The James Altucher Show

If I didn't listen to my pain, I'd be dead.  I've interviewed hundreds of "successful" people. When they look back, they see two things: struggle and a story. These are hero stories -- choose yourself stories. Directed by pain, they found passion. Because they listened. I was alone, on the floor, broke, desperate, hopeless.  I ignored the pain. I wanted to die. And then something shifted. But you don't need to hit rock bottom to be successful. You just need something that ignites you.  "There's a moment, a chemistry, where people find a spark... something inside you triggers greatness," said Terry George. He wrote and directed the award winning film, Hotel Rwanda, and the upcoming film, The Promise, about a love story during WWII's genocide. "I'm not interested in suffering," he says. But he is. "I'm interesting in alleviating it." He grew up Catholic during Ireland's struggle for civil rights across a divided nation. "I got beaten up in playgrounds and shit like that. There was definitely a sense that you were not welcome to put it mildly." "That was was my education," he says.  He never thought about turning something horrific into a movie.  But that's exactly what he did. Through film, he connects us to human frailty, vulnerability and fear. He calls it "a universal language." That's the art of suffering. ------------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.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fifteen percent of you won't like this interview. "I like that," he says, "I like being doubted." But I don't doubt Gary Vaynerchuk. And that's why I'm giving away 100 copies of his brand new book, #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur's Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness. The details are on my podcast. Gary will be the first to admit that he doesn't know everything. But he knows everything about everything he knows. "I talk emphatically and with enormous bravado about the things I know and understand," he says, "and I hedge and punt things I don't understand." Gary is transparent. Authentic. Self-aware. And successful. So successful that I dont even like introing him. He wants you to win. And I do, too. "When you understand yourself, you're able to navigate the world," he says. But navigating is hard. I have more misunderstandings than understandings. That's ok. Because it allows me to be curious everyday, do this podcast, write and read three, four or five books a week. "Self-awareness is the single best attribute anyone can be gifted with," Gary says. But people don't know if they're self-aware or not. "Don't live life hoping and wishing you were something. Start for the first time in your life actually deciding what you are and navigating around that," he says. Listen to my interview with Gary. Get to know him. And yourself. So you can navigate the world and get your intro. Whatever that may be. Listen now for your chance to win his new book. I recommend it. Resources and Links: Read Gary's new book, #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur's Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness  Get your morning motivation from Gary every monday. Sign up on this website www.garyvaynerchuk.com Follow Gary on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Snapchat (garyvee) Subscribe to his YouTube channel to watch The #AskGaryVee Show Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuk Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk ------------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.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I never thought about sex with Barbara Corcoran. I still don't. But she brought it up. We were talking about entrepreneurship. And she said how old she was when she lost her virginity. Twenty-three. I wanted to know how she turned a thousand dollars into a five billion dollar company. Then: $1,000. Now: $5,000,000,000. I wanted to know how she founded The Corcoran Group, the largest company in real estate. And how you become the type of entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran chooses on Shark Tank. I'm going to tell you how to get Barbara's investment. If that's what you want. But not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur. According to Barbara. "I found a real difference between the superstars and everyone else," she says.   And I agree. That's why I wrote The Rich Employee. Entrepreneurship isn't everything. But it can be. Barbara reviews thousands of investment opportunities. And most hear "no."  She says you have to have "a nose for entrepreneurship." That's how you get a "yes," from Barbara Corcoran. But before you start doubting yourself, take the test. You'll find out how in this interview. Jump to [39:25]. It's scary. She says, if you weren't born with "it," (the nose for entrepreneurship, the "innate intelligence,") then "you shouldn't be an entrepreneur in the first place."  