James Altucher
James Altucher
James Altucher is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, bestselling author, and podcaster. He has founded or cofounded more than 20 companies, including Reset Inc. and StockPickr and says he failed at 17 of them. He has published eleven books, and he is a frequent contributor to publications including The Financial Times, TheStreet.com, TechCrunch, Seeking Alpha, Thought Catalog, and The Huffington Post. USA Today named his book Choose Yourself one of the 12 Best Business Books of All Time...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth23 January 1968
CountryUnited States of America
When people give you their stated reason for doing something always assume they are giving you a reason that sounds good, but not the real reason.
You can't make money without selling something real. You can't make something real without first imagination manifesting itself in your head. You can't have imagination without surrendering yourself to an idea that you want to create something of value to other human beings.
The only way to make real wealth is to get rid of your salary. In a salary, by definition, you are creating wealth for others, and you are creating a chain and handcuffs for yourself.
Success, in every case, comes from the alchemy of your health, your mind, your positive energy, and the real world situations you persistently improve for yourself.
The reality is: when you're slouched over, not only are you not using the full potential of your brain, but you look untrustworthy.
But business is just a vehicle for transforming the ideas in your head into something real, something tangible, that actually improves the lives of others. To create something unique and beautiful and valuable is very hard. It’s very special to do. It doesn’t happen fast.
Read every sentence you write out loud. If it sounds boring, kill it.
Read every book, blog, website, whatever, about what you want to be an expert in.
Technology, outsourcing, a growing temp staffing industry, productivity efficiencies, have all replaced the middle class.
You'll have to hire people to expand your business. But it's a good discipline to really question if you need each and every hire.
When I was 7 years old, I plagiarized, word for word, stories from science fiction magazines so my teachers would think I was smart.
When I was 22 years old, I thought girls would like me if I wrote a novel. I spent so much time writing that I was thrown out of graduate school.
When I was 22, I was thrown out of graduate school and then fired from three jobs in a row at higher and higher salaries where I saved nothing.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, an employee, a student, a homemaker, a writer, it's time to start forgetting about all the ways the world has promised you safety and comfort.