The James Altucher Show

Jen made $30k a year before she decided to get rich. Guess how much she made a year later? SIX FIGURES. "I was sick of living my life so small," she said. So she made a BIG decision. Jen "decided" to get rich. She shifted her focus, incorporated positive thinking and made success her only option. There was no plan B... And that's what she taught me in this interview. This episode will give you Jen...

Nell Scovell had a dream career working in television. She's worked on every classic I can remember. And she even created a show, "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." She took tired sitcom plots and put them through what she calls a "magical blender." And out came something original. She told me how her ambition to be a prominent female television writer gave her these amazing opportunities that us men ca...

Aubrey Marcus is the CEO and founder of Onnit, a company dedicated to human optimization and peak performance. I like what Aubrey had to say because it's not just what you'd typically think of when you hear the words "optimize" or "peak performance." He says, "You gotta live a life that's worth living. Live a life that's well-rounded, balanced and includes the things like having a glass of wine or...

Barry is taking Eastern/compassion meditation and westernizing it. He wrote a book about these "tools" that you can use to understand yourself better. And understand your reactions, your dreams, your disappointments. He'll explain how your subconscious stores information and memories. So that you can take advantage of it. This episode is powerful. Barry Michels has knowledge (and experience) helpi...

Tony Rock is a super stand up comedian. And he's also Chris Rock's brother. He stars in CBS' newest comedy, "Living Biblically," based on my good friend, AJ Jacobs' book. Tony's been working on his comedy muscle for 24 years, so I wanted to ask him about his process. And how anyone can adopt this process for their own projects or side hustles. These are Tony's techniques to bring your ideas from t...

Frank Oz is the puppeteer. He played Miss Piggy. Bert of "Bert and Ernie," The Cookie Monster,  and even Yoda on Star Wars. He just released a new documentary called "Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched." It's about the creation of the Muppets and the man behind it all, Jim Henson. He was a unique leader, with a "nothing is impossible" attitude. This is the untold...

Anders K. Ericsson discovered the "10,000" hour rule. I had him on my podcast in 2016 to talk about peak performance. (One of my favorite topics.) And he broke down the steps every individual should follow to learn and MASTER a skill. Links and Resources Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Dr. K Anders Ericsson and Robert Poole Also Mentioned Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcol...

Don McLean is a singer and songwriter best known for the song, "American Pie." But he's so much more than just this one hit. He's sold 40 platinum and gold records and he's still touring(!). And now he's kicking off his 2 year tour for his new album, "Botanical Gardens." Don has decades and decades of experience and he's always had an instinct about what he's wanted to do... what he wanted to crea...

Tyra Banks booked 25 fashion shows her first year being an "unknown." That's unheard of. She climbed to the top of an industry and consistently created new opportunities for herself. When "they" said she was getting too fat, she switched from high-fashion to commercial modeling. When "they" said her idea for a TV show was stupid, she found someone else and got a "yes." Then she produced one of the...

Michio Kaku is one of the most famous physicists out there. His new book, "The Future of Humanity" is a New York Times bestseller. It's full of deep questions. "Every question has another answer, which begs more questions," he said. "But that's good. Because that's what science is all about." Michio talked to me about time travel, space travel, etc. And he PROVED that there's a lot more possible t...

Robert Kurson is the bestselling author of "Shadow Divers," "Pirate Hunters" and his newest, "Rocket Men". He writes about people and their explorations. And brings them to life. Before he became an esteemed author, he led a pretty conventional life. He went to Harvard Law School and carried out his degree in the field. But he dreaded every morning. So he started writing and took a huge leap of fa...

Steve Case founded AOL. He's a self-made billionaire and author of the New York Times bestseller "The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future." This is one of my most popular episodes from 2016. Because he has a great story (he turned down Bill Gates, when Gates wanted to buy AOL for millions). He saw a bigger future. And he held on to that idea. He learned how to master his own future....

Wynton Marsalis is one of the best and most well-known jazz musicians ever. I had him on to talk about creativity. He's made over 80 albums, sold over 7 million records, and won 9 Grammys (all unbelievable). He even won the Pulitzer Prize in music, which is the 1st for jazz. Now Wynton's the Managing Director & the Artistic Director for Jazz at Lincoln Center. Wynton's whole life is about being cr...

