414 – Tom Bilyeu: Anyone Can Create Impact (Part 1)

This is the dream of every company: growth.

Grow your profits. Grow your customer base. Grow your success. Grow your bank account.

But there’s going to be a price to pay. Imagine this.

You’re wearing new pants. Then you grow. The pants rip. You’re still in them. Now you’re out in public with ripped pants, and you’re running around looking for new pants, meanwhile, you’re STILL growing. And the pants are splitting up more and more.

Finally, you get to the store.

You buy new pants.

You put them on and you’re too big

Over and over again. You outgrow yourself.

This is what happens in a company. The company outgrows the solutions you built to old problems.

Then new problems arise.

You need new pants.

Tom Bilyeu grew his company 57,000% in just two years. He made protein bars. You’ve probably heard of them, Quest Nutrition.

He sold the business. And became massively wealthy.

“What was that like?” I asked.

He was used to going to work everyday. Like most people.

He’d even work in the factories on the weekends. (That was one mistake he made). He got too involved IN the business.

He quoted Michael E. Gerber who wrote “The E Myth Revisited.” He says, “If you’re working IN your business, you’re not working on it.”

That was one hurdle. But you can hear that in the podcast.

Instead, I want to get back to his money, the growth, the reincarnation, his wife, relationship and now, his new media company, “Impact Theory.” Which has huge numbers on YouTube. The set is incredible. And Tom has this motivational delivery that makes you want to see things differently.

Part of that is because he has a set focus. It’s the same focus he had for Quest Nutrition: grow.

And there’s proof of this. When millions of dollars showed up in Tom’s bank account, he didn’t celebrate.

He went to work.

“The money hit the bank account at 8 in the morning. My wife and I were in the gym. And we’re hitting refresh, refresh, refresh… It was so bizarre,” he said. “It literally happened in a moment.”

Some background: Tom didn’t know anything about the food industry. Or business.

“I’m not a born entrepreneur in any way shape or form,” he said. I’ll say this as neutrally as I can, I’m just not that bright.”

“Is that false humility?”

“No no, for real. I’ll walk you through it. I got a 990 on my SATs. I took it twice. That’s my combined score. My own mother quietly assumed I was going to fail when I went away to college.”

He said there are minimum requirements to be successful.

A) You have to be smart enough. Not the smartest. Not dumb. But smart enough.

“once you’re smart enough, you can learn anything you want,” he said.

B) Put in the time.

I don’t know where the myth came from that you can do nothing and be successful, but it’s a lie.

Tom said, he always tells people ”You have to work, long, hard and smart.”

And then nd people say, “Well, if I’m working hard and I’m working smart, why do I have to work long hours?”

And he tells them, “Because you’re going up against me. And I’m doing all three. And I’m competing against the other people doing all three. And the reality is if there’s something else left on the table for someone to do, they will do it. And when you collide, they will win.”

C) Turn your desires into a need.

This one is hard. But not impossible. A lot of us want something. But we don’t fight for it because it’s not a burning need.

Tom takes his wants and makes them needs. (That’s how he sets his focus).

Here’s the formula:

1. Want
2. Turn it into a need
3. Then know how to work

 

I’ll break it down:

– WANT

Tom starts with “I’m interested.” And then turns it into “an all consuming blaze of desire.”

He does this by choice.

“It’s cultivated. And I believe anyone can do it. You have to know how to fan the flames, you have to know how to self-congratulate, you have to know how to self-punish, all of that.”

But it starts with just deciding “I want X.”

– TURN IT INTO A NEED

I don’t know if this is healthy. I think I would fall into a pit of despair if I turned all my wants into needs.

But Tom has a different energy. He has a fire that propels him forward. Plus he’s selective about WHICH wants become needs. And that’s key.

– HAVE THE WILL TO WORK

“Humans are the ultimately adaptation machine,” Tom said. “More than any other species, we can adapt to our environment. We can adapt to stressors. So you can put yourself in any environment and get good at it, if you have the will to do the work.”

 

D) Stop saying “but”

Try this exercise. “I’d like to start my own company, but…”

Or “I’d like to _______________ (fill in the blank), but…”

Ok. Everything that comes after “but” are your excuses. Those are your story up to this point.

The “I’d like to” isn’t part of your story yet. First you have to get rid of your excuses.

So make a lit of “buts.”

Then get rid of them.

How do you get rid of them? Try the “I’d like to.” And be prepared to be horrible at it. Sucking is part of trying.

Tom didn’t say “I’d like to get rich but I don’t know how.” If he did, he wouldn’t be here today.

That’s what makes his podcast so great. He shows you that there are no excuses. And anyone can create impact.

I’m breaking this interview into two parts. Because some people don’t have 90 minutes to listen to an interview. So I hope if I release it in doses, you’ll get more out of it.

Part 1 is out today. It’s about how Tom built up his business and we also talk about all of these topics:

 

• THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR  
• HOW TO FIND YOUR BLIND SPOTS
• HOW TO BUILD A BUSINESS THAT STANDS OUT AND SELLS

 

 

 

And more.

In part 2, we talk about

 

• WHY I’M TERRIBLE AT NETWORKING (AND WHAT MAKES TOM GREAT AT IT)
• HOW TO STAND OUT ONLINE
• HOW TO TELL A STORY
• FINDING YOUR PERSONAL NARRATIVE / CHANGING IT AND IMPROVING YOUR SELF TALK

 

 

 

We cover a lot. If you subscribe, you’ll hear it first.

But for now, here’s part 1.

[Player]

 

 

The post 414 – Tom Bilyeu: Anyone Can Create Impact (Part 1) appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2Qni4GJ via website design phoenix

413 – Danica Patrick: Finding Your Driving Force

Danica Patrick is a top-level, professional racing driver, entrepreneur and one of the most well recognized female athletes in history. She started racing when she was 10 years old. And knew she’d make a career out of it. I wanted to know what drove her. And how she uses that same drive to fuel her clothing line, wine business, speaking gigs and more today.

The post 413 – Danica Patrick: Finding Your Driving Force appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2KHQLBm via website design phoenix

DO YOU DO SECOND-LEVEL STRATEGIC THINKING?

Unbelievable. 12 straight draws in the World Chess Championship between reigning champion Magnus Carlsen and American challenge Fabiano Caruana.

Is that a failure for Magnus? Did he not defend his title?

No! This is a great success. Because of second-level strategic thinking.

I have failed to do second-level strategic thinking many times.

Example: I ran a successful business in the 90s. A web agency. I helped companies make their first websites. AmericanExpress.com, TimeWarner.com, etc.

I made millions. But I was a failure.

Why?

I also wrote software to help me make each website. I developed my own personal tool chest of software to make any kind of website.

I sold my company in 1998 as a function of profits (we sold for about 10 times our earnings).

