James' daughter Mollie sits in for Claudia today and asks James...

What did you learn in 2014 and how will that affect you in 2015?

Success is measured in decades...

Don't get disappointed in small setbacks. Start today... a decade can pass in the blink of an eye.

Not every couple's timetable is in sync. 

Today's question comes via James' text and is a difficult one. 

A man writes in... 

I'm in love with my woman and we've been together for a while. She wants to have children and I don't. 

Should he stay in the relationship or should he let her go?

James and Claudia look at this question from both the man and the woman's perspective.

Should she wait until he's ready? Will he ever be ready? 

Or is it time for both of them to just move on.

Listen in today as James and Claudia discuss this difficult topic.

You've got an idea; do you need a business plan to launch it?

James says yes sometimes, but not the kind of plan you're probably used to. Forget the PowerPoint with a ton of numbers, graphs, and charts. "And don't ever tell me that there's 1.3 billion people in China and your business only needs to attract 1% of these people to be a huge success."

Here's what you should include in your business plan...

Who are you?

Did you build and sell another business?

Can you come up with ideas and do you have business "sense"?

Can you sell your idea?

Simple, powerful slides, and please...

No smiley face curves.

James and Claudia are celebrating Christmas by cheating on their paleo diet. 

We hope you all are enjoying yours.

Is blood really thicker than water? Do you have to be around those that are bad for you?

Why?

Why not make it a point to be around those that love you and those you love. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us to all of you. 

This year make sure you don’t forget to Choose Yourself…

Episode #73 of The James Altucher Show was about givers and takers with Adam Grant.  This was a fantastic show and if you’ve not listened to it here’s the link.

Our question today is from that show.

I’d recommend you listen to episode #73 and then listen to this Ask Altucher.

Our question comes today from Holland and Claudia gives us all a quick lesson in geography.

Many small entrepreneurs are great at their specialty but may not be good at or like to do the accounting or the technology or maybe hate marketing.

Ask these small companies – What do you need help with?

Make a menu list of what you’re good at and offer these as a webinar. Give away as much as possible, give away all your secrets for free.

And don’t forget to gather testimonials. These are critical to the growth of your company.

The no-complaint diet says that for ten days you can't complain about anything. If you complain, you have to start again

As James says, you'll never get there. It's the practice that important.

Complaint bonding is an evolutionary trait that we as humans have done a great job of exploiting.

But can complaining ever be useful?

James says no. What can help you is figuring out the solution to a problem... not complaining about it.

Plus James tosses out a new idea. It's one waiting for someone to grab and run with it.

Do you have a great idea but you're afraid that if you tell someone, they're going to steal it...

Well, as James tells us today there is no real way to protect your idea. But if you're more passionate about your idea than anyone else, then you can succeed.

Spend a few dollars and get your idea out there. Go to ODesk or Kickstarter and get some help getting your idea seen. For help with crowdfunding, check out our episode 170 with Clay Heber.

James and Claudia come up with a few ideas of their own.

Click to listen to this money-making episode.

Have you set your 2015 goals yet? 

James doesn't make goals. Instead he tries to improve incrementally 1% better every day... spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. 

Instead of goals, James sets themes. 

Before you pull out that pad and pen, listen here.

And a thank you from our listener who asked the question in Episode #168: How Do You Get That Final 1% Finished?

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

Ask a question at Askaltucher.com.

E-mail it to James@stansberryradio.com.

Or, text James at 203-512-2161.

Getting your movie produced through the traditional method is extremely difficult. But so is raising the money to do it yourself.

So James suggests you try both routes.

The cost of producing your own movie has gone way, way down.

Claudia suggests creating a short trailer and James chimes in with a few social media ideas to get producers to see it.

Try crowd funding...

And don't forget to start your next script now.