The James Altucher Show

If you're into hunting for buried pirate treasure then this is the show for you. Today I'm very happy to welcome bestselling author Robert Kurson to the podcast. Robert has just released Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship. This is the second book featuring John Chatterton and is about his quest with John Mattera to find the ship of the infamous pirate Joseph Bannister. Bannister, a gentleman and business owner working with shipping companies in the Caribbean, one day turned pirate and stole a boat named The Golden Fleece, setting off on a pirate's adventure for years. Treasure hunting may seem like a romantic,  childish notion, but most treasure hunters are often seeking adventure, encountering huge adversity in their search and often risking all to solve the mysteries they encounter beneath the water. Chatterton (a police officer) and Mattera (a commercial diver) worked all week, used their savings, and spent every free minute of their time searching for this long lost ship. Shadow Diverswas Robert's first book featuring Richie Kohler and John Chatterton on their quest to solve the mystery of a WWII German U-boat found off the New Jersey coast in 1991 and how the questions surrounding this discovery would haunt these men, their marriages, and ultimately challenge every aspect of their lives. In Robert's first book, Crashing Through, he tells the story of Mike May who was blind from the age 3 and regained his vision at age 46 via a rare stem-cell transplant procedure. May had lived a very fulfilling life as a blind person, and actually delayed doing this procedure for over a year. Robert learned the lesson of storytelling early on. Growing up he was regularly brought out of school, sometimes for extended periods of time, to travel the country. By age 8 he had visited all 48 continental United States. This time away allowed him to get a first-hand sense of the power of storytelling. This unconventional upbringing also empowered Robert to discover and follow his passion from an early age. Robert recounts how he found himself utterly miserable living the life of a typical day-job employee. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he feels lucky that he was miserable enough to have the courage to do something as daring as leaving a high-paying, comfortable job to pursue his passion, just like John Chatterton did years ago. Robert and James agree that a good barometer of your happiness in a job is how you view the people you work with. If you enjoy the people you're working with then you can be happy at your job. If you don't enjoy being around attorneys, for example, then there's virtually no chance you'll be happy at work every day as an attorney. Thanks so much for listening Regards, David Newman P.S. Have you entered yet? Here is YOUR CHANCE to WIN a year's worth of James Altucher's favorite books from The James Altucher Show podcast.   P.P.S. If you enjoyed this episode of The James Altucher Show, please leave a review or a rating on iTunes. I read every review and it helps to make the podcast better. ------------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... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

16 Juni 20151h 1min

"I'm the kind of person who is embarrassed to lie," says "Freeway" Rick Ross. Not the words you would expect to come from a convicted felon. Rick built an empire, a drug empire that is, the notorious Los Angeles crack-cocaine empire. But the man who built this empire is not an evil man as you might suspect. He is charitable, a teacher, and an ideal leader. "I always knew I was going to jail," he tells me. So why did I interview him? First off, his story is the kind that creates curiosity. It is so foreign to me - a good, Jewish boy. It's thrilling. Second, our stories have a common theme: How do you pick yourself up when you're at rock bottom? His rock bottom was finding out he was sentenced to life in prison. How do you stay motivated after discovering your entire future will be in a cage? How do you not run away? Can you "choose yourself" here? Yes. Before bottom, Rick was illiterate. He picked himself up by improving every day. He read 300 books, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and more all before he was granted bail. He was given a sentence, but he changed his destiny. You can, too. Rick also has expert advice on how to resolve conflicts. In his business, he had power and guns but chose peace over force time and time again. His story is a good example of how to build loyalty. You can use his experience to create loyal teams and partnerships in your life and work, too. The moral of the story here is not how you find success. It's what you do with it that matters. During his rise to the top, Rick gave back to his community. He gives back today by advocating literacy and speaking in schools. After listening, you could write a "10 ideas" list on how you can give back to your community today. If nothing else, I hope this interview inspires you to improve your destiny and others. In This Episode, You Will Learn: *How to resolve conflicts *How to build loyal relationships *Examples of strong work ethic *Why literacy is important *How to gain clientele and use word-of-mouth marketing *Plus much more... Links and Resources Mentioned in the Show: *Read "Freeway" Rick Ross' inspiring book, Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography. *Follow "Freeway" Rick Ross on Twitter. *Check out Jayson Gaignard's conference, MastermindTalks, which is where I interviewed Rick Ross. *My article, "What I learned about leadership when I interviewed the biggest drug dealer in history."   Thanks so much for listening! ------------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.