But companies that “sell the dream” are much more valuable. Software that helps companies develop websites, like WordPress, are valued at over One Billion Dollars!

One BILLION!

Stupid me! I had the same skillset. The same software developed. The same intellectual property.

But I was valued in the millions instead of the billions. I needed to have understood strategic thinking at a business level instead of just a software level.

Chess is a strategic game. There’s a saying in chess: “Having a bad plan is better than having no plan”.

Fabiano is young, talented, a real threat to Magnus. Magnus would have liked to crush him early but it was too difficult.

So why are 12 draws in a row a success for Magnus? And why is Fabiano now scared to death? (My complete guess)

Here’s why: (And this happened in the last World Championship match as well, Carlsen vs Kajarkian.)

After a tiebreak like this, the World Championship title is determined by tie-breaker games, which are faster and faster games until they are at blitz level (five minutes each).

Magnus Carlsen is the best player in the world by far at blitz chess.

At “regular speed” chess, it is unclear.

In the world ranking system all you have to know is the higher the number the better.

And that a 75 point difference means the higher ranked player should win roughly two out of three times.

At regular chess: Magnus is ranked 2835. Fabiano is ranked 2832.

In other words, they are statistically equal. 12 straight draws is almost the expected result.

There’s also a blitz ranking system.

In the blitz ranking system Magnus is ranked 2939. Fabiano is ranked 2767.

HUGE difference. And much better for Magnus than the almost equal rankings in regular chess.

So Magnus is right where he wants to be. Playing speed chess to decide the world championship where he has a huge statistical advantage.

This is second-level strategic thinking.

You might have skills, like writing, or sales, or charisma, or computers. Maybe you even use these skills to do great at your job.

But are you thinking ahead. Are you selling for a boss (and a boss’s boss, and boss’s boss’s boss) where you get little of the money? Or are you selling products you source and to people who can pay you a lot of money?

Are you using second-level strategic thinking about your skills?

If you are good at writing (enough to make people question their lives and struggle with that question) are you using it write a literary novel nobody will read?

Or are you writing articles, books, or even scripting podcasts, that you know will reach a large audience (e.g. the way Shakespeare would approach it) so that as many people as possible can be touched by your skills?

It’s one thing to develop the strategies in your skillset.

It’s another thing to develop second-level strategies that maximize your reach in life by using those same skillsets.

And third-level strategic thinking is left for another day: understanding that perception is more important than reality.

In the Chess Championships, maybe just the perception that Magnus is still the reigning best at blitz is enough to psychologically scare Fabiano into performing poorly even though the truth between 2017 and now might have changed.

And fourth-level strategic thinking?

It’s almost winter and I’m staring at the ocean as I write this near the equator. Maybe fourth-level strategic thinking is to do nothing and enjoy what little life deals me.

But I’m not good at that yet.

(Magnus finishing up a blitz game. So you can see how fast he is.)

 

(And here’s Fabiano losing to a friend of mine: International Master Greg Shahade.)

The post DO YOU DO SECOND-LEVEL STRATEGIC THINKING? appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2rbPycA via website design phoenix

ARE YOU THE HERO?

Sometimes I wake up depressed. I want more. I want to be the hero of my story. I think of the stupid things I said the night before.

I worry what people think of me. I worry if my kids like me. I reset once-friends and what they “did” to me.

I want to be the hero of my story. I don’t want to be a background extra in my own life.

So many times I would realize: a year just went by, a decade… will the rest of my life go this way?

Not having any impact. Not even pretending to have.

Very roughly: the “arc of the hero” (pick your favorite story and see if this rough outline applies):

• The hero is a normal guy (Peter Parker before he gets bit, Batman before his parents die, Doctor Strange before his car accident).

• Something happens which calls him to a greater life (Luke gets the hologram from Princess Leia).
• He refuses it (Peter Parker is bit by a spider but just uses his powers to make money, Luke’s uncle refuses to let him leave).
• S**t happens (Uncle Ben dies and Peter could’ve stopped it. Luke’s Aunt and Uncle killed by the empire).
• The hero meets a mentor (Obi-Wan. John the Baptist. Gandalf).
• The hero meets new allies (Han and Chewie, The disciples, Arjuna’s brothers (not quite new but they rally to his side) ).
• The hero encounters bigger and bigger problems (Getting off Tattooine, saving Princess Leia, destroying the Death Star, defeating the Emperor).
• He gets more and more help from friends, bigger and bigger challenges from even larger enemies (First Batman fights muggers, then he fights super villains, then with his new friends at the Justice League he fights super villains that could destroy the world).
• He finally returns home a changed man to share his knowledge (Luke tries to restore order, Professor X wants to train future X-Men, Jesus comes out of his 40 days in the desert knowing his mission, Doctor Strange becomes Master of the Mystic Arts).

This is not 100% accurate, there are other steps. Horrible, painful steps in the journey of realizing who we are, and ultimately, that we are nothing.

But where am I in this? Am I always meeting allies, solving bigger problems, learning more about the powers I have on this ball of water mixed with dirt?

I’m in Panama now.

30,000 people lost their lives creating the Panama Canal. And oddly enough, there are several thousand reviews on Google from people who visit the Canal.

(Me flying over the Panama Canal as I arrive)

 

Here’s a one star review someone rushed home to write to help the other 6 billion strangers on the planet avoid his horrible experience: “Saw 2 panamian monkeys having sex. I didnt appreciate it”

It’s the one place in the world where in just 70 miles you can cross two continents to get from one ocean to the next.

Almost 10% of the world’s trade goes through here.

Why am I here? Because the economy is growing. Because it’s safe. Because healthcare is great. Because the food and weather are great. Because there is opportunity here.

Because I explore for opportunities.

I met allies here. Developers who are trying to improve the quality of life all over Panama City. Friends who are trying to introduce me to people who are helping Panama become a better place.

I met enemies here. My own reluctance and fears to even move away for a day or two from my cave on 78th and Broadway.

This doesn’t seem like big super hero problems. But every day, I want to look around and ask myself: am I at least in the story? Am I creating a story? Am I the hero?

What can I do next to help people? What bigger problems can I solve? What allies can I enlist?

But most of all, you and I are in this together.

Trying to figure out the world. Not simply to make it a better place. Because who knows really how? (Even after Luke defeated the Emperor, his problems never stopped.)

Trying to figure out who we are in this giant mess.

---

All of this is to say, I’m reading a book that I recommend. A short book.

David Mamet’s “Three Uses of the Knife”.

He discusses the question of “what is drama?”

Are you the hero in your story?

Am I?

——

“When you come into the theater, you have to be willing to say […] ‘what the hell is going on in this world’. If you’re not willing to say that, what you get is entertainment instead of art, and poor entertainment at that.”

——

I think of this when I’m in a meeting. When I’m on stage doing stand-up comedy. When I’m negotiating.

When I’m writing. Every time you communicate, you’re in the theater described in the quote.