And you need specific characteristics: A) Handle rejection. You can't cry. Or feel sorry for yourself. The top people in Barbara's company made four million dollars a year in commissions. They took hits. Just as many as the others. Or more. "Because they were trying for more," she says, "But the real difference was how long they took to feel sorry for themselves." Get over rejection. And try again. B) Conserve energy. Monitor yourself. Just notice. I feel tired. Why? I'm not motivated. I'm drained. Burnt out. Why? Your energy leaks out. Through fear, regret, negative people, bad situations. Conserve it. Refocus. And put it to good use.  C) You shouldn't quit your job I ran my side business for 18 months before quitting my full-time job. I had eleven employees. But I'm not special. Really. Because that's what all of Barbara's "successful" entrepreneurs do. They keep their jobs.  D) You need to be "hungry, mean and insecure." "That's been my track record with the businesses I've invested," she says. You need to have something to prove. But nice is ok for me. I'll take nice.  E) Daydream. "Vision is daydreaming and seeing yourself in a role and seeing what your business is going to become," she says. Picture it. Use your imagination. Escape into the dream. She says, "I don't know any entrepreneurs who don't visualize." Listen to today's episode. Are you really an entrepreneur?  Maybe you don't know. But after listening to today's podcast, you will. Resources and Links: Follow Barbara on Facebook & Twitter Watch her on Shark Tank Read her book Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business ------------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.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I'd rather be an alien. I'd rather be myself. Than be liked. It makes sense... why you'd want to be liked. Think about it. From an evolutionary standpoint, when you're liked, you're safe. You're in the tribe. People protect you. But now, I'd rather be an alien. I don't want stress. I don't want to worry, "Do I fit in?" There are consequences to being liked. You start compromising. You stop taking risks. You follow the herd. You get stuck in a crappy job at a fluorescently lit cubicle. Where they can watch you. You stop taking risks. You wonder, "Is this ok?" Ok to who? Not you. Not the only person who matters. I'd rather be an alien. If I'm an alien, I can act like I just landed here. And I'm not supposed to know if I fit in. I'm forced to be myself. No trying. Just forced. I can surrender. My guest today, used to be in a tribe. I won't say it's the worst one. But it's bad. Turney Duff is the New York Times bestselling author of, The Buy Side: A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess, where he tells the truth. He bleeds. "Look, chances are people aren't going to like me after I tell the story, so at no point am I ever, ever, ever going to try to get the reader to like me," Turney says. But that wasn't easy. Because he spent his whole life trying to be liked. "I've always had this 'Nobody loves me' syndrome. I had this fear of ordinary, fear of being normal." On Wall Street, Turney was a trader. But he wasn't just trading stocks. He traded sleep, health, relationships, money. All of it for drugs. He was afraid. He'd go to hotel rooms and snort cocaine by himself. But nothing was enough. He made $2 million dollars a year. He thought, "If I could just make three million dollars a year, all of my problems would be solved." But before that he said, "If I could just make fifty thousand dollars a year, all of my problems would be solved. All of them." He wanted to be a journalist. But he traded. A lot of people trade. Maybe you traded. But it's not too late. You can choose yourself. There are three things you need to know to choose yourself. And I got these from my interview with Turney. He'll show you. He'll prove to you it's not too late. I believe in you. Three steps to (finally) choose yourself: 1) Don't try to be liked. When Turney wrote this book, he knew people would stop liking him. Or hate him. He told it anyway. And it saved his life.  That's what saved my life too. Bleeding on the pages. Telling my truth. Listen at [2:35] to learn how to cure something in yourself too. 2) Want less. Wanting more hurts. Because you trick your brain into believing you don't have enough. And start feeling sorry for yourself. Instead of grateful for what you do have. So I want less.  Listen at [6:28]. Turney explains why wanting more destroys you. 3) Build up your gut. We have instincts. And our bodies speak to us. But we're good at ignoring it. The pain. We think stomach aches are just stomach aches. But it's an accumulation abuse. Stress. Worry. Fear. You have to listen to your body. Notice the pain. Turney says, "I became successful on the trading desk because I had great instincts, and I used my gut. Along the way I lost that." Listen at [51:50] to hear how he got his gut back. After everything, I ask him, "Has it worked out?" "I'll tell you this..." Listen here for my interview with Turney. You'll learn how to choose yourself. And you'll hear how Turney did it himself. How he turned his back on his tribe, his drugs, his money.  It took him most of his life. But he did it. You can too. ------------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... