James Altucher is all over the place, he is not only an investor, hedge fund manager, and entrepreneur several times over, but his writing on business, family, health, and creativity shows up everywhere. He's also written 11 books!
How does he manage to handle all this, we caught up with him and this is what he had to say.
Location: New York City.
Current mobile device: Samsung Galaxy Note II.
Current computer: Samsung Galaxy Note II and oh a Macbook Air.
One word that best describes how you work: Displine
Current gig: I've started 20 businesses and failed at about 17 of them. So I guess "persistence" is my current gig. I also write and have had a book out this month called Choose Yourself.
The basic idea is that in order to achieve success, or even happiness, you have to choose yourself for it. Nobody else is going to do it for you. When that happens -- when you build the foundation for choosing yourself -- your current gig becomes magic.
What apps/software/tools that you would rather die than do without?
A web browser and kindle.
What's your workspace like?
I have a tiny desk with a laptop. I'm sorrounded by comics and paintings and action figures that inspire me.
What's your best time-saving trick?
No TV. No third meal of the day. No news. No web surfing. No gossip. With these simple things you save about five hours a day.
What's your favorite to-do list manager?
I buy 1,000 waiters pads from a restaurant supplies websites for 10 cents a pad. I write at least 10 ideas a day on them. They're great for meetings because I have to keep concise lists and they're always good conversation starters.
What everyday thing are you better at than anyone else?
I'm good at realizing the things am good at. And for each person I meet, I try to figure out what they're better than me so that I can learn from them.
What's your sleep routine like?
Around 6 PM I shut down all screens. No computer, phone, TV. No more eating for the day. I read, relax, maybe take a walk by the river. By 8 or 8:30 I'm in bed reading and quickly fall asleep. Then I wake up at around 5:30 and begin reading and by 7, I'm writing.
What do you listen to while you work?
I love to listen to a ton of things. BUT, when I'm working I need silence. I think listening to music while working is somewhat equivalent to multitasking and I'm not very good at multitasking.
Are you and introvert or an extrovert?
I;m an introvert that's very good at pretending to be an extrovert. I'm really scared to meet people in person but I very much enjoy writing to lots of people and speaking in front of large audiences.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
If you don't write your own rules, someone else will. And the results won't be pleasant.
Is there anything else you want to add for the readers?
Every day I know that if I take care of myself, everything else will ripple from that to distant shores.
If I stay physically healthy: eat well, sleep well, exercise.
If I stay emotionally healthy: being around positive people who love me and who I love.
If I stay mentally healthy: come up with 10 ideas a day. Read a lot.
If I stay spiritually healthy: always think of the things I feel grateful for the things that bring abundance into my life. For instance, I'm really grateful to be doing this. Thank you.