And the audience is trying to figure out the world with you.

There are no answers. There’s just that question. “What the hell is going on in this world?”

---

Mamet describes true art and then what he calls “the problem play”. Maybe the hero has to solve something, like climate change or politics.

But this is BS.

The audience thinks it has status. Thinks it knows answers.

But they don’t. Mamet calls this bad art.

“[Art] isn’t clean. Isn’t neat. But there’s something in art that comes from the heart and so goes to the heart.”

---

Oh, one more great quote from the book: “Tragedy is a celebration not of our eventual triumph but of the truth.”

---

Ugh, I can’t stop. Another great quote:

“The purpose of art is not to change but to delight. I don’t think it’s purpose is to enlighten us. I don’t think it’s to change us. I don’t think it’s to teach us.”

Too often people use the disguise of art to force their views on a world.

But we know nothing.

---

When I got divorced I thought my life was over.

I was ashamed and thought I would never see my kids. Would never succeed at business. Would never do anything I loved.

Would be better off dead.

I’m more Tragedy than Drama.

But am I a hero? I don’t know.

All I want each day is to have courage to try and figure things out.

And meet my friends and allies along the way.

In the middle of the most horrific war in Hindu mythology, in the heat of the battle, the quote from Arjuna’s charioteer (Krishna) the phrase, “calmness, gentleness, silence, self-restraint – these are the disciplines of the mind.”

The war they were fighting is really the daily war we all go through.

And understanding the hero of life has the tools of calmness and gentleness.

---

Or, as Gandalf says in “Lord of the Rings”:

“I’m Looking for someone to share in an Adventure”.

Me too. Please. Me too.

The post ARE YOU THE HERO? appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2BD8y9X via website design phoenix

412 Kai-Fu Lee

The post 412 Kai-Fu Lee appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2P522wf via website design phoenix

How To Find Your Life’s Purpose

Thanksgiving, I went up on stage. 15 people were in the audience. A small number.

It didn’t matter. It was an American holiday so nobody in the audience was from the US except my two daughters.

So I didn’t use my regular material. I just said, “We’re like a United Nations here. Tell me your countries and I will solve all of your problems.”

And for the next 20 minutes we had a blast. I was happy. I was in love. I was free.

Sometimes my purpose (and there’s been more than one) has made me millions. Sometimes it has helped me find love.

And sometimes it just makes people laugh. Even my two daughters.

IMAGINE:

You can find your purpose, master it, be known for it, make friends because of it, meet the best in the world at what you love.

I know it is possible because I have done it and it’s changed my life over and over at my absolute worst moments.

I looked back at every time I’ve found a purpose. How did I put the 10,000 puzzle pieces spread all over my brain back together into a beautiful picture?

ANSWER:

By now, you want to find your purpose. I will tell you how I did it and how the hundreds of others I’ve interviewed about this exact topic did it:

• You realize what purpose means.
• You build a foundation of habits so purpose becomes easy.
• You find the clues.
• You learn what to do with the clues.

There’s no one purpose in life. There are many.

What were the clues? I analyzed. Then I spoke to hundreds of other people who had found their purposes. Everyone ranging from Richard Branson to Tyra Banks to super race car driver Danica Patrick to former world chess champion Garry Kasparov to writers like Ken Follett, Judy Blume, to self-help gurus like Tony Robbins and Wayne Dyer and many more.

(Talking to Tony Robbins about purpose. Here’s the link to the video.)

How do you find your purpose? How do you put together that puzzle?

And when I was so ashamed of losing my wife, house, money, life purpose I had to figure out how to LIVE and find the foundation that could lift my life so I was ready for purpose.

FIRST: A DAILY PRACTICE

Without a solid foundation, you can’t create a building that will reach for the sky.

I do this every day. Improve 1% (whatever that means) in each of these areas:

PHYSICAL: Eat, Move, Sleep. If you’re in bed sick, then a purpose will do you no good.

EMOTIONAL: Trim the toxic people (even if they are “friends” or family) and be with the people who love you and support you and you love and support.

If you are constantly angry or resentful or nervous about your relationships, your purpose will forget you.

MENTAL: Exercise your Creativity Muscle every day. If you aren’t creative every day, the muscle will atrophy. And if you are creative every day (just write down 10 ideas a day on a pad) it will become a Creativity Super Power.

Without that super power you will have no chance of finding a purpose and then exceeding what’s been done before. Finding your own unique voice that will make you rise above everyone else.

SPIRITUAL: Not in a prayer sense (although it could be). Not in a meditation sense (although it could be). Not in an “Angels” sense (OK, it won’t be that) but a feeling that you can’t control everything. Only focus on the things within your control. No anxiety or regret or resentment about what you can’t.

I do this Daily Practice every day. Without it, there’s no way to find purpose.

If I don’t do it, within a week or so the first thoughts of depression, anger, resentment, or worse start to take hold.

I die while I’m still alive.

---

FINDING A PURPOSE FAQ:

Rule #1: There is no “one purpose”.

Bill Gates had a purpose. Take a piece of software and get everyone in the world to use it.

Now he has another purpose: stop Malaria in Africa.

Every athlete has a purpose: play football, basketball, skateboarding, whatever.

But then they retire and find other purposes. I spoke to Tony Hawk, who was an 11-time World Skateboarding Champion. Now he makes the best video games out there for skateboarders.

I spoke to Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion for 20 years and still one of the best chess players in the world. Now he fights for human rights in Russia.

(Playing chess with Garry Kasparov. Check out who won here.)

I spoke to Arianna Huffington. She wanted a platform to share news that was more accurate and powerful than traditional news sources. Now she writes books about the amazing benefits of sleep.

For me, I thought my purpose was to be an astronaut, then a computer software guy, then a billionaire, then a writer, then make a TV show, then a comedian. Then and then and then.

I’m always hunting for the things that give me such pleasure it’s like I’m walking around in a living cloud of purpose.

RULE #2: How do you find the clues to your purpose?

I asked Danica Patrick, the highest ranking female race car driver ever.

She told me three of her ideas:

(Talking to Danica Patrick, race car driver extraordinaire.)

A) Ask yourself, How would you structure the ideal day?

B) What photos are on your phone? The thing you take the most photos of might contain a clue.

C) What makes you most energized? List everything you did this past month and then rank them by how happy you were when you were doing that activity.

These all lead to clues as to your purpose.

Let me add a few more.

D) What were you most interested in at ages 12–15? How have they aged?

For instance, if you loved basketball but now you are 50 years old, maybe you can write a blog about basketball, or make a fantasy sports league about basketball or maybe be a basketball coach or write a book or make basketball clothing or maybe music for basketball teams.

Jesse Itzler was a failed rapper. He loved rap but his songs just wouldn’t break out.

(Jesse Itzler, aka Jesse Jaymes)

But interests age and change as we get older. He started making songs that sports teams would use as their anthems during games.

