The Tim Ferriss Show: James Altucher on How to Say "No," Fail Better, and Build Businesses (#18)

Listen on iTunes, download (right click “save as”), or stream it now below:

This episode of The Tim Ferriss Show is sponsored by Bluehost, which I used for my first WordPress blog, and I still use them for sites today. Click here for a special offer!

Now, on to our guest…

James Altucher is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, and bestselling author. He has founded or co-founded more than 20 companies, including Reset Inc. and StockPickr. 17 have failed, and 3 have made him tens of millions. He has published 11 books, the newest of which is The Power of No.

Join us in a conversation about just about everything, including: how to say “no” to requests, how to learn from failure, and how to build businesses.  More in the show notes below.

Click here to subscribe/listen to the show on iTunes.

Click here to subscribe to the show via RSS (non-iTunes feed).

For those who enjoy reading, here is the full transcript. You can also read this transcript online here. All transcripts can be found here.

If you have a second, please leave me an honest rating and review on iTunes by clicking here. It will help the show tremendously, including my ability to bring on more incredible guests. Thanks!

Show Notes and Select Links from Episode 17…

• Why James almost ended up homeless after making millions
• How a daily routine can mitigate risk
• The “1% goal” that changes his life drastically every 6 months
• Why he considers news media to be “junk food,” and what he reads instead
• Why and how his writing exploded in popularity
• How “being vulnerable” on his blog almost permanently damaged James’s relationship with his daughter
• The myth of “job security,” and how to chart your own path
• And much more…

LINKS FROM EPISODE 17

• Visit the Tim Ferriss Book Club to find a new book each month (or so) that has changed my life
• Seth Godin’s blog
• The Bloggess
• David Thorne’s Blog
• Read my blog post: “Productivity” Tricks for the Neurotic, Manic-Depressive, and Crazy (Like Me)
• Learn more about High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell
• The transportation network company that’s taking the world by storm (100+ cities and counting): www.Uber.com
• Learn more about Oingo – James’s worst venture capital decision
• Learn more about Hoop Dreams
• Jerry Seinfeld Documentary: Comedian
• Maria Popova’s blog
• Read Tucker Max’s stories
• James Altucher’s blog
• James Altucher on Twitter: @jaltucher
• The James Altucher Show Podcast
• Ask Altucher Daily Podcast

Books Mentioned in the Episode

• Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina
• The Power of No: Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Abundance, and Happiness by James Altucher
• Choose Yourself! by James Altucher
• Dynamic Hedging: Managing Vanilla and Exotic Options by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a new section: “On Robustness and Fragility” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
• Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
• Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way by Richard Branson
• Jesus’ Son: Stories by Denis Johnson
• Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Other Authors Mentioned in the Episode

• Books by Ernest Hemingway
• Books by Stephen J. Dubner
• Stories and books by Raymond Carver
• Stories and books by Denis Johnson
• Stories and books by Amy Hempel

###

For all episodes of The Tim Ferriss Show, including links and show notes, visit this page.