9 Juni 201553min

What are you best at? Whatever it is, you should do it more often and get paid for it, too. Do you know the ultimate site to choose yourself (besides jamesaltucher.com)? It's Freelancer.com. It's "a global market for services" and "the eBay for jobs." My guest today, Matt Barrie, is the genius who founded it. This site changed my life. And in today's interview, you'll hear how I used the site to build a business and sell it for millions of dollars eight months later. I've interviewed hundreds of successful people. Matt, on the other hand, watches people become overnight successes in real time. He is an encyclopedia of success stories. You will feel motivated and empowered after hearing these extreme entrepreneur success stories. Have you heard of giantflamingo.com? This guy outsourced manufacturing on Freelancer.com and created an entire pool toy empire. Now, he's a multimillionaire. You'll hear his full story and realize you have the same potential. If starting a business isn't for you, that's OK. You can still make money from the site. "Everyone on the site is there to make money," Matt says. Here's what you have to do: use the site to look up projects. Projects can supplement your income or even replace it. This way you'll get paid to do what you're good at all the time. Let me know what you find. I love to hear stories about how you choose yourself. In This Episode You Will Learn:         *How to make money using Freelancer.com         *How to use Freelancer.com to start and build a business         *How to use Freelancer.com to get projects so you can quit your job         *How Matt Barrie came up with the idea of an "eBay for jobs" Plus much more... Links and Resources Mentioned In The Show: I've said it before and I'll say it again: Freelancer.com A collection of essays by Matt Barrie Giantflamigo.com Singularity University   Thanks so much for listening! ------------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.

2 Juni 20151h 3min

Neil Strauss and James never had met before this interview but you'd think they've been best friends forever. And that's why Neil has been so successful writing about the undercover world of pickup artists. He's a really nice guy. They dive right into some of the techniques that Neil talks about in his best-seller, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists, and he asks James to let his listeners "know him." So James becomes the patient today and Neil does a quick analysis. A lot of what Neil talks about is how you can get out of you comfort zone. Too often people fake it... but to honestly get out, you may need a friend to push you way out of your comfort zone. James asks Neil what's next and Neil tells him... Don't be trapped in what you've done before. "All people know of what you've done from what you've done before. They don't know what you're going to do next." Go do you. Regards, David Newman Senior Producer of Stansberry Radio P.S. NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WITH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE? Great new resource shows 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.   -------------------Additional Resources-----------------------   Neil Strauss "Picks Up" on Jessica Alba- Jimmy Kimmel show The Game by Neil Strauss Robert Greene - How to Become a Master of What You Love   Satan is Real by The Louvin Brothers ------------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.

26 Maj 201555min

I think I'm in love with Mimi Ikonn. Oh, and also her husband Alex Ikonn. Don't want to confuse anyone! When I was a kid I didn't think I would be happy unless I was a "millionaire". Some kids in my school said they were millionaires and they would make fun of anyone who wasn't. I asked my dad what he was worth. He said $2. Maybe that scarred me so much that I always make sure to have wads of $2 bills on me at all times. A year or so later his company went bankrupt. So he wasn't worth the same anymore. In his mind, he was worth ZERO. For the rest of his life he sat in the living room, depressed, and listened to music. When he was a little boy he loved music and won an award. At some point we all return to what we loved as a child. I suppose that means I will return to comics, Judy Blume, and spying on people. A few weeks ago I met Mimi Ikonn and Alex Ikonn. I was insanely curious about them. How come? Because Mimi makes videos of herself, delivers real value to people, and then makes over a million a year because of those videos. I don't know how old Mimi is. She's much younger than me. She's much younger than my father ever was when I was alive. He would've liked to live her life. So Claudia and I asked Mimi and Alex if we could interview them. Because they seemed very happy also. The podcast comes out later today but here's the summary. This is a simple post. How to make a million. I am absolutely sure the same techniques that worked for Mimi and Alex can work for anyone. I had them lay it out step by step. A) EMOTIONS Mimi became obsessed with beauty and hair. She and Alex watched before and after videos of women who were getting hair extensions. "They seemed much happier after getting extensions," Alex said. "Whenever there are strong emotions about something you know there is an opportunity." So Mimi started making videos of herself discussing hair and beauty and hair products. "I never thought I would get more than 1,000 views," Mimi said. "But I loved doing the videos. And I wanted to share my love for the topics with as many people as possible." Now she has had a quarter of a BILLION views on her videos with 2.7 million subscribers. B) HUB AND SPOKE People ask: "How do I get traffic to my blog". Or "how do I get buyers of my book." or "How do I get people to follow me on Twitter." A lot of it is about loneliness. We sit in our house writing blog posts and then hit Publish. We want family to love them. We want friends to love them. And then we want the world to love them. I'm really just talking about myself. I know when people enjoy things I do, I feel as if I have a family. I'm happy. At least until the next post. Mimi loved making the videos but needed traffic. So they did the only two-step technique that gets traffic online for anything you want to do. Well, make it a three-step technique. 1) Love Know more, love more, express more, bleed more, than anyone else. Was Mimi the only one doing videos on beauty and hair? No. But maybe she put more passion into it. 2) Spread the Love Alex would take images and posts and links to her videos and spread them on Pinterest, Instagram, blogs, other sites and have them all point back to her YouTube channel. I call this "the Hub and Spoke" approach. Youtube was the hub, with a dozen or so spokes reaching out to popular sites that all would link back to the hub. 3) Make more Love No matter what you do - some will be good and some will be bad. Not every video or post is going to have views. So you do more. When you do more, several things happen: a. More people find you b. You rank higher on search c. You improve d. People who find you start clicking on your older videos so now they start to get more views. The "Make More Love" technique always works. Michelle Phan did 54 YouTube videos before she made a massive hit. Hugh Howey had already ten novels before he published "Wool" which became... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