He built that business and sold it.

Then he flew on a private plane. He thought, “This is amazing! But more people should have access to this.” So he created Marquis Jets, a service that allowed for people to fly on private jets without owning a jet. He sold that to Netjets which sold to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

But old interests don’t just go away. Now Jesse is back to his interest in sports. He doesn’t play basketball. But he OWNS the Atlanta Hawks. After starting off his career with $0 in the bank.

I loved writing when I was 12 years old. I kept a notebook about who liked who in my class.

That wouldn’t work now (Facebook does that trick without any help) but I love to write every day. I’ve written 3,000 words a day every day since 1990. 21 books later I’m happy with the result. It took writing every day from 1990 until 2004 before my first book came out.

(My daughter, crushing me at poker. Maybe it will turn into her purpose?)

E) Purpose Sex

If you love music and you love sports, what about music for sports teams? See the Jesse Itzler example above.

If you love psychology and you love economics, what about creating the field of behavioral economics and then winning the Nobel Prize like Daniel Kahneman?

If you love media and you love astronomy, create books, shows, podcasts, explaining astronomy to laymen like Neil deGrasse Tyson.

(Neil shows me how to make an atomic bomb using the formula e=mc2 in this video.)

I loved investing and I loved writing software. So first I created software to help me trade the markets. Then I created a website called Stockpickr that was a social media site out there devoted just to investors.

F) What are you AFRAID to do?

In 1996, every Monday I’d get to the Luna Lounge on Ludlow Street an hour early. I’d wait on line so I’d get a good seat.

It was comedy night at the Luna Lounge. All the up and coming beginning comedians would perform. People like Amy Poehler, Marc Maron, Michael Ian Black, and on and on.

Then I’d even go to the Aspen Comedy Festival. Unknowns like Dave Chappelle, Louis CK, etc. would perform.

I wanted so badly to try it. But I was terrified. TERR. A . FIED.

It took many years before I realized that I loved going a bit past my comfort zone and trying new things.

So finally I challenged myself to try it.

I was scared to DEATH.

Three years later, I now perform all over 3–4x a week. I even own part of a comedy club (Stand Up NY on 78th and Broadway. Stop by!)

It’s a real passion for me. I have no goal or agenda. I make no money doing it. I just love doing it.

My two daughters don’t like when I make fun of them but that’s part of life. Grow up!

You’re only afraid to do something if it’s important to you.

If it’s important to you, it might be a clue as to what your purpose is.

G) What section of the bookstore would you read all the books in?

When I was a kid I’d go to the chess section of the bookstore.

Yes, at Coliseum Books on 57th and 7th there was an entire section devoted to chess.

One by one I’d buy all the books. I was obsessed. I’d read each one. Very quickly I won my state’s junior chess championship and I got the ranking of “master”.

This has helped me in every other area of life (since people assume that chess mastery equals intelligence).

In 2002 it was the investing section of the bookstore. In 1998 it was the poker section. In 1992 it was the short story section. In 2017 it was the comedy section. in 1995 it was the “World Wide Web” section. In 1996 it was the television section. In 1980 it was the politics section. In 1982 it was the psychic powers section.

Because, you know… with psychic powers I could become invisible and control people and fly.

---

What do you do once you find clues to your purpose?

• List all the ways you can spend more and more of your day involved in that purpose.
• Find a community of people who love that purpose just like you do. Compare notes. Learn. Help people. Find mentors.
• Read as much as you can about that purpose. Read the history, read the biographies of the greats. Read all of the current thinking. You need to do this to discover your unique voice.
• Purpose sex. See above.
• DO. Start doing things that make a name for yourself in that purpose.

When I got fascinated with investing in 2002 I read every book. Then I wrote software modeling the markets. Then I started sharing my results with others and they would invest with me. Then I started writing about investing (purpose sex). Then I built a website devoted to investors. Then I built businesses around investing. And, of course, I learned every strategy of investing and started investing more and more successfully.

Rule #3: DIVERSIFY YOUR PURPOSE

I don’t like to feel horrible.

And if you throw your whole life into something, sometimes you will succeed and sometimes you will fail.

When I fail, it feels horrible. Of course I will try to learn from failure. Of course, failure can propel one to success.

But it feels like death.

When I “invest in myself” I make sure I diversify.

I never have one passion or purpose that I am pursuing. Because if you bet everything on Red, you can lose everything.

But when one thing is not going so well for me I switch to other interests I am passionate about.

This makes me feel better. Gives me ideas for the other things I am interested in. Clears my head so I can learn better from my failures.

And makes me a happier person in general:

• Community. I meet other life-minded people.
• Improvement. I start to achieve mastery in the things I am in love with.
• Freedom.

What is freedom?

The ability to spend more and more of your day making decisions that are your choice and nobody else’s.

In other words, the reason for being ALIVE.

The post How To Find Your Life’s Purpose appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2Apzngh via website design phoenix

Be The Beacon. Choose Yourself.

If you enhance the lives of the people around you, you will enhance yourself.

The days are often foggy, the ships at sea get lost. Being the beacon saves lives.

I only know because I have lived so much of my life in a fog. Crashing into the shore, with nobody as my beacon, nobody to lift me with just a smile.

Every day I try to tithe. Not money (although maybe).

But with everything inside me. To give without receiving, knowing that just a pebble dropped in the middle of the ocean, can send ripples to all shores.

Be the beacon. Choose yourself.

The post Be The Beacon. Choose Yourself. appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2DQT1pG via website design phoenix

TAKE THE WEDDING TEST

And that’s when things went bad:

• One time she walked out and said, “I have to run errands” and she then went straight to the airport, flew to another country, and I never saw her again.
• Another time, another relationship, she said, “I love you” and two days later was married to another person in a marriage forced by her parents. “I never said that to you,” she said to me a week later.
• Another time, she (another she, always another she) left me for her high school boyfriend.
• Another time, she (always another she – stopped on the highway, said get out and I did. And that was the last I saw her.
• Another time she got pregnant, and I begged her to have it, She disappeared for a week. No longer pregnant. I’m pro-choice. This is not about politics. For me, this was just a sadness that stuck with me. I stayed with her another six months and then she said, “It’s not working out”.
• Another time another time another time another time.

Too many times.

But none of those times matter.

I didn’t know anything. I was a baby. I don’t know anything now.

All I know is this:

Can I take these vows below in my head? Can I take them and say them about myself?

Those other relationships don’t matter if I can’t take these vows and aim them inward.

From the inside out is the direction of life and love and laughter.

Will I take care of myself for sick and for poor? Through joy and sadness? Through good times and bad?

Can I cherish myself? Can I grow through all of it? Can I not waste a day of the preciousness of the sun against my face, the laughter of friends, the feeling of doing good for another?

The laughter I hear when the tension breaks cracks and we realize we are all in this together.

