One of the things I love most about podcasting is having the opportunity to talk to some of the most interesting people on the planet. And when people ask me what I do, I often say I'm a "professional sponge." I absorb all the stories and the knowledge, and I just become better every time with every guest.

Today I'm speaking to someone who has tickled my brain and helped it expand for years. He is a true polymath, out of the box thinker and paradigm breaker. The one and only James Altucher.

James is a famous American entrepreneur, angel investor, a hedge fund manager, podcaster, and best-selling author.

He's also a standup comedian and a chess master. He has founded, or co-founded more than 20 companies, and has invested in over 30. He's also published more than 20 books, including the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Choose Yourself and his latest book, Skip the Line in which he busts the 10,000 hour rule of achieving mastery, and offers us a mindset and dozens of techniques to inspire us to pursue our passion, our purpose, and to quickly acquire the skills we need to succeed and achieve our dreams.

In my conversation with James Altucher, you'll hear:

6:05 Why it's paramount you love what you're doing

10:00 ''The spoke and the wheel": how to monetize your passion

11:45 James on mentoring others to success and proving the prinicples in '' Skip The Line '' work

29:00 The Warrior Gene: what it means when you have it and how it affects your life and performance

31:30 How to not internalize rejection

36:15 The importance of story telling, what makes a compelling story and ''the arc of the hero''

43:15 Creativity is a muscle, train it!

55:45 Be curious about all aspects of your life. You'll never know where something may lead you

56:30 James on getting podcast guests out of their usual narrative

58:45 ''Plus, minus and equals'': why it is important to be a teacher, a student and a practitioner

1:04:00 "The lesser of two evils is still evil'': James on why he decided not to vote during the last presidential election

1:10:15 Tribalism and the two party system

1:16:00 James' predictions on business trends for 2021 and beyond

1:23:45 James on his widely read article ''Why New York is not coming back this time'' and why he still thinks this is true

1:28:30 Diversifying dopamine and how to handle burnout

1:32:20 Ketamine treatment, other worlds and life practices

1:36:00 Tonic herbs and healing from depleted adrenals and anxiety

James' books:

Skip the Line

Choose Yourself

73: You Are Not the Barber with Daryl Johnson and John Feitelberg

We're Here to Help

Introduction

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