Author: James Altucher

I failed. I dropped off my kid at college the other day. I didn’t want her to go to college. In 2005 or 2006 I wrote a column in The Financial Times that nobody should go to college anymore. I then wrote a book, “40 Alternatives to College”. For a long time that book was the #1 seller on Amazon in the category of…”College”. A lot of people were upset at me about this. Everyone had an argument why college was a good thing and that kids should go. Then people said to me, “Well you went to college so … Continue reading →

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The best negotiator I knew always acted like an idiot. He acted so well that I thought he was really stupid. I also thought at the time that he was my best friend. That was probably an act also. Just two years later he stopped talking to me forever. I ran into him in the street the other day. He smiled and shook my hand. I felt warm, like he liked me again. Then he was gone. Negotiation is first about warmth. Two sides deciding if they want to be friends with each other. If they want to be in … Continue reading →

The post The 10 Worst Things You Can Do appeared first on LewRockwell.

She said “No” to me and slammed the door. She was on my paper route. I asked out every girl on my paper route. All three of them. I liked having a captive audience. I’d hand them the paper and say, “Want to go to a movie?” They all said “No”. Well, one girl said, “Yes” but then the next day her brother told me she really meant “No”. I made about $2 an hour on my paper route. It took me about four hours a day and then another five or six hours on the weekends collecting money. One … Continue reading →

The post The Best Advice Ever appeared first on LewRockwell.

This is the wrong question. It’s upside down. This is a tacky question. This is sort of a rude question. Actually, the question was a bit worse. It was “I’m in my 20s – can someone in their 40s tell me what I need to do to become a financial success?” Maybe don’t look for shortcuts. Too many shortcuts is “death by a thousand cuts”. Here’s a question: I’m in my 40s, can someone in their 20s tell me how to restore that feeling of lightness, no obligations and the feeling that “Enough” is a Feast? Answer me that. Here’s … Continue reading →

I am sick of me writing about this. Do you ever get sick of yourself? I am sick of me. But every day I see more propaganda about the American Dream of owning the home. I see codewords a $15 trillion dollar industry uses to hypnotize its religious adherents to BELIEVE. Lay down your money, your hard work, your lives and loves and debt, and BELIEVE! But I will qualify: if someone wants to own a home, own one. There should never be a judgment. I’m the last to judge. I’ve owned two homes. And lost two homes. If were … Continue reading →

Many people have said to me in the past month, “I’m going to buy a home.” Or, “What do you think of the idea of me buying a home?” I like the second batch of people. They are my friends and it seems like they are sincerely asking for my advice. And I’m going to give it to them. Whether they meant it or not. I have some stories about owning a home. One of them is here: “What It Feels Like to be Rich” where I describe my complete path into utter depravity and insanity. The other one is … Continue reading →

Everytime you say “No” an angel gets its wings. I was talking to an angel recently who told me this. He begged me to say “no” more often. More angels need wings, he said. Not only does an angel get wings but you double your own lifespan. If I say “No” to a dinner meeting, I get about three extra hours added to my life. If I say “No” to binge-watching “House of Cards” then I get 12 hours added to my life. Unfortunately I said “Yes” to binge-watching “House of Cards”. Addition. Subtraction. “No” is the math of life. … Continue reading →

The best negotiator I knew always acted like an idiot. He acted so well that I thought he was really stupid. I also thought at the time that he was my best friend. That was probably an act also. Just two years later he stopped talking to me forever. I ran into him in the street the other day. He smiled and shook my hand. I felt warm, like he liked me again. Then he was gone. Negotiation is first about warmth. Two sides deciding if they want to be friends with each other. If they want to be in … Continue reading →