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I don't want to be afraid. But I am. I'll explain why. But first, I want to introduce you to Adam Grant. He has the solution to my problem... And maybe your problem, too. Adam is the youngest tenured and highest-ranking professor at the famed business university The Wharton School, a writer for The New York Times, and the New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. In researching his new book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, Adam met with today's most successful and innovative entrepreneurs.  Why? To get answers. "We have a ton of guidance on how to generate ideas," he says. But what about after? What do you do? Originals teaches you how to bring new ideas into the world. And really, there's no grand theory on how to be "original." But there are tricks... And Adam discovered some patterns among today's most successful entrepreneurs. He spoke to Google's co-founder, Larry Page, Warby Parker's founders and CEOs, and thought leaders like the renowned writer, Malcolm Gladwell. From Gladwell, Adam learned the most powerful technique to induce creativity. From Larry Page and the Warby Parker guys, he found a common thread. Hint: don't quit your day job. But, more on that later. I'm going to tell you the top three things to be "an original." They might surprise you. But first, I want you to know what else you'll get from today's podcast: How to get into a flow state (even during tasks you don't like) [51:32] Should you plan your procrastination? [25:20] The most powerful techniques to immerse yourself and bring creativity into your life(including Malcolm Gladwell's library trick) [20:06] Why the hell Adam Grant didn't invest seed money in Warby Parker and become a billionaire [8:38] An ode to the idea muscle: why it's more important to have quantity over quality ideas [28:19]  Ok so here they are. The top three things to become "an original:" 1) Induce creativity First unlearn. Then learn... We've all internalized things we need to question. That's what adults do. We make up rules and reasons. We draw lines instead of pictures... tell "facts," not stories. But why can't we play with our food? Or stand on the counter? Kids think. Kids create. And we can get back to that too. We just have to unlearn. And then re-learn. "This comes back to our idea of broadening your experience and your knowledge," Adam says. "You need to step outside of your field in order to see what you should be challenging." Immerse yourself in new domains. Go beyond work... beyond your office... beyond the usual. Personally, I dabble in a lot of things. I play games. I write. I read. I'm involved in lots of businesses. And I recently tried stand-up comedy. "I've just pursued things I'm curious about," Adam says, "and then unexpectedly, they turn out to have bridges between them." That's the key to learning. Do something new. Do a dare of the day. It's good for your creative health.  2) Don't quit your day job (yet). Give yourself time to build your business. It worked for me. I tell why in this episode. Listen at [21:31]. And be conservative. It's one of the best ways to be original. "I was stunned actually," Adam says. He read this a "nationally represented study of American entrepreneurs." "People who did what you did, James, and kept their day job are 33% less likely to fail." 3) Propel your ideas forward Doubting your ideas can be paralyzing, so eliminate self-doubt. According to Adam, a lot of originals said, "Look, you could fail by starting a business that flops or you could fail by not starting a business at all, and I don't want to be in that second category."  Listen at [22:09] to get actionable steps to fight self-doubt.   Listen now. And let's stop being afraid... Together. Resources and Links: Read Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant Listen to my last interview... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ask the world this question, and you'll drown in failure. You'll lose. Anything you take, anything you earn, will be foul. I bet you've asked this question before. Maybe everyday. Maybe all your life. "How can I get?" How can I get rich? How can I get happy? How can I get more? There's no return on getting. It leave you with nothing. Or worse than nothingness. Emptiness. But there's another way. It's simple. And it works for me I'm going to tell you how to earn your worth. It works for me. And it works for my podcast guest, Russell Simmons, "the third richest figure in hip-hop with an estimated net worth of $340 million." He gets. He told me a story. "That was my first realization that hard work turned into something," he says. "I had never been on a plane. I had certainly never been out of the country, and landing in Amsterdam they're like, 'Mr. Simmons what would you like?' I'm like, 'Oh shit Mr. Simmons.' That was a revelation. I was a grown man I could get things I wanted." But not all his life. He grew up in Queens. "Hollis, Queens and 205 Street. Frank Lucas was on our corner and so that was the heroin capital. The neighborhood went down very quickly," he says. "Obviously every kid took a lot of drugs." He was 13. Joined a gang. Sold drugs, "had some experiences," and escaped. Now he's the chairman and CEO of Rush Communications and the co-founder of Def Jam, the record label famous for spotting Beastie Boys, Jay Z, Kanye West, Rihanna and 100 others. Since 1984. I wanted to know how he got here. And how he became one of my heroes. "I didn't discover hip-hop," he says, "hip-hop discovered me." Opportunity found him. He was at the center of that universe. He grew his opportunities. He spotted talent, formed partnerships, and became an entrepreneur.  