February 7, 2020

How To Improve Every Day & Harness The Power of Ideas – James Altucher on the Modern Wisdom Podcast (Part I)

Check out the Modern Wisdom Podcast Episode Page & Show Notes

There are 3 skills to money:
- 1) Making it
- 2) Keeping it
- 3) Growing it
Each day, aim to improve your physical, emotional, creative, and spiritual health by 1%
In terms of material possessions, you truly don’t need much in life
The last 10 years of entrepreneurship have focused on keeping people on their couches
Think of and write down 10 ideas a day—most won’t be good, but that’s okay; all that matters is you’re flexing your creativity muscle and keeping it active

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)

Originally, James didn’t want to be an entrepreneur—it’s something he stumbled into
James started his first business in the ‘90s building websites for American Express, record labels, and entertainment firms, eventually selling it for $15 million
- However, due to poor money management and investment skills, two years later, he was left with just $143, causing him to fall into a deep depression
  - At the time, James considered suicide—he had an extensive life insurance policy, and he figured his children were so young they wouldn’t reminder him anyway
    - “Better for them to have a life insurance policy than me” – James Altucher
Over time, James repeated the same cycle—making millions of dollars multiple times over, but then going broke
There are 3 skills to money:
- 1) Making it
- 2) Keeping it
- 3) Growing it
Two life lessons:
- On your way up, everyone wants to be your friend; on your way down, it’s as if no one knows you
- Just because you’re rich now doesn’t mean you’ll be rich forever

Don’t let failure go to waste— examine it and pull out the lessons
🎧 Each day, aim to improve your physical, emotional, creative, and spiritual health by 1%
- Physical: Are you eating, moving, and sleeping well?
- Emotional: Are you end toxic relationships and building positive ones?
- Creative: Creativity is a muscle; are you coming up with 10 creative ideas every day?
- Spiritual: Are you anxious or fearful about things you can’t control?
Life is incredibly complex—it helps to boil it down to the simple things and focus only on what you can control
- “Things are going to be great in the long run—I never have to think about the long run if I did what I needed to do today” – James Altucher
Instead of stressing over to-do lists, start by completing your highest priority task. Then, when you finish, move on to your next highest priority task.
One of the best parts about having money: you can buy convenience

A while back, James was leasing two houses, and both leases were set to expire. Instead of renewing them, James decided, on a whim, to throw out his belongings and only live in AirBnBs for the next two years.
- The only items he kept: his computer, phone, and a carry-on bag with some clothes
- This experience taught James an important lesson: In terms of material possessions, you truly don’t need much in life
If you’re game for hopping on the minimalism bandwagon, James has some advice
- Step 1: Put all the items you don’t use in a room
- Step 2: Anytime you need one of the items, take it out and put it somewhere else
- Step 3: After 6 months, throw out everything you haven’t used

🎧 The last 10 years of entrepreneurship have focused on keeping people on their couches:
- Don’t feel like grocery shopping? Amazon Fresh
- Don’t feel like cooking? GrubHub
- Don’t feel like going to the movie theater? Netflix
- Don’t feel like going to the gym? Peleton
- “Every company in the past ten years … has been designed just to make it more easy for me to just sit on my couch all day” – James Altucher

Think of and write down 10 ideas a day—most won’t be good, but that’s okay; all that matters is you’re flexing your creativity muscle and keeping it active
Once you’ve stumbled on a good idea, think of three immediate steps you can take to execute; James notes:
- If you don’t know how to do something, find a freelancer on Fiverr (or a similar site)
- Even if your idea fails, it’s still a learning experience and it’ll make for a great story
  - (James once tried to launch a Kickstarter and GoFundMe campaign to buy Greenland – the sites shut his campaign down, but it was a fun experiment and it makes for a hilarious story)

Everyone does the dinner and drinks date—be different:
- James suggests: Go to a ping-pong club, a comedy show, a haunted house, or an escape room

Check out the Podcast Notes for Part II