This interview was originally published on December 22, 2014, as HTE 038: Most Things In Life Fail. It's Ok. | James Altucher From teaching you specifically how to make a living in six months, a great living within two years, and how to be rich within three years, James Altucher joined me for my most unconventional interview to-date. James Altucher has built more successful businesses than most of us will ever start — not to mention the giant list of failed companies. He has lost more money than most of us will ever earn. And he brings us it all, in genuine Altucher fashion, during this interview. --- Today's guest is one of my all-time favourite writers and I rarely go more than a few months without rereading his book Choose Yourself. He is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, bestselling author, blogger and podcaster. He has founded or cofounded over 20 companies and 17 have failed. He sold one for $15 million and spent all of the money — all of it. Then he built and sold another within its first year for $10 million. He fails quickly. He fails frequently. He claims Entrepreneurship is a sentence of failures punctuated by brief success. He is invested in about 28 private companies. He advises about another 50 private companies — companies ranging from $0 in revenues to a billion in revenues. This conversation is long than usual but you will not even notice because not a second is wasted. Now, let's hack… James Altucher. Now, let's hack… James Altucher. What you will learn in this episode: How James makes his sound better during a podcast (maybe I should have edited this part out) Exactly how to make a living in six months, a great living within two years and be rich within three to four years. Success can be measured today or it can be measured in decades. The important thing is to always be thinking of giving to others. Most ideas that people have are bad (and this is ok). Resources and links mentioned: James's blog Choose Yourself by James Altucher The Power of No by James Altucher James on Twitter Jon on Twitter Exclusive Sponsor: FreshBooks (30-day Free Trial)