Episode 018 James Altucher

Summary

• Tim Ferriss and James Altucher discuss the Japanese expression Saisho **** Saigo, which means "first time and last time"
• James Altucher has an eclectic resume, including being a hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, and tech investor
• They focus on saying no and how to say no to the things in life you don't want, so that you can get the things you do want
• They discuss James' business background, the economy, and how to manage weaknesses and multiply strengths
• James is currently in Thailand, where his wife is doing advanced yoga training
• James has had successes in business and investing, including starting a software/web services company, being a venture capitalist, starting hedge funds, creating Stockpicker.com, and being an angel investor
• He has also been "a drunken rock star on steroids" and gone broke multiple times, but has taken inventory and gotten his life back on track
• James Altucher has made and lost millions of dollars multiple times, and has studied the losses to identify recurring patterns.
• Common symptoms of impending losses include neglecting physical, emotional, and social health, ceasing to be creative and innovative, and taking abundance for granted.
• To reverse the losses, Altucher focuses on physical, emotional, and social health, being around people he loves and respects, being creative and innovative, and practicing gratitude and abundance.
• Altucher also emphasizes the importance of mitigating risk in order to be successful.
• His daily routine includes sleeping 8 hours, reading 45 writers for inspiration, and writing for 23 hours. He also strives to improve 1% each week.
• James Altucher reads fiction and nonfiction to prime the pump for his writing
• He avoids news and web surfing, instead reading a few blogs such as Seth Godin's and The Bloggess
• He reads books that have been heavily curated and edited by good writers
• He likes fiction that is so good it almost seems like nonfiction
• He reads nonfiction books written by authors who are good at both writing and their subject
• He takes notes while reading and gets inspired to write when he has an idea
• He believes the goal of writing should be a combination of entertainment and helping the reader
• James Altucher believes that combining entertainment and education is the best way to keep readers interested.
• He makes himself vulnerable in his writing to create a connection with readers.
• He writes about his own pain points and how he attempted to recover from them, without giving advice.
• His vulnerability has resulted in more opportunities than he can handle.
• Tim Ferriss has also struggled with saying no and wrote a book about it with his wife.
• He believes that saying no is a critical skill that is becoming increasingly important.
• He believes that it is in the valley of failure that we sow our seeds of success.
• James Altucher and his wife Claudia wrote a book about the importance of saying no.
• Saying no is difficult for many people, and James used to avoid saying no by disappearing from people who asked him to do something he didn't want to do.
• Saying no is important because it conserves energy for the things you care about and gives you time back.
• When someone asks for something, it is not necessary to give an explanation.
• When deciding what to say no to, it is important to provide value to people and not just ask for something.
• When looking at emails, it is important to decide what to say no to and what to ignore versus respond to positively.
• James Altucher outsources most of his email reading to India.
• He has trained a group of people to know what emails to send to him and which to ignore.
• He does not respond to emails asking for advice on startups.
• He does not talk to most of his family due to his blog.
• He once wrote a blog post about one of his daughters that caused her to be embarrassed and he had to apologize.
• He focuses on writing and being creative as it makes him happy and he knows that money will follow.
• He has missed out on many opportunities in the past, but does not let it affect his focus.
• Money can make a difference in terms of providing freedom and security, but everyone defines that differently.
• People's qualities are magnified with money, both good and bad.
• It is important to focus on the good qualities and work on the bad ones.
• Saying no is a skill that requires practice.
• It is important to be kind to oneself and build up discernment to know when to say no.
• The less justification given when saying no, the less labor is required to contend with.
• Saying yes to someone can mean inheriting their problems.
• Saying yes to everything is not always the best option, as it can lead to an opportunity cost.
• Richard Branson's advice to say yes to everything may be true in the early days, but as one's career progresses, the percentage of yeses should decrease.
• Saying yes to something that is not good for one's health today can lead to a bad tomorrow.
• The middle class is slowly being fired or demoted from their jobs, and corporations are no longer loyal.
• The stock market is at an alltime high due to companies becoming more profitable after firing people.
• Innovation is still happening in the economy, and the internet is improving the quality of life.
• Stock market is ruled by profits and dividend streams, leading to companies outsourcing employees to employment agencies to reduce costs.
• This has led to a decrease in salaries and benefits for those outsourced, and a need for individuals to become selfsufficient in order to survive in the coming decades.
• When asked who comes to mind when he hears the word "successful", James Altucher replied that nobody comes to mind and that success is being exactly where he wants to be in the present moment.
• The book he has given most often as a gift is Jesus' Son by Dennis Johnson, a collection of short stories about a drug addict.
• When asked what he orders at a bar, James Altucher replied that he does not drink at all due to being an alcoholic.
• His favorite music includes classic rock, heavy metal, rap, and country.
• If he could change one thing about himself, it would be to look better.
• His favorite documentary is High on Crack Street by Jon Alpert.
• James Altucher is an author and podcast host.
• He does not use Twitter to curate news, but follows Tim Ferriss' blog and Maria Popova's blog, Brain Pickings.
• His favorite documentary is Comedian, the Jerry Seinfeld documentary.
• He had the best meal of his life in Thailand, Pad Thai.
• His new book, The Power of No, is coming out July 15th.
• People can find him online at jamesaltucher.com, @jaltucher on Twitter, and on his podcast, The James Altucher Show.