Do not waste. Do not throw away. Recycle. Rebirth.

For better or worse. Cherish.

Can I say yes to myself.

—

P.S. Follow me on my new “Quora Space”

This is the description of the space and I hope you can all contribute:

I have three rules that I try to live by each day:

• Improve my relationships with the people around me. Be around people I love and support, who love and support me. Get rid of toxic people.
• Improve at the things I love. If I study something I love and feel I am getting better at it, then I know that will compound into “life abundance”.
• Improve at my feeling of freedom in life. If every day I can take more actions that are MY decisions versus the decisions of others, then I know I will have freedom in life.

This space is about the things I am looking at, loving, benefiting from, thinking about, and using to achieve the three items above.

The post TAKE THE WEDDING TEST appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2qXPZHu via website design phoenix

Imagine A World Where Self-Respect Is More Important Than Fame

Imagine this: a woman slave escapes from you.

You try to kidnap her away from her children, and bring her back to your house.

You want her to spend the rest of her life as your slave.

I’m fascinated by the story of Ona Judge. For one thing, I love anyone named Ona.

But more importantly, she was a slave under George Washington, escaped to New Hampshire, while he obsessively tried to track her down and kidnap her back.

George Washington is considered the greatest leader of the United States. By many people he is considered the greatest leader ever.

When he served his two terms as the first President of the United States, many people wanted him to stay on as king.

Who would turn that down?

George Washington did. He knew that the future of the United States depended on him showing an example of someone not wanting absolute power.

He is loved.

——

Until he died, he never stopped trying to figure out how to kidnap Ona Judge back. She remained a fugitive until she died.

What a shame!

(A book about Ona Judge)

It’s easy to take shots at people. Many love George Washington.

And others might say, “It was a different time.” Yes, yes. It was a different time.

But still… Do people get a free pass? What morals do I have now that 200 years from now people will forgive me and say, “Well it was a different time?”

Give me the name of any President and I can name at least five things that I find horrifying about them.

Which is why I hate politics. I almost ran for Congress in 2014. Almost immediately (and this is another story) I was told, “I will endorse you” by a major Presidential candidate.

But… I had to pay.

——

There are just no good examples.

And then this morning I found one.

Why this morning? Because I want there to be a Vice-Presidents’ Day. To celebrate the men and women (well, no women yet) who have silently been the #2 most powerful men in the world without having any actual responsibilities.

If Presidents acted more like Vice-Presidents I think all the worlds’ problems would be solved.

Most Presidents fail on two levels: they try to DO something. And doing anything usually messes things up further. Or, many Presidents are simply corrupt.

It’s about 50–50.

But Vice-Presidents can’t do anything. And they have so little power it’s hard for them to be corrupt.

So should we celebrate a Vice-Presidents’ Day?

For men who gave up all ambition to do absolutely nothing for four years, even though they were so close to the smell of power they had to shower three times a day to remove the stench.

And then I found the best Vice-President ever. Raise your hand if you know him.

William Wheeler.

(He looks the same from both angles)

Vice-President under one of the worst Presidents ever, Rutherford B. Hayes. The centennial President — 1876–1880.

Hayes actually lost the popular and electoral vote but used the usual techniques of corruption and bribing to get into his office. (An obscure rule in the Constitution got him in, combined with a lot of payoffs).

There were so many riots they had to do his inauguration indoors and under heavy protection.

Wheeler was a simple Congressman in NY who became the VP candidate under Hayes, when basically the five people in front of him deadlocked and they couldn’t find a better choice.

• When Hayes found out who his Vice-President would be he said, “Wheeler who?” That’s how little Wheeler stood out.
• When Wheeler got nominated he said in his speech, “I did not seek this, and I say in all frankness I did not desire it. So long as I remain in my public service my preference was to remain in the House of Representatives.”

In other words, where he felt he could do things that would matter without ambition getting in the way.

• When congress voted a raise for all congressmen (a nice way to vote your salary if you can get it), Wheeler was so against it he would return the extra money every month.
• When all the Presidential candidates were deadlocked, one tried to convince Wheeler to throw New York’s delegates to him.

The candidate, Conkling, said to Wheeler, (paraphrased), “I will give New York whatever gift it wants.”

Wheeler responded, “Mr. Conkling, there is nothing in the gift of the State of New York which will compensate me for the forfeiture of my self-respect.

• On the Presidential campaign in 1876, Wheeler refused to make any speeches saying, basically, he was too tired.
• President Hayes ultimately had to concede Wheeler’s goodness.

He wrote in his diary once when Wheeler said the Secretary of State was a bit shady: “Mr Wheeler is right. Prompt and square talk is in the long run safest and is just to the parties concerned. I must also bear this in mind.

This is advice that I try to follow every day.

——

• One congressman once said about Wheeler that while most other politicians tried to use their influence for monetary gain, “the thought never occurred to [Wheeler] that his influence could bring riches, and not the shadow of stain rests on his name.”

Meanwhile, as recently as five years ago, congressmen as a group were regularly making 20% per year more from the stock market then the rest of the US (inside information was legal among congressmen until recently).

• When he was in charge of a committee, he appointed other committee members regardless of their political party  — something unheard of right now. Maybe even impossible.

He said, “the trust confided in us was neither for majorities nor minority, but for all alike as citizens of a common state.”

He dropped out of college (yay!). Then he tried to become a lawyer but was forced to quit that because he had trouble with his throat. He basically had trouble speaking.

Which made him a listener. When you listen, you can’t help but observe and learn and become introspective about what your values really are.

Why did I write this? What else can be said? We live a life of hero worship. Gods have been replaced by “social media influencers”. Mt. Rushmore has been replaced by gratuitous images of flamboyance on Instagram.

Sometimes we worship the #1. We worship history. We worship the people who we think have defined our cultures and societies.

But we forget the people who showed pure self-respect, honesty, love, creativity.

We have holidays for slave owners. But no holiday for the people who sacrificed the dazzling lights of adoration in order to live by their principles.

I imagine if all the time I could live by principles instead of likes.

And then finally, what story from history could I tell to begin my day where: I might learn a little history and learn a little something about myself?

In the grand scheme of things: nobody will be remembered.

There is no such thing as “legacy”. We die, there are a few words said, and within two generations, nobody remembers.

But an obscure man from upstate New York who was the second most powerful man in the world got there by being honest, a straight talker, not greedy, and a good listener.

Today I will try to follow his model. I will not sacrifice my self-respect. I will make decisions from my core values.

I will live the life of a nobody. And let my legacy be nameless but powerful.

 

The post Imagine A World Where Self-Respect Is More Important Than Fame appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2DvGF5c via website design phoenix

I’M A LOSER IF I DON’T FOLLOW MY OWN ADVICE

I’d be a loser if I couldn’t follow my own advice right now.

I’m in a state of panic right this second. PANIC. FEAR. OBSESSING. ANXIETY.

