know, James has some pretty strong and controversial opinions about a lot of things... college, 401(k)s, owning homes... What opinion will really matter 100 years from now? Instead of getting angry, focus on yourself and stay healthy. And be open and willing to listen to others' opinions. You may just learn something important. Regards, David Newman P.S. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY to enter for your chance to win James' 30 favorite books. Click here now to enter... When you enter, you'll also discover how to significantly increase your odds at winning this valuable bundle. Don't miss out, click here now to enter. P.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.

Ep 303: The Bruce Lee Technique of Learning Jul 01, 2015

Show notes

James starts off today with a productivity hack, and it involves looking at Claudia. Today's question asks for James' opinion on the best technique to teach someone something. James starts off with a quote from Bruce Lee. "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." When you practice something 10,000 times, that doesn't mean you're an expert at only that one thing. Instead, you open a window into learning. Regards, David Newman P.S. There are only two days left to enter for your chance to win James' 30 favorite books. Click here now to enter... When you enter, you'll also discover how to significantly increase your odds at winning this valuable bundle. Don't miss out, click here now to enter. P.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.

Ep 302 James Goes Super Nova Jun 30, 2015

Show notes

James wants to catch up before he leaves for his silent retreat to finish his new book. His phone has been exploding with questions and today he's trying to get through a few of them. (If you listen closely you'll hear him tell Claudia not to be so bossy... it's too funny.) He covers parenting, business relationships, optimal peak performance times, and startups. Sit back and enjoy Regards, David Newman P.S. There' are only two days left to enter for your chance to win James' 30 favorite books. Click here now to enter... When you enter, you'll also discover how to significantly increase your odds at winning this valuable bundle. Don't miss out, click here now to enter

Ep 301: How to Get People to Listen to Your Ideas Jun 29, 2015

Show notes

James was giving a talk to 150 people in Hoboken, New Jersey last week. Before the talk, he took a walk to prepare, settled into a café, took out his waiter's pad, and jotted down notes. A few tables away at the café, a dad read a newspaper while his two kids played chess. James, being the semi-professional procrastinator that he is, spent a few minutes looking at their game. Then instead of preparing his talk, James wrote about 15 or so tips on how they could play better chess. When the dad and his kids were getting ready to leave, James walked up to the dad with five pages from his waiter's pad ripped out and said, "I was watching your kids play." James offered him the waiter's pad pages and said: "I made some notes for them." "He sort of just peered at me and took the notes and said, 'OK.' Then he left," James said. When James sat down, he felt really proud of himself. He helped someone! He was feeling all good about himself. But why didn't that guy say thank you, throw a parade, or anything like that? James took time out from preparing for his LIFE-CHANGING talk in order to write five pages of detailed notes on how the guy's kids could play better chess. Then he thought about it. Maybe it's not the best idea to walk up to a total stranger in the middle of the day and say, "I've been watching your kids play." James also was feeling shy when he said it, so he was not quite looking the dad in the eye. Then James handed him a bunch of ripped-out pieces of waiter's pad paper with probably unreadable notes written on them. He committed error No. 1 when delivering value: Establish your credentials first as quickly and concisely as possible. If there's an "urgent" problem, you have to say why you are "unique" to solve it. James could've started by saying, "I'm a ranked chessmaster and here's how your kids can improve at chess." Very specific and quick. Oh, and don't be a creepy guy. Very important. Regards, David Newman P.S. James says there are seven huge trends that will shape America. Understanding these trends before anyone else will give you a huge advantage in work, life, and investing. Click here to learn more about James' great ideas. P.P.S. Here is YOUR CHANCE to WINJames Altucher's favorite books from The James Altucher Show podcast. This giveaway includes more than 30 hard-copy books, written by some of the most successful entrepreneurs, marketers, celebrities, and all-around "choose yourself"-ers.

AA Ep 300 The One Thing That Can Improve All of Your Relationships Jun 26, 2015

Show notes

Today is a huge day for all of us at The Choose Yourself Network. Today we're publishing our 300th episode of Ask Altucher. What started as an experiment has now become a way of life for so many people, including us. So from James, Claudia, myself, and everyone else involved in getting you these shows every day, thank you for listening... And to celebrate today, James and Claudia invited a good friend, Jim Shells, to be their guest on Ask Altucher today. Jim and James meet two years at a Jason Gaignard Mastermind talk. Jim's the founder of Board Meetings International,an organization that exists to strengthen the relationship parents have with their children. Jim noticed while traveling the world and speaking with thousands of entrepreneurs that many are feeling burnt out. In their never-ending quest to build their businesses, they've often forgotten about why they were doing it. They worked so much to be able to spend quality time with their families. As Jim says in his brand-new book The Family Board Meeting, "intending to spend time with your kids isn't the same as actually doing it." And he goes on to say, "Time together isn't the same as quality time together." So he's created his family board meetings. According to Jim, there are three basic ground rules for making a board meeting a rewarding experience: •It must be one-on-one (i.e. not with your spouse or other children). •No electronics allowed. •It must be a fun activity, which the kid gets to choose, with focused reflection on questions like, what was your favorite part and why? This process can be used in your business relationships also to quickly find out which ones may not work out. Regards, David Newman P.S. James says there are seven huge trends that will shape America. Understanding these trends before anyone else will give you a huge advantage in work, life, and investing. Click here to learn more about James' great ideas P.P.S. Here is YOUR CHANCE to WINJames Altucher's favorite books from The James Altucher Show podcast. This giveaway includes more than 30 hard-copy books, written by some of the most successful entrepreneurs, marketers, celebrities, and all-around "choose yourself"-ers.

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