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Syndication

As an entrepreneur, you're going to make more bad decisions than good ones.

Even the smartest entrepreneurs constantly make decisions they have to undo.

There's an extremely small difference between a bad entrepreneur and a really great one.

Today, James shares with us some of the good and some of the bad decisions he's made.

 

As he says, don't ever stop trying.

Direct download: AA20EP20200.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 12:23pm EDT

You've been asked to give a speech, so how can you capitalize on this to be asked back?

First, nix the Power Point.

Second, always be a storyteller. Tell a story that relates to your talk. People will relate to you if you tell a great story.

Third, watch stand-up comedy.

And don't forget to entertain.

If you want to ask James a question, just go to...

 

Ask a question at Askaltucher.com.

Direct download: AA20EP20199.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 11:30am EDT

How can I build a media empire?

James says, first you have to realize it takes years.

Find a writing voice, write constantly, and put that article everywhere you can. People will write back to you and eventually you'll get those all-important testimonials.

James recommends reading "The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Reinventing Yourself," a post he wrote for his blog.

If you want to ask James a question, just go to...

 

Ask a question at Askaltucher.com

Direct download: AA20Ep20198.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 10:09am EDT

Nicole Lapin, known for being the youngest anchor ever at CNN and then going on to claim the same title at CNBC where she anchored "Worldwide Exchange" and contributed to "Morning Joe" and "The Today Show" joins James on today's special edition of Ask Altucher.

Nobody handed Nicole anything. She's worked her butt off since she was 15.

She started in Kentucky, then South Dakota and on to Palm Springs while still finishing her college degree.

She finally got a 4 a.m. time slot on CNBC and immediately fell in love with it.

In Nicole's new book Rich Bitch, she lays out a 12-step plan in which she shares her experiences – mistakes and all – of getting her own finances in order. Money is typically an "off limits" conversation, but nothing is off limits here.

Nicole rethinks every piece of financial "wisdom" you've ever heard and puts her own fresh, modern, sassy spin on it. Sure, there are some hard-and-fast rules about finance, but when it comes to your money, the only person who can tell you how to spend it is you. Should you invest in a 401(k)? Maybe not. Should you splurge on that morning latte? Likely yes.

It's a bit different format today.

I hope you enjoy it.

 

Ask a question at Askaltucher.com.

Direct download: AA20Ep2019720.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 2:25pm EDT

Today we're going to do something a little bit different.

Hi, my name is David Newman and I'm the Executive Producer for all of James' podcasts.

Yesterday, while Claudia and James were having lunch, she turned on her phone and recorded their conversation.

And while James knew she was recording him, he had no idea she was going to send it to me.

After listening to it, I decided to release it to you today.

As I said, it's a bit different.

I hope you enjoy it. So here goes…

 

Ask a question at Askaltucher.com

Direct download: AA20EP2019620Final.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 2:08pm EDT

Building connections and building relationships are how you bring real value to the world around you.

Jayson Gaignard is a super-connector. He's two degrees of separation from anyone you want to meet.

Broke and $250,000 in debt, Jayson thought about an idea that nobody else was doing after getting a free ticket to hear Seth Godin speak, connecting entrepreneurs over an intimate dinner.

He paid for this himself by going even further into debt with no expectations of ever making money on these. Mastermind Dinners launched and Jayson’s new venture was off and running.

Entrepreneurship often takes an unyielding belief in yourself, and Jayson definitely believes.

Listen today to hear the story of someone who bet everything he had on an idea.

His new book, Mastermind Dinners Build Lifelong Relationships by Connecting Experts, Influencers and Linchpins is a fantastic read and he hosts a podcast, Mastermind Talks you really need to subscribe to.

 

Ask a question at Askaltucher.com.

Direct download: AA20Ep20195.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 10:02am EDT

Claudia and I threw out everything we owned this weekend. We threw out 98% of everything.

There are about 30 garbage bags and another 20 boxes filled with stuff. "Stuff."

We had just spent six weeks traveling around and except for the stuff we were traveling with we realized we didn't need anything else.

No papers, books, extra sheets, clothes, extra plates, tables, lights, etc. I didn't even miss these things once.

25 years' worth of memories in some cases.

