The Tim Ferriss Show: James Altucher on How to Say "No," Fail Better, and Build Businesses (#18)

Awesome stuff – I love James’ candor.

Appreciate the thoughts on writing also!

I’m trying to get away from blogs and delve into more books because of the reasons James mentioned (but damn are blogs addicting)…

Thanks for the awesome guests, as usual, Tim!

Tim the podcast is TIGHT Stylish Clever! Thank you for leading the way. The Power of No is something I fail at far too much. Suffering fools doesn’t make for a fun life.

Tim – lose the two part questions. I gets in your way and the conversation loses it’s natural momentum.

So I was up in the City last weekend, I live in Orange County, and I went to see the Skull exhibit and decided that the planetarium show would be worth watching, it was AWESOME, and lo and behold I was sitting through the credit’s and WAS that you? If so, way cool, you are awesome.

Am I doing something wrong? Download (right click “save as”), points to episode 16… (Joe D Sena)

Could you fix that? like em in mp3 format. 🙂

James Altucher is super interesting. I just listened to one of his podcasts. Feeling like I should start working on writing a book! Thanks for the great podcasts!

This episode has been inspiring to me on a number of levels, but I didn’t expect to get such useful information at just the right time.

As a result of embracing the 4HWW principles in the office, albeit without taking the necessary precautions and insurance policies that Tim emphasizes (I’m realizing this now when carefully re-reading the 4HWW after years), I’ve escaped the office one too many times and got fired. But I see that as a good thing. Seriously, it’s an opportunity to focus on my strengths now and experiment more with what excites me. What’s the worst that can happen?

I agree that the ability to generate sustainable income for oneself – without being employed by a corporation – is not just good for personal fulfillment, but also becoming increasingly necessary from a financial perspective. Now we’ve heard it from some top entrepreneurs: It’s not just a dream, it’s a requirement!

I’m also glad to hear the confirmation that focusing on health, creativity, and relationships today is the best ingredient for a happy, abundant, and successful (I know that some of these words are over-used) tomorrow.

It’s true: Money should be looked at as a long-term side effect of being in the flow state and multiplying your strengths (and saying No to the things that prohibit or don’t support that). The same is true for health and good looks, for instance. Focus on the former, and the latter will follow.

Cheers to all you lifestyle designers reading this blog – never give up, you’ll get to where you want to be if you continue to put the information here into practice and continue to look for or focus on things that fire you up. Remember: Baby steps, and do what works best for you, according to your strengths. I might sound like I’m preaching, but none of these things are a waste of time.

And Tim, if you’re reading this… I know you don’t want to be put on a pedestal, but you’re an awesome dude who’s constantly outdoing himself and inspiring others. Thanks for bringing on guests like James Altucher, someone I would’ve likely never heard about otherwise (the same goes for Josh Waitzkin and numerous others). Honestly, your blog is pretty much the only one I read because there are more invaluable resources than I could possibly keep up with.