24 Maj 20151h 1min

They pick up where they left off... Talking about being obligated to continue doing what brought you success. Success can be a trap, but it's better than the alternative. Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip and author of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, joins The James Altucher Show to talk about his career and how it landed him exactly where he wanted to be. Click here to listen to today's episode. He shares with us the story about he became "super fit" and how that changed his life. He and James dive into what makes a blog posts go viral. It may not be what you think. Scott loves to experiment with what it takes a post to go viral. Is it the title, the content, the angle you choose to take, the target you choose... Or could it be something else. Scott's been doing some Twitter testing. What's the ideal amount of characters, where should you place your hashtags? What he's discovered is that when he mocks a group his tweet becomes popular because everyone thinks he's talking about someone else. They also veer off into a quick conversation about how to stop ISIS. Listen, and decide if you agree. They finish up today with a bunch of new video ideas featuring Scott creating Dilbert. James says he'd watch that every day. So would I. Regards, David Newman Senior Producer of Stansberry Radio   -------------------Additional Resources-----------------------   What Makes Stuff Go Viral Science's Biggest Fail Dilbert   Plus, if you want to learn more about Scott's new start-up, click here. ------------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.

19 Maj 201550min

Don't give up on your dreams. "Giving up on your dreams doesn't come for free," says Chris Hadfield, astronaut extraordinaire. Chris followed his dreams for 33 years before they became a reality. Children dream. Children explore. Adults talk. And adults do. "We get the ability to explore way before we get common sense or perspective on how anything works," Chris says. If you stopped exploring, start again. In today's interview you learn how to live the life you want. Take it from Chris. He's an astronaut so he really has an outside perspective. Chris says, "When you're floating at the window of the space station and you go around the world every 92 minutes, you see the world in its completeness." Chris lived his dreams because he explored his curiosity. That's the secret. You need to explore. No matter how impossible they seem, your dreams deserve exploring. That's the other secret. You need to believe in the impossible. Chris made the impossible possible and became the first Canadian astronaut to walk in space. That doesn't mean he's never failed, though, which we talk about, too. "You will not reach the potential you're capable of - which to me is the ultimate risk, the ultimate loss - if you let yourself be minimized by fear," Chris says. Believe in possible. Be curious. Explore. I'm excited for you to listen to today's episode and regain confidence in your dreams. In This Episode, You Will Learn:   What it takes to make the impossible possible How to anticipate problems and lead through them How giving up on your dreams comes at a cost Advice on selecting a supportive partner to "point out the beauties of life" with How to recover from disappointments and failures The importance of celebrating small successes The power of sharing the human experience online How technology becomes the limit of success Plus much more... Links and Resources Mentioned in the Show: Chris' book, which I highly recommend! An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything  Chris' famous video singing Space Oddity by David Bowie  Video of Chris brushing his teeth in space  Other Links and Resources:   Read Chris' hilarious "about" page on his website  Chris' official Canadian Space Agency biography  ------------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.

12 Maj 20151h 6min

I'm a freak. I'm a freak for a lot of things: comic books, podcasts, my wife. But none of that matters today (sorry Claudia). I had the pleasure, no, the honor, of interviewing my good friend Stephen Dubner today. This is like being the best man at his wedding. It's a big day for Stephen. Today, he's releasing his new book, When to Rob a Bank. What a great title, right? In today's podcast, Stephen and I take some of our offline debates online. We debate everything from who is most likely to try to kill you (hint: it's not strangers), to why the New York Times moderates comments - which according to Steven Levitt, coauthor of When to Rob a Bank, is because "there are too many people out there who don't know how to think about the world." If you haven't read Freakonomics, SuperFreakonomics, and the whole lot of Stephen Dubner's books, then I highly recommend you do. But first, read his new book. This book is made up of the 132 best stories, thoughts, and discoveries from Stephen's 85,000 blog posts over the past decade. In This Episode You Will Learn: *How to get to know your blog community *How to pick a title *The criteria of a good blog post and choosing a topic Links and Resources Mentioned in the Show:   *Stephen Dubner's New York Times bestselling book Freakonomics *Stephen Dubner's New York Times bestselling book  SuperFreakonomics *Stephen Dubner's blog Also checkout: * My first interview with Stephen  *My blog on "The 5 Reasons Freakonomics Was a Bestseller" Thanks so much for listening!   If you enjoyed this episode of The James Altucher Show, please leave a review or a rating on ITunes. I read every review and it helps to make the podcast better. ------------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.

5 Maj 20151h 2min