He learned a lot. You might expect to hear "he hustled." But mostly, he gave back. "This idea that you have to trade with the world or manipulate the world to be successful is wrong headed," Russell says. Contribute. "If you look at your own history of success it's because you contributed to success," he says. It's works for me too. I give writing. I get readers. I give interviews. I get advice, entertainment, a network, new friends, a memory, and experiences I would never get if I didn't give. And giving can be simple. Write emails to people you admire. Surprise someone. Do something that makes someone else's life better. Give ideas. Say thanks. "You have to be comfortable in your seat, and life's only goal is to be happy and comfortable in your seat," Russell says. "From that space the universe unravels and it attracts everything. You become a greater giver because you're focused on giving and you're not fearful of the world. You become a contributor." "Anyway I'm out of cocaine now. Just so you know I've been vegan and I've stopped taking drugs almost thirty years ago," he says. That's why I got to have him on my podcast. He wrote a book, The Happy Vegan: A Guide to Living a Long, Healthy, and Successful Life. I got to go to his apartment to interview him. It's an incredible book. I learned a huge amount reading it. I'm not a vegan. But I'm strongly considering it. Listen to today's podcast. You'll get you ideas. Ideas about how to change different industries (food, farming, the drug industry). And you can start giving. You'll learn how to contribute. Give. And why it's important to your success. "Good givers are great getters," Russell says. This interview will get you thinking.  You're going to learn how to "get." I'll give you the starting step. Stop asking, "What can I get?" And start asking, "What can I give?" Listen now. Resources and Links: ReadThe Happy Vegan: A Guide to Living a Long, Healthy, and Successful Life by Russell Simmons Read Success Through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple by Russell Simmons Read Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All by Russell Simmons Follow... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I don't diet. It's a distraction. My rule is simple. Don't eat when you're not hungry. But that's not always easy. Nothing is always easy. With diet, you have an internal argument. Willpower versus cravings. So what do you do when the voice in your head won't stop? You struggle. Your mind plays ping pong. Eat it. Don't it. One bite. No. Yes. Ok. Damn it. Only one side wins. Willpower or cravings. I'm going to tell you how to make willpower win. How to make that voice go away. And this will do a lot more for you than just help you lose weight. It will give you better brain function. Make you pay attention better. Give you more energy. You'll feel better. I'll tell you my secret. But before I do, I want to introduce you to a Silicon Valley investor and tech entrepreneur, Dave Asprey, who spent two decades and more than $300,000 hacking biology. When hunger stops interrupting you, "then you have more capacity to make better decisions somewhere else in your life," Dave says. He hacked hunger. And now he's sharing his solution in Bulletproof: The Cookbook: Lose Up to a Pound a Day, Increase Your Energy, and End Food Cravings for Good. Which I'm giving away for free here It works like this. But don't quote me. I'm not a doctor. Except I do play one on Twitter. When your body burns fat or sugar, you get energy. But "We're wired to only burn fat or only burn sugar," Dave says. One or the other. If your body could burn both at the same time, you'd get double the energy. Or triple. I don't know exactly how much. But I felt like Superman. I wrote an entire book in one weekend. And Superman felt like Superman, too. Brandon Routh, the guy who played Superman in 2006 wrote the foreword to Dave's book. Because it works. But we're all different. What works for me might not work for you. For me, the distraction is gone. The voice that says, "I'm hungry," stops. So you don't overeat. Your satisfied. And focused. "One of the three big urges that interrupt you all the time stops interrupting you," Dave says, "and then you have more capacity to make better decisions somewhere else in your life." You have more energy to do what you love. To read, write 10 ideas, start a business on the side. "I would happily weight 20 lbs more if I got better brain function, if I could pay attention better if I had more energy, if I felt better, but it turns out that when you eat to get enough energy into the body, you just effortlessly lose weight without willpower," Dave says. Get your brain back, your willpower and insane amounts of energy. Be like superman. Listen now. Resources and Links: Get Bulletproof: The Cookbook: Lose Up to a Pound a Day, Increase Your Energy, and End Food Cravings for Good Read his first book The Bulletproof Diet: Lose up to a Pound a Day, Reclaim Energy and Focus, Upgrade Your Life Follow Dave Asprey on Facebook & Twitter Visit his website bulletproofexec.com ------------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.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