I lost my passport and birth certificate. I have no other form of ID. I have to FLY to Panama on Sunday.

In order to get a passport in one day you need a birth certificate.

In order to get an “expedited” birth certificate, you need a government issued ID.

F***

I have nothing. I don’t even have utility bills.

I can’t even go to the bank. I have no photo ID.

So… I have no idea what to do.

The trip to Panama is for work. I’m terrified of disappointing the people I work with. A lot of thought has been put into this trip. 100+ people are involved. I’m front and center

My 13 year old self, which is always a part of me, is afraid everyone will hate me.

Panic… Despair… Shame. The holy trinity of regret.

Shit.

—-

Last week I wrote a post about gratitude.

Other times I write about how to deal with despair and regret.

Well… I’d be a total loser if I couldn’t follow my own advice now.

What would my advice to myself be?

A) GRATITUDE

I always write about “difficult gratitude problems”.

It’s easy to be grateful for the smile of someone you love, or hearing one of my daughters say “Dad?” Or seeing a stock go up. Or getting a nice compliment.

But it’s hard to be grateful when in panic.

What can I be grateful for right this second?

7am, with no real hope of solving any of these problems, disappointing everyone I work with, ruining an opportunity, etc.

OK. I’m going to try.

• Grateful I work with good people so maybe, while I go through the bureaucratic one month process of getting my birth certificate in NYC, a solution can be worked out for Panama.

The practical reasons to get rid of toxic people and work with                   good people are, in part, for situations like this.

• Grateful I will get all new ID (my passport was getting frayed and ripped) that will last the next ten years.
• Grateful I will be aware of how important it is to keep track of this. All it takes is one loss and it really screws things up.
• Grateful I can practice Difficult Gratitude.
• And, I hate to say it, grateful I may be FORCED not to travel. Not my favorite thing. But, again, I don’t want to disappoint people.

B ) REGRET

I certainly regret losing the passport and birth certificate.

But what can I do now?

The solution for regret is ACTION.

I know where I was the past few days.

Maybe I will find it in one of those locations. I’m always nice to the people in restaurants and maybe they will be nice back.

I also wrote the expedited birth certificate and passport places. Maybe they can figure out how to help me.

And I will figure out alternatives to travel that may provide the same, or better, results.

Action leads to hope. So, at the moment, I have some hope.

C) IS THIS A SIGNAL?

I’ve been working 12 hours a day lately for probably months.

I’ve had many personal ups and downs with close members of my family and friends.

Although I’m a believer in “diversifying” the ways I invest in myself, maybe this is a signal that I have diversified so much that I spread myself too thin.

Maybe I’m getting burnt out. Maybe I need some time to relax a bit. Not give up. But focus on scheduling time to relax.

I miss having moments of doing nothing. Maybe this will give me some time to do nothing while I sort this out.

Although, at the moment, I have no clue how to sort it out.

No. CLUE!

D) I’M NOT GOING TO MEDITATE

People have a misconception about meditation.

They think it will calm them down. Or that they will get “enlightenment” or, as one friend of mine is always saying, “I want to get powers”.

This is all wrong.

Meditation is often called “a practice”. People ignore that word.

But what is it practice for?

It’s practice for the OTHER 23 hours a day when you are NOT meditating and life is a full ongoing storm. A full SHITSTORM.

And it’s EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

With meditation you practice observing the onslaught of thoughts that project onto the screen of your mind.

You can’t stop thinking. And the worst is always first. Your “lizard brain” thinks of the worst always.

Meditation is a practice to NOTICE these thoughts as they happen, and say, OK, obsessing on the worst is not rational. I’m going to be rational and calm and loving.

Meditation is a practice for recognizing that your thoughts are not “YOU”. It’s second level thinking.

I meditated for 30 years as practice. Practice for this moment. Among others.

E) AND MAYBE…

Life doesn’t work out the way you want.

Pain is a compass. It tells you where you might be off course.

As far as pain goes, this one is not so bad. It’s not the loss of a loved one. It’s not the failure of a business. It’s not a romantic betrayal.

But I’m really afraid…

I’m going to surrender to The Force. Be as much in the moment as possible. Take ACTION. Find ways to be even more grateful.

Be grateful that I am busy enough that I even need a passport. Be grateful that I lost it so I will get a new one and LEARN MY LESSON.

—–

SEGUE

Meanwhile, I just ran into Larry King.

I’m in a train station writing this article and in FULL FORCE AGONY and I heard his very recognizable voice.

I could keep panicking. Or I could take more action.

I am shy but I asked myself “WWSD” – What Would Steve Do?

Steve Cohen is my overly aggressive, super talented, extroverted, insane podcast producer. Steve would DEFINITELY talk to Larry.

As Steve says, “There’s no right way to do the wrong thing and there’s no wrong way to do the right thing.”

Steve speaks ONLY in quotes. I suspect something is wrong with him but his quotes are always wise.

I put my pain aside.

I went up to Larry and said, “@Cal Fussman is a good mutual friend of both of ours. I’ve been on his podcast and he’s been on mine several times.

“Cal is the very best,” he said. “And I’d love to go on your podcast.”

Then I came back to finishing this article about how scared and afraid and panicked I am.

It’s not good what happened. It’s bad. But I’m a lucky guy. I surrender to the idea that things work out for the best.

And here I am. I am a Jedi Knight, learning the ways of The Force.

BUT IF ANYONE SEES MY PASSPORT, I WILL BE EVEN MORE GRATEFUL.

—

UPDATE: FOUND IT!!! 

Glad I took my own advice and had a productive day instead of stressing, panicking, etc. Well-being is a day by day habit and, for me, it’s often difficult. But it’s worth it.

The post I’M A LOSER IF I DON’T FOLLOW MY OWN ADVICE appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2BgKxFw via website design phoenix

I hate lunch. I hate going to lunch. I hate walking there, waiting, ordering, waiting, eating, paying, walking home.

AJ Jacobs does also.

So we came up with a solution. We have Skype lunches. I make a sandwich. Skype AJ, and we talk for a half hour while eating.

Problem solved. Friendship on track.

I love AJ. I love his books.

Every one of his book is a NYT bestseller:

• “The Year of Living Biblically” (He lives a year of his life EXACTLY how the Bible would prescribe.)
• “Drop Dead Healthy”
• “The Know-it-all” (He reads the Encyclopedia Britannica from A-Z.)
• “It’s All Relative” (He throws the largest family reunion in the world. he’s my cousin.)
• “My Life as an Experiment”

and now

• “Thanks a Thousand” (He thanks 1,000 people for his cup of coffee in the morning. Just came out.)

THE AJ JACOBS FORMULA FOR WRITING A BESTSELLER:

AJ has a unique writing style that turns all of his books into bestsellers. They are funny, smart, and filled with stories.