Brad Meltzer is one of the most passionate writers I've ever met. He writes page-turning thriller novels. "The Tenth Justice", "The Millionaires" and his most recent, "The Escape Artist". The first book Brad wrote got 24 rejection letters. But he trusted his gut and kept fighting. He found what he loved: 1. Character creation and 2. writing. I wanted to find out the X-factor in his books... and ho...

Adam Perlman is a TV writer, director and co-executive producer. We met on the set of Showtime's "Billions," which I can now say I am a technical writer for. He's also written for some of my favorite shows like "The Newsroom" and "The Good Wife." Adam used to be a lawyer. But he went through this constant battle with himself on whether it's "okay" to be an artist. Finally, the market collapsed. An...

Jimmy Yang veered into comedy not out of love, but out of desperation. He writes about this in his new book "How to American". "I was picturing myself sitting behind a desk until I was 65 at the same job," Jimmy said. He knew he had another skill to offer. So he googled "open mics." And went. He Jimmy wasn't very funny (at first), but what he found was a sense of purpose and a community of people...

Ryan Holiday had access a surreal conspiracy. Probably THE most surreal conspiracy of modern day. And he wrote about it in his new book, "Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue" It's a narrative nonfiction, which is new for Ryan. And that's what makes it the best book he's ever written. In this interview, Ryan tells us how he unraveled a conspiracy and why it was...

Jon Ronson writes about psychopaths. He created a test called "The Psychopath Test." And wrote about it. I had him on to learn what it means to be mad. He told me how to spot the signs (and how it starts to haunt you). He also told me stories. Lots of them. About kids trapped in mental hospitals. Secret cults planning to take over the world. His writing style is sort of humorist meets gonzo-esque...

Sebastian Maniscalco's one of the most successful pure road comics, meaning he doesn't have film crews following him around. He built himself up the old way. Through word of mouth. But I wanted to know what is "real" word of mouth? Not just social media posts. Paul's created real, authentic relationships with the people he wanted to connect with. And then turned it into a $50 million career.   I w...

Wolfgang Puck is a famous chef who has successfully created an empire in food. At age 14, he worked in his first restaurant. A few weeks in, he was fired. And contemplating suicide. Fast-forward, and Wolfgang became the first "celebrity chef." He's expanded his love of food in every single way: restaurants, cookbooks, catering (he's catered the Oscars.) Now he also has a MasterClass available onli...

Dante Nero was a male stripper for 10 years. And now he's a comedian. He was always intrigued by comedy. But before he went up on any stage, he made sure his fundamentals were impeccable. And that's key. This is what makes Dante Nero one of the greatest comedians still going 18 years later. Listen for your guide to the basic skills every comedian should know... Show Notes: The Beige Phillip Show -...

Tony's latest book "Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook"? "MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom" by Tony Robbins ?"Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!" by Tony Robbins Tony's Netflix documentary about Tony "I Am Not Your Guru" produced by my good friend Brian Koppelman   I write about all m...

Godfrey's 20 years old in comedy years. (Your age = your experience). He might've been born in 1969. But that doesn't matter. He learned this from Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld asked Godfrey, "How long have you been doing comedy?" At the time, his answer was 9 years. And Seinfeld said back, "That's your age in comedy." And it's true for most skills. Or any pursuit. It's not true for riding your bike be...

Cal Fussman is one of the greatest interviewers of all time. He's interviewed an estimated 500 iconic people. He asks the question no one else is asking. He gains respect. And gets the best answers. Cal knows how to connect with everyone. So how did he get the superpower of connection? Show Notes: Read Cal's Esquire column -What I've Learned Listen to Cal's podcast -Big Questions with Cal Fussman...

David McCandless is the #1 data visualization expert. But what is that? "Data visualization?" Simply: it's a better way to tell stories. Show Notes:  "Visual Miscellaneum: The Bestselling Classic, Revised and Updated: A Colorful Guide to the World's Most Consequential Trivia" by David McCandless "Knowledge Is Beautiful: Impossible Ideas, Invisible Patterns, Hidden Connections--Visualized" David Mc...