He self-medicated. He covered stories in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. He went to Iraq six or seven times. When he got back, he was depressed. He was 32 years old and had never touched hard drugs before. But it became the thing that made him feel better. Millions of people were watching. The red light was on. And right there, in the middle of his live segment, he had a panic attack. I'm going to tell you how to deal with stress. I'll tell you what works for me. But first, I want to tell you about my guest, Dan Harris. Dan is an anchor on "Good Morning America" and "Nightline."  He's also the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works - A True Story. After the book came out people had questions. So he also created an app called "10% Happier." It teaches users easy "judo moves" to have more creativity, feel less stress, and be happier.  It helps you surrender. Be self-aware. Focused. "The events that led up to my panic attack were a case study in mindlessness," Dan says. "Going to wars without thinking about the consequences, getting depressed and not knowing it and blindly self-medicating." I wanted to know what pushed him over the edge. "The one-word answer is cocaine," Dan says. "The more complicated answer is I arrived at ABC News when I was 28." He was insecure. He worked with big names like Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters. He wanted to be successful. "My Jewish father has this expression, 'The price of security is insecurity.' I really embraced that," he says. The pressure never let up. He demanded more of himself. But why do we make it so hard for ourselves? Many people have gone through this slow-motion panic attack. Including me. It's the stress of daily living.  Something bad happens to you. You lose a job or get a divorce. Everyday wear and tear picks at you. Stress happens over time. And if you don't notice it, it builds. The voice in your head becomes meaner. Angrier. More resentful and regretful. Energy is wasted. Your creativity dies. Your idea muscle atrophies. And you're at the bottom of the funnel dreaming about retirement. But instead of imagining a better life later, retire. You can retire a little bit every day. Breathe. Feel your chest fall. That's retirement. It's a fantasy. I'm going to tell you how to make it real right now. But before I do, let me tell you what you'll get from today's podcast: a) Learn How to Have More Ideas Dan says, "When you ask, 'What is boredom like? What does this feel like? Where am I feeling it in my body? What's the taste of it in my mind?' That is curiosity." Curiosity produces creativity. And ideas. You'll learn how to make room for curiosity. b) Distance Yourself From Stress Dan teaches you how to notice stress and see your problems clearly. You'll learn to separate yourself from it. And relax. Essentially, you're becoming a scientist of your own inner reactions. A scientist is not his experiment. The same way humans are not their reactions and emotions to things. Those are separate. You'll learn how to separate yourself from stress.c) Be 10% Happier "First of all, 10% is just a joke. You can't quantify happiness," Dan says. "I came up with that as a bullshit answer to a friend." But being a little bit happier is better than being a little bit miserable. But you have to practice. You're practicing becoming aware of the angry voice that comes up and reacts. So you can be calm. Ok, now here's Dan's secret to dealing with stress: meditation "Let me just say outright, because as soon as you bring that word up, some high percentage of your listeners are like, 'All right, I'm done with this podcast. Meditation's bullshit. I don't want to do it,'" Dan says. He thought that too. "The book is really the story of me coming to terms with... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"I remember it like it was yesterday. It was Good Friday, 1989, at 3:30 in the afternoon. It was 37 degrees outside. I stood outside the Colosseum Mall, a mall in Jamaica, Queens. It's pretty popular. Just shivering with a bag of hats. I sold $800 worth of hats in an hour," Daymond John tells me. $800 an hour. That's "the power of broke." Before FUBU (a $6 billion global apparel company), before Shark Tank, and before Obama chose him as the Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, Daymond John worked 18-hour days driving a delivery van. And he wasn't making money. His paychecks covered overhead - the cost of his van, gas, and maintenance. He worked to make money, and he made money to work. "When I took that to FUBU, I started saying, 'If we're not making money, it's not worth doing anything,'" he says. It's not failure. It's experience. "Other people call it failure. I won't call it failure. It's part of the process," he says. You need to take every single "failure" and bring it forward. You're on the floor. And broke. Learn from it. Money is the byproduct of energy, effort, and strategy. "Before you have any