February 7, 2020

Treat Your Life As An Experiment – James Altucher on the Modern Wisdom Podcast (Part II)

Check out the Modern Wisdom Podcast Episode Page & Show Notes

Check out the Podcast Notes for Part I

Constantly run experiments to figure out how you can improve various aspects of your life—keep them short and low-budget
You can’t think your way to your passion; you have to go out into the world and do things
Your true calling lies at the intersection of what you’re good at, what you love to do, what you people will pay you for, and what society needs
You don’t have to be the best in the world at a specific skill—take 2-3 skills your good at and combine them to create something great
Don’t be afraid to take two steps back to move four steps forward

James Altucher (@jaltucher) is a chess master, writer, entrepreneur, investor, and comedian
- He also hosts The James Altucher Show (Podcast Notes)
Host – Chris Williamson (@ChrisWillx)

Choose Yourself by James Altucher, the book James is most known for
James recommends Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power
Stillness Is The Key by Ryan Holiday
- Before Ryan was a bestselling author, he dropped out of college to apprentice under Robert Greene

Constantly run experiments to figure out how you can improve various aspects of your life
- For example, to improve his comedy skills, James did stand-up on the NYC subway, hopping from cart to cart where he immediately had a new audience to experiment with different jokes
- With any experiment, reality will reflect back to you whether or not it’s a good idea
Keep experiments short and low-budget—their purpose serves to give you an idea of what you like/don’t like and to test out whether it’s worth pursuing an idea further
James is currently experimenting with producing videos on YouTube and TikTok v
Try to minimize friction with experiments
- If you’re interested in salsa dancing, for instance, don’t spend hours trying to find the best class—pick any random one and give it a shot
🎧 You can’t think your way to your passion; you have to go out into the world and do things
- “You have to actually do in order to know” – James Altucher
- (You won’t know what writing a novel is like until you sit down and try)

Your true calling lies at the intersection of what you’re good at, what you love to do, what people will pay you for, and what society needs
- James adds: “It’s at the intersection of all of your interests where you’ll probably find your passion and make the most amount of money”
You don’t have to be the best in the world at a specific skill—take 2-3 skills your good at and combine them to create something great
- Take Chris Turner: He combined stand-up comedy with rap—he’s now one of the most popular comedians in the world even though he’s only 27-years-old
- James combined his investing experience with his writing skills to create an investing newsletter
- 🎧 Oftentimes, specific skills will seem worthless—it took James 12 years before he began making money writing!
“You can’t succeed by just being better; you also have to be different” – James Altucher

James believes the 10,000-hour rule only applies to repetitive tasks
Skip the line to becoming the best by focusing on the 10,000 experiment rule:
- Every time you run an experiment, you’ll have the opportunity to learn a new skill or develop an existing one
- Experiments also allow you to hone multiple skills at once:
  - When performing stand-up comedy in the NYC subway, James was developing both his comedy and social skills
A huge online platform (i.e., a podcast, social media, or YouTube audience) makes it easier to connect with experts in any field
- Developing a relationship with an expert and being able to learn from them directly saves you weeks or months of practice!

Don’t be afraid to take two steps back to move four steps forward
- Ryan Holiday, for instance, dropped out of college to apprentice under author Robert Greene, who later landed Ryan a job at American Apparel. Ryan then quit that job to work under another bestselling author—Tim Ferriss—before becoming one himself.
🎧 James wanted to make TV shows but lacked the necessary experience, so he took an IT job with HBO to get his foot in the door. Later on, he pitched a successful web show, which ended turning into a TV show.
- “I was the only programmer ever in the IT department to be shooting a pilot for HBO” – James Altucher

If you’re a podcaster, experiment with different formats and interviews
Sometimes it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond
Don’t ask someone “How can I help you?” — that gives them homework to do (they have to figure out what they need help with). Instead, say, “Here are 10 ideas. I can help with any of them. Interested in any?“
- “Give away your ideas freely … And give them away as simply as possible so there’s little work on the other person’s part” – James Altucher