It’s OK to Not Take Yourself Seriously All the Time

Here’s how I can tell if I’m in a rut: Has anybody questioned my behavior lately? May 1, 2019 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [Altucher Confidential] “Here’s how I can tell if I’m in a rut: Has anybody questioned my behavior lately?” [Wooden Steps] [NAME Podcast Banner]( See The James Altucher Show live! Special guests, special surprises, Q&A, and… a bit of insanity! Upcoming dates in L.A., Boston, Cleveland. - June 15: [The Regent Theater in Los Angeles]( - June 18: Laugh Boston - June 19: Cleveland Hilarities People are scared. Incomes are down. Anger is up. "Success gurus" are stealing our money. My guests and I share our failures, screw-ups, misfortunes. And how… sometimes… we claw back and reinvent ourselves. Seniors have collected $1,000s with this short 'Work Week' [Fist](It's ALMOST like a part-time job. [Click here to find out more...]( Just Robert G. from Minnesota.  He wrote in: "I've made $4,743 this weekend... most money I've made with Agora Financial. Quick and Easy." What are we talking about? Watch this [One-Minute LIVE DEMONSTRATION]( and see how it works for yourself. But hurry! You must act by Friday at Midnight... you'll understand when you watch it. [Click here to watch this now]( [James Altucher]Dear Altucher Confidential Reader, In 2013, I sold my book Choose Yourself in a store that ONLY accepted bitcoin. People were outraged. I knew I was onto something. Anytime I hear the cries of doubters I know I have to keep going. Because I know that anytime someone asks me WHY I’m doing something, I know they’re not really asking me. They’re asking themselves. - “Why does he get to be free?” - “Why does he get to be creative?” - “Why am I following the rules? Why don’t I innovate?” - “Why don’t I try things?” Then they get angry. You can’t try! “Why” becomes the arrow of my compass. Keep going. Mark Malkoff does this, too. He’s a comedian and filmmaker. And he used to work with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report. Now he’s doing a podcast called Persistence 360° (and my producer, Steve Cohen, was a guest!). “I want to pump myself up, pump others and just hear those persistence stories,” he said. “I mean, you’re a persistent person. I am, too.” And he really is. He told me some of his weird experiments. All of them require a ton of persistence… - He lived on a plane and flew for 30 days straight. “I didn’t shower for a month,” he said. “I had to clean myself with baby wipes.” He washed his hair in the tiny airplane bathroom. People sent him articles about everything that could go wrong. Lack of oxygen, blood clots, exposure to radiation, etc. He did it anyway. - He moved into an IKEA store for a week. They said no to him over and over again. But he kept circling back. Finally they said, “OK. We trust you.” - In one day, he visited every single Starbucks in New York City. That’s 171 stores. He ordered a beverage at each one. “I had to go to another store every seven minutes for 23 hours straight,” he said. “It took me a month of training. After 12 hours in the hot July weather on a bike, I couldn’t walk in a straight line.” Your FREE 6-Video Series Cryptocurrency Masterclass is on Hold [Fist](This crypto millionaire recently gathered four regular folks like you in New York… People who knew nothing about crypto currencies… And got the cameras rolling. And now he wants to send you the footage… FREE. [Click here to claim your FREE 6-video series masterclass on cryptocurrencies.]( I asked him why a hundred times. Which shows that “why” works both ways. A) It can help you see when to keep pursuing some crazy idea. B) Or it can be the alarm saying, “Time to get out of your comfort zone.” “Why did you think it was a good idea to go to every Starbucks?” “Why did you want to go a full day of having people carry you around New York City?” His answer: “I wanted to test the kindness of strangers.” Good answer. He told me his formula. This is how Mark knows when it’s time to persist. - CREATION: He comes up with a quirky idea… it could be anything. - CHALLENGE: Then he figures out how to make the idea more high-stakes. Once the bar is high enough, he knows there’s entertainment value. Which is key since Mark is going to film the whole thing. What Mark does isn’t rational. And that’s why it works for him. Because it’s not pre-approved. It’s not all serious. It’s a recipe. Some parts ridiculous. Some parts fun, odd, curious, strange, etc. Here’s how I can tell if I’m in a rut: Has anybody questioned my behavior lately? When’s the last time I heard defiance? If I can’t remember,  then I know. Here are 10 ways to get started: - TAP INTO YOUR FEARS. Make a list. If you’re scared of pickpockets, go learn how to pickpocket. (WAIT. I’m not advocating you steal from people. I’m just saying you can go learn the magic behind it.) - ASK YOURSELF, “WHAT SKILLS CAN I GO LEARN?” What skill do you want to learn more about? I don’t plan to go to the moon. Or become a basketball player. But that didn’t stop me from having astronaut Mike Massimino or NBA player Kareem Abdul Jabbar on my podcast. - LEARN IN NEW WAYS. If you usually learn from books, try something else. Go to the restaurant you love the most and ask if you can shadow in the kitchen. Maybe they’ll say no. But hearing no in person vs. hearing no in your head are two totally different things. One is a story. The other is pathetic. Plus if you hear no enough, you build up a tolerance. - GO AGAINST YOUR PAST. What’s something you decided early on is out of character? - SURPRISE PEOPLE. Write a list of your roles: dad, provider, husband, boss, etc. Then write a list of 10 roles you’d do if everyone in your family died. Try those ideas. - DO MENTAL TRAVEL. “Who would I be if I lived in South Korea right now?” Study another culture. How do they greet people differently? Or say bye? What are their habits? Can you adopt any? - DO SOMETHING YOU SUCK AT. No one has to see. I can’t draw. And if I try, I’ll be uncomfortable. But that’s the point. - TRY YOUR FRIEND’S HOBBY. Or your wife’s/husband’s/kid’s. Whoever. I guarantee someone in your life can introduce you to something you’ve always rejected. Which is important. Because part of this exercise is proving to yourself that you’re changeable. - GO AGAINST YOUR PATTERN. I used to eat at my desk. Then one day, I set a rule: On Thursdays I’d eat in the park. Thursdays became every day after the first try. And eventually, I got so comfortable leaving the office, I stopped going altogether. - GO INTO THE CURIOSITY ZONE. And if you don’t know what you’re curious about, check your Google search history. [NAME Podcast Banner]( Sincerely, [James Altucher] James Altucher P.S. The first time I saw this video I was speechless. Warning: If you’re easily offended, [DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO.]( But if you think you can handle it… what this guy reveals on camera could start you on the path to becoming very rich… in the next few days. [Click here to watch this urgent message… if you think you can handle it.]( New Book from the #1 Penny-Stock Trader on the Planet [Yes, the whole planet!] [Fist](Forget everything you know about penny stocks... This strategy is completely different than anything you've seen before! Tim Sykes went from about $12,000 to $4.8 million before turning 37 by using it... And even a rare few of his thousands of students have become millionaires. Now he is offering NOT ONLY this book... but a year of instant access to his wisdoms for just $20. If you only have a little money saved-up... this could be your best way to build a retirement fast. [Click here now to see this dirt cheap offer]( Subsribe To My Podcast [The James Altucher Show]( Add james@jamesaltucher.com to your address book: [Whitelist Us]( [The James Altucher Website]( [Subscribe Via Text]( [Subscribe With YouTube]( [Subscribe On Messenger]( [Subscribe With iTunes]( [Connected on LinkedIn]( Join the conversation! Follow me on social media: [Facebook Group]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Instagram]( Altucher Confidential is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. By submitting your email address, you consent to Choose Yourself Financial delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Altucher Confidential e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Altucher Confidential, feel free to [click here](. Please read our [Privacy Statement](. 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