So I wanted to break down “the formula” for how he creates and writes a book.

And then why they become bestsellers.

A) HIGH STAKES

Pick a high stakes idea: religion, health, family, knowledge… gratitude.

[Go here for AJ Jacobs’ 10 Superpowers of External Gratitude]

B) PUT YOURSELF IN THE STORY

Don’t just write an academic text on the benefits of gratitude.

Or what it would mean to live a Biblical life for a year.

Or the history of Encyclopedia Britanncia. Or the benefits of knowing your family tree.

Put yourself in the story:

1) AJ LIVED a Biblical life exactly according to the rules of the Bible in “The Year of Living Biblically” (which became a TV show).
2) AJ READ the Encyclopedia Britanncia from A-Z in “The Know-it-All”.
3) AJ THANKED 1,000 people in his latest book, even traveling to Columbia to thank the farmers of the coffee beans.
4) AJ OUTSOURCED his marital arguments to an outsourcing firm in India in “My Life as an Experiment”.

When you put yourself in the story, you get thousands of anecdotes along the way. Document them. Take the most interesting and funniest moments and now there’s a book.

C) GO EXTREME

Where’s the line?

If you want knowledge, don’t just take a class. READ THE ENTIRE ENCYCLOPEDIA.

If you want to feel gratitude, don’t just think it. Don’t just say “thank you”.

Personally thank the people who made the lid on the cup of coffee. The people who provided the water, the oil, the trucks, the coffee sleeves, etc.

When is too extreme?

This is where humor starts to come in. Should he thank Beyonce for being on the speaker in the coffee store? Should he “stone” an adulterer in the “Year of Living Biblically”?

The comfort zone is there for a reason. It’s comfortable.

But AJ goes where it’s not comfortable. The extremes on these high stakes ideas. Then he documents the results on himself and his family and the people around him.

The result: funny stories, almost unbelievable, crazy, knowledgable (because he’ll also consult the experts to learn more about where the extremes are).

Example: In the Bible, it says a man can’t sit in the same chair as his wife if she is having her period. So AJ would avoid his wife’s chairs.

His wife, commonly referred to as Saint Julie, sat in every chair in the house when she began her period.

So AJ bought a fold out chair and carried it with him so she couldn’t sit in it.

Result: Knowledge of the Bible, AJ experiencing the story directly so he could write about it (“show” don’t “tell” is the best writing advice), and… it’s funny and crazy and a bit creepy.

Result: A NYT bestselling book.

D) THE ARC OF THE HERO

AJ is an ordinary guy. He gets inspired (the “call to action”) to live a high stakes concept at the extreme. Meets enemies and allies along the way. Confronts bigger and bigger problems at the extremes.

And then returns to share the knowledge.

Every famous story in history has this arc.

That’s why every one of AJ’s books are bestsellers.

The post The AJ Jacobs Formula for Writing a Bestseller appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2FpPOyQ via website design phoenix

AJ THANKED 1000 PEOPLE FOR A CUP OF COFFEE AND THEN TOLD ME THE TEN SUPERPOWERS OF ‘EXTREME GRATITUDE’

I’m angry. I often wake up and think of who her, him, what.

What they did. I’m angry.

At the friend who stopped returning calls for no reason. At the ex who never admitted she was wrong. At family member who stopped talking to me.

Who was right? Who was wrong? I have no idea. Thoughts are fake news. No idea no clue.

I wrote this five years ago: gratitude and anger can’t exist in the head at the same time.

But sometimes to practice my own advice feels like bullshit.

And I’m lost.

—–

AJ Jacobs has a top secret formula for writing a bestseller.

I shouldn’t say formula. He works hard. He’s a great writer. I describe the formula in my Quora Space.

He just wrote a book that will change my life. “Thanks a Thousand”, where he says thank you in person to the 1000 people involved in creating a single cup of coffee.

Read it.

The post AJ THANKED 1000 PEOPLE FOR A CUP OF COFFEE AND THEN TOLD ME THE TEN SUPERPOWERS OF ‘EXTREME GRATITUDE’ appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2PX3x4m via website design phoenix

Ruin Your Life (And 21 Other Tips About Writing)

I took LSD and it ruined my life. This is not a writing tip.

I was at graduate school in 1990 and I wanted to be a professor of Computer Science. I took one tab.

Nothing was happening. Then suddenly we were lying on the floor and the ceiling was a maze. Then suddenly we were looking at trees and every leaf was talking to me. Then suddenly people were looking at me and laughing.

Then suddenly then suddenly then suddenly it was the worst day of my life and I knew I had six hours left before the world would stop roaring in my head.

Then suddenly I wanted to be a writer.

I stopped going to class. I still cashed my scholarship check though. I’d get emails from professors, “Where are you?”

I started writing every day. I was thrown out of graduate school. My parents cried. End of career.

Eighteen years later I write every day.

My parents cried.

——

I wrote a play when I was seven (my teacher had everyone in the class read it and they all laughed at me – a common theme in my life).

In fifth grade I was writing a book, “Who Likes Who?” about all the kids in my class and which boys liked which girls.

Everyone wanted to read it. It would’ve been a bestseller in my fifth grade class.

Fights broke out as kids tore at each other and me trying to get the book. The teacher banned it.

In 8th grade I got my first book deal. To write a book about how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. I was obsessed with Rubik’s Cube. So obsessed I got everyone else obsessed and then they banned it from school. Censorship struck again!

I never wrote the book. No discipline.

And then, years later, LSD.

The next day I was a writer. I wrote a story about a man finding out his girlfriend cheated so he gets AIDS (magically) and then has sex with her and she now has AIDS.

It was horrible.

I gave it to my friends to read. They didn’t say anything. They looked at each other. One of them said to me, “Well… how do YOU feel about this story?”

One time I bombed at stand-up comedy. I asked my friends if they enjoyed the show and they said to me, “Well… did YOU enjoy the show?”

—-

I wrote a novel, “The Book of Orpheus” (about a man who creates an artificial currency). I was influenced by Thomas Pynchon’s “The Crying of Lot 49” about a secret postal service.

I read. I read and I read.

[“So, you read a lot of books?”]

I read at least four hours a day. Then I’d go to the library and there was this series of books, “The Encyclopedia of Literary Criticism” and I’d read all the criticism on the books I just read

I wrote another novel, “The Book of David” (I liked “The Book of…”) about a fictional version of King David. It was 500 pages. My girlfriend would beg me to stop talking about it.

She read it when it was done. I asked her what she thought of the ending. She couldn’t remember the ending and started crying.

I wrote a novel, “The Porn Novelist, The Romance Novelist, The Prostitute, and They’re Lovers”. I wrote it in three days. It was 150 pages.

I went to my new girlfriend’s house and gave it to her to read. She wouldn’t take it. She wouldn’t open the door.

She said, “I thought we were taking a break!”