Part of this is an experiment. I'm interviewing Marie Kondo in a few weeks. Author of the 2-million-copies bestseller The Art of Tidying Up.

I wanted to try her suggestions. She said before you "organize," you "discard." But once we started discarding, we couldn't stop. We discarded everything. All of our rooms are now pretty empty.

And it's not like we are going to replace anything. If anything, having less leaves room in your life for more, for other things.

That is the trick.

Marie Kondo suggests you lay everything out side by side.

Then you touch each object.

If it gives you joy, you keep it. If it doesn't give you joy, or if you haven't used it in a long time, throw it out. No holding back.

If it's paper, you throw it. I threw out my photos, books, art, furniture, all my clothes except 3 outfits. I thanked everything for its dutiful service to me.

It feels almost like a new toy. "Nothing" was the toy I wanted to play with, instead of the latest "this" or "that."

If you want to try it, try this: take all the books from one bookshelf. Lay them on the floor side by side.

Touch each one. If it doesn't make you happy or if you haven't looked at the book in over six months, give it away. Don't say, "well I might need this as a reference later." You won't. There's Google for that.

Don't say, "it was a great book, though". Ok, it was great. Give it to someone else. Say "thank you" to it. Then throw it out.

"But we might have a guests over some day." Buy new sheets then. Four years from now, when you actually have a guest. "But Sheila gave me this shirt." Have you worn it in the past six months?

Claudia thought we would only get rid of enough things to get rid of one bookshelf. She thought our closets would still be full.

But we got rid of everything. We have nothing left. There's nothing in my office.

Nothing in my desk. Our closets... empty.

I want nothing in between us. In between you and me.

If you have a question that you would like to ask you can either:

 

Ask a question at Askaltucher.com

Direct download: AA20EP20194.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 2:26pm EDT

Should you buy a home?

No... Almost never.

Time is always more valuable than money and you're going to spend a huge amount of your time repairing your home.

Things constantly break and they're expensive in both your time and your money to get fixed.

Listen today as James debunks the usual myths like: you'll miss out on the appreciation... you get a tax deduction... or you'll never establish "roots."

If you want to ask James a question, you can contact him...

Ask a question at Askaltucher.com.

E-mail it to James@stansberryradio.com.

 

Or, text James at 203-512-2161.

Direct download: AA20Ep20193.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 10:00am EDT

How do you transform your life?

The answer is simple. Come up with 10 ideas a day. Every day. It doesn't matter if they are good or bad; the point is to exercise your idea muscle, to make it sweat.

Today James talks with Claudia about her brand new book,Become an Idea Machine: Because Ideas Are the Currency of the 21st Century.

People say ideas are cheap and execution is everything, but that is NOT true. Execution is a consequence, a subset of good, brilliant idea. And good ideas require daily work.

As Claudia explains, coming up with 10 ideas a day is very important.

Ideas may be easy if you are only coming up with one or two, but if you try to produce more than three, you will feel a burn, scratch your head, and you will be sweating and working hard. There is a turning point when you reach idea number six for the day, when you still have four to go, and your mind muscle is getting a workout. By the time you list those last ideas to make it to ten, you will see for yourself what "sweating the idea muscle" means.

When you practice every day your life will transform...

Life changes for the better when we become the source of positive, insightful, and helpful ideas.

Challenge yourself to try it for 180 days and see your life transform, in magical ways, in front of your very eyes.

 

When you exercise your idea muscle every day, you become an idea machine, you are unstoppable.

Direct download: AA20Ep20192.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 1:57pm EDT

Branden Hampton's a master of making money on social media and today James and Claudia ask him to help them understand it.

First off, James asks him what his top four social media sites are today.

Hands down, Instagram is number one today, followed by Snapchat, Twitter, and then in fourth place, everyone's "necessary evil" – Facebook.

They dig into what it takes to make a living off of social media.

For all Branden's best ideas, listen here. He's extremely open and willing to share his best secrets.

Follow Branden on Twitter - @CEO

If you want to ask James a question, just go to...

Ask a question at Askaltucher.com.

E-mail it to James@stansberryradio.com.

 

Or, text James at 203-512-2161.

Direct download: AA20Ep2019120Branden20Hampton.mp3
Category:business -- posted at: 2:49pm EDT