Quotes from James Altucher

When you get in the mud with a pig, you get dirty and the pig gets happy.

Only think about the people you enjoy. Only read the books you enjoy, that make you happy to be human. Only go to the events that actually make you laugh or fall in love. Only deal with the people who love you back, who are winners and want you to win too.

The only truly safe thing you can do is to try over and over again. To go for it, to get rejected, to repeat, to strive, to wish. Without rejection there is no frontier, there is no passion, and there is no magic.

Forget purpose. It's okay to be happy without one. The quest for a single purpose has ruined many lives.

the only things that really matter in this world are the relationships you have with the people you love, and the meaningful things that you do. Haters don't fit anywhere into that. Don't devote any mental space to them.

Luck is created by the prepared.

We're taught at an early age that we're not good enough. That someone else has to choose us in order for us to be…what? Blessed? Rich? Certified? Legitimized? Educated? Partnership material?

Only worry about your own happiness, which doesn't have to be limited by anyone else's stupidity unless you allow it to be.

I have lots of ideas. How do I pick the right one? Execute on as many as possible. The right idea will pick you.

Diversification is everything. You get past "this" by having lots of "that"s.

This is not true. Everyone is an entrepreneur. The only skills you need to be an entrepreneur are the ability to fail, to have ideas, to sell those ideas, to execute on them, and to be persistent so even as you fail you learn and move onto the next adventure.

Always say to yourself, I'd rather be healthy than right. Because the infection of someone so wounded will spread to you if you engage.

HONESTY COMPOUNDS. It compounds exponentially. No matter what happens in your bank account, in your career, in your promotions, in your startups. Honesty compounds exponentially, not over days or weeks, but years and decades. More people trust your word and spread the news that you are a person to be sought out, sought after, given opportunity, given help, or given money. This is what will build your empire.

Being grateful is the bridge between the world of nightmares and the world where we are free to say no. It's the bridge between the world of delusions and the world of creativity. It's the power that brings death back to life, the power that turns poverty to wealth and anger to compassion.

If we truly want to learn, we never learn when we are talking. We only learn when we are listening.

We all want to de-clutter. To throw things out. But a minimalist lifestyle is bullshit unless you can do it across every sheath in the daily practice: not just physical, but also emotional, mental, and spiritual.

If something is not a "hell, YEAH!", then it's a "no!

Stick with the people who love you and don't spend a single second on the rest. Life will be better that way.

What you need to do is build the house you will live in. You build that house by laying a solid foundation: by building physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.

Do you really think you are going to change anyone's mind? I always wonder, who are these people who spend all day on Internet message boards and comments sections getting really angry and trying to prove that their opinion is THE opinion that everyone should have.

The idea that we need to "pay our dues" is a lie told to us by people who wanted our efforts and labor on the cheap.

If you have a story to tell or a service to offer (it doesn't matter what), love yourself enough to choose yourself. Take control of your work, your life, your art. The tools are out there. Now you just need to use the tools inside yourself.

Success comes from continually expanding your frontiers in every direction—creatively, financially, spiritually, and physically. Always ask yourself, what can I improve? Who else can I talk to? Where else can I look?

I have never met a mentally strong person who wasn't a voracious reader.