—-

I wrote another novel, “How to Save the World from Mutual Assured Destruction”.

I made it a three inch book that you could read and then turn upside down and read the other way. I printed up 300 copies and gave them to bookstores to sell for 25 cents.

If anyone has one, I’ll pay $10,000 for it.

I wrote dozens of short stories. I wrote for HBO’s website. I wrote and wrote and wrote. I wrote 3,000 words a day every day and still do.

I got nothing published at all for 12 years. I sent out thousands of letters. Please please publish this!

Nothing. Not even a response.

—-

Some people get things published right away. But I was a very bad writer.

I don’t know if I was resilient, persistent, or stupid. You have to be a little stupid and arrogant to want to be good at writing.

Because when you start, you suck by definition. It’s a very hard skill. At least for me.

And you have to be arrogant to write, because who wants to hear what you have to say?

The first article I got paid for was in 2003. I got $200.

I got that check, walked a mile to a frame store in the middle of a blizzard. Got the check framed.

“Don’t you want to cash it?”

No. I want you to frame it.

I threw it out in 2015 along with everything else I owned in life.

My first book was in 2004. I got fired when the book was published. My boss thought I gave away all his secrets.

My second published book was in 2005. Third in 2006. Fourth in 2008. Fifth in 2009. 2010. 2011. 2012. 2013 (“Choose Yourself!” which has sold over a million copies). 2014. 2015. 2016. 2018 (two books coming out next month to make up for 2017, when I focused on getting better at stand-up comedy).

(Published in about 30 countries. This is “Choose Yourself” in Turkey)

I became friends with many writers. They’ve saved me over and over again.

Writing is also a great way to make enemies. If people hate what you write then they hate you. My mother and sister don’t talk to me.

I’ve published 21 books. Some by mainstream publishers, some self-published, some published just to my email list (“FAQ ME TOO”).

I’ve published over 5,000 articles or posts.

I’ve written articles that have gotten thousands of hate comments: “Why no war can be justified”, “Why I will never own a house again”, “Why you shouldn’t send your kids to college”.

I’ve written articles that have made me happy with the praise: “How to be the luckiest man in the world” and one person wrote in the comments, “the internet was created just so this article could exist”.

Worst comment: “I wish I could put this jew in a wheat thresher and tear him to shreds”.

I reported that comment to campus security at [Ivy League University] and they said, “The kid’s about to graduate. Do you really want to hurt his career?”

I’ve published a novel, a comic book, a children’s book (“My Daddy Owns All of Outer Space”), investment books, and many “literary non-fiction” books.

book trailer

comic book pic

I wrote a screenplay last year (nobody liked it) about a hedge fund manager who secretly wants to be a stand-up comedian. A few months later, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” came out and people thought it was too similar.

I start a novel at least once a year and never finish them.

I’m a student. I’m reading a novel right now that makes me gasp at his use of language.

I bring my favorite novelists onto my podcast just so I can ask hundreds of questions about their process (Mary Karr, Judy Blume, Ken Follett, Brad Meltzer, James Frey, Jim Luceno, Andy Weir, Hugh Howey, and hundreds of other fiction, TV, and non-fiction writers that are all my heroes).

(Whenever I reread “A Million Little Pieces” by James Frey (above), I become a better writer)

I read thrillers to learn about cliffhangers and plot.

I read literary novels to learn about structure and words and colors.

I read memoirs to absorb other lives.

I read essays to read how people play with words and structure to express ideas.

I’m a student. I want to write a sentence that will make people go through the five stages of grief in one second.

I want to write because I’m insecure and want more people to like me.

I’m going to die before I write the book I want to write.

I hate typing. I hate staring at a screen. I hate writing 70 pages and then realizing it was all useless. I hate writing.

I love when my kids read what I write even when they find out the worst things about me. I hate when I reveal so much that people stop talking to me.

(My kids wearing “Choose Yourself” t-shirts. All 65,000 words are printed on the shirt and it’s totally readable)

I’ve wasted so much time writing these past 28 years. And for what?

I pray to god I still have the strength and discipline and love to write tomorrow.

I don’t have that strength though. I don’t know. I’ll find out tomorrow.

---

There are no tips other than to write write write. And read read read. There are no other tips.

But here are some tips:

• Read “Old Man and the Sea” – Read it once a year. Read how he strips out every word. It’s the most boring story in the world. It’s written at a fourth grade level. But every time I read it I become (I think I hope) a better writer.
• Obvious: Write every day.
• Read “Factotum” by Charles Bukowski (the art of the short chapter. The art of the memoir novel. The art of being bad but being lovable. The art of being depressed and scared and hopeless but sharing it).

(Bukowski teaches how to make Ugly, Beautiful)

• Read “A Million Little Pieces” by James Frey (the sentences!) and “Spectacle” by Susan Steinberg (you will be one writer before you read it and a different one after you read it). And, most important, I’ve read “Jesus’ Son” by Denis Johnson at least 300 times and I will read it 300 more times.
• No matter what you write in the first draft, cut out 30% by the final draft.
• No matter what you write, before you are done, take out the first and last paragraph. Even if you know this rule, it still works.
• The best marketing for a book is write the next book.
• Avoid adjectives and adverbs. The story should reveal how quick he ran. Not the word “quick”.
• Try for a cliffhanger every paragraph. Fiction or non-fiction.
• Take a s**t before you start writing.
• Short paragraphs.
• Go to the place least crowded.
• Be an addict of writing.

(She is an example of the last two tips. She also signed up for a dating site I once created for smokers only. A bad idea)

• Bleed in the first line, even if you have to start in the middle of a story.
• ABS = Always be Stupid. Never lecture. That automatically puts you in the top 1% of writers. Show how incompetent are and yet…we’re all still here.
• Arc of the Hero: Ordinary world, Call to Action, Mentor, Find Enemies and Friends, Bigger and bigger problems, Final cliffhanging, life-changing moment, Return to the World (with one final problem solved), The hero is back and changed. Every story needs this.
• Idea Sex: Take one idea, combine it with another idea. BOOM! Thrillers + Legal = John Grisham selling 200 million books.
• Write down ten ideas a day. Get’s the juices flowing.

(Doesn’t matter what the ideas are. Just exercise the thinking muscles. I write them each day on a waiter’s pad since 2002)

• Study the Arc of the Hero structure in: the Bible, Star Wars, Spiderman, a Math textbook. Whatever else you want.
• Write Read Steal Repeat. Steven Pressfield stole “The Bhavagad Gita” and put the exact structure in a novel about golf in the 1930s. “The Legend of Bagger Vance” is now a modern classic.
• Process is all that matters. Outcomes will take care of themselves.

Love other people. The only story is about love.

The post Ruin Your Life (And 21 Other Tips About Writing) appeared first on Altucher Confidential.

from Altucher Confidential https://ift.tt/2K2gwMs via website design phoenix