business, you're supposed to take inventory of yourself," Daymond says. "Assets and liabilities can be time, energy, education, friends, location, way of thinking." You have to take inventory of yourself. His new book, The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage is not Daymond's story. It's your story. And mine. It's about how you're going to get up, get experience, and get money. These are stories I learned from. The power of broke is "the common thread between all of us," Daymond says. It's about how you can learn from your mistakes and profit off your potential. Take advantage of that. Listen to my interview with Daymond. Here are the top 3 things you can only learn by listening to today's podcast: - "That is the most important thing about running a business," Daymond says. "If you don't have that, I don't care how much money you have. You can't buy your way into it." (at 5:35) - I ask Daymond: What are the first steps? What if you're listening and saying, "I got born at the wrong time," or "I'm in the wrong town"? What if you're hungry? And you want to hustle, and you've got the power of broke, but you don't know what to do with it? (at 21:59) - How do you know when a business will be successful? Because it sounds too romantic - the power of broke. Find out how to leverage your resources for success. (at 32:51) Listen now. Resources and Links: Read The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage by Daymond John Read Display of Power by Daymond John Read The Brand Within by Daymond John Follow Daymond on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and visit his website ------------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.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I was always good at making money. I was also good at losing it instantly. I always went broke... Now I know why. What was I was doing wrong? I'll tell you. Because I bet you're making the same mistake. But first, I'll tell you how to make money. More money than you thought was possible. Listen to this episode. You'll hear tested and proven strategies to get rich from Ramit Sethi, the NewYork Times bestselling author and founder of iwillteachyoutoberich.com. He grew his business from a dorm-room blog into a multi-million dollar online business. And now he started a new company, GrowthLab, to teach you how to do the same thing-start and grow an online business. Ramit is a trainer. He'll make you hustle. "It's like looking up at a skyscraper and saying 'How am I going to build one of those?' Well you're not. You're going to start by walking in the lobby," Ramit says, "That's what you're going to do on day one." You can't get rich without putting in the work. I've set goals. None of them came true. But five or six other amazing things that I never could have predicted happened instead. Goals require plans. You're going to get rich. How? You want to lose weight or start a business. How? Ramit will tell you. He'll turn your goals into achievements. Actually, you'll do it, with his help. Consider taking his courses... One teaches you how to triple your salary. Which is like heroin. According to one of my other podcast guests, Nassim Taleb. Taleb said the three deadliest addictions are 1) heroin, I don't remember the second one, and 3) a steady salary. How can you feel motivated when you're prostituting yourself everyday? What did I learn from Ramit? It's less about what I learned, and more about what I feel capable of doing every time I listen to him. Fear is a debilitating idea. Replace fear with motivation. You'll be amazed at the results. I need motivation to eat well, write everyday, do the daily practice. And I start over everyday. Because motivation isn't as constant as your to-do list. But with Ramit's plan, you'll get systems in place. Systems that manage your money and organize your time, and take care of all the things draining you dry. "If you're going to put in work, why not be positive, try to improve yourself, improve your relationship, make more money," Ramit says. I haven't taken his courses. But strangers email me saying they're great. That they've tripled their income. I don't know why they tell me that. I get a lot of strange emails from strangers. Skip to 40:12 on my podcast. You'll laugh. Trust me. You shouldn't go a day without laughing anyway. I'm going to tell you why I went broke. You'll hear it in this episode. And you'll learn how to clean up your life. You'll get systems... you'll get a plan. And, thanks to Ramit, you'll learn how to be rich. Listen now. Resources and Links: * Ramit is giving away his Ultimate Guide to  Making More Money on his website * If you're looking to start and grow your online business, go to GrowthLab.com  * Listen to my last interview with Ramit Sethi here and watch this video from 3 years ago where we talk about our hate mai * Hear my last interview with Ramit Sethi here * Follow Ramit on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and follow I Will Teach You To Be Rich on Facebook Read Ramit Sethi's New York Times bestselling book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich ------------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.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.