2208: [Part 1] How to Be Persistent and Get Success by James Altucher on Starting A Business

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[00:00:55] This is Optimal Work Daily. How to be persistent and get success. Part 1 by James Altucher of JamesAltucher.com.

[00:01:08] In early 1994, I created my first website. In late 1994, I did my first corporate website. In 1995, I did my first website for money. I got $17,500 cash for a diamond wholesaler's website. I went straight to the Chelsea Hotel and gave them the money, and paid for my first website for money. I got $17,500 cash for a diamond wholesaler's website. I went straight to the Chelsea Hotel and gave them the money, and paid for my first website for money.

[00:01:28] I got the first room of many there for a year. I couldn't believe how rich I was with that money. In 1996, we finally incorporated the company, doing websites for others. At the beginning of the year, we had maybe two or three clients, and two or three employees. But we grew. Everyone needed a website. I was still working my full-time job at HBO, but sneaking away from meetings and then hiding my suit before I got back to my cubicle.

[00:01:54] Finally, in 1997, I had to leave HBO to do Reset full-time. And in 1998, we sold the business. Along the way, I probably got rejected more than 200 times on sales pitches. And I messed up hiring, bribing, sales, investing. We got robbed twice. I messed up on follow-up with JP Morgan, who desperately wanted us to do their website. I just dropped the ball.

[00:02:18] I messed up everything. I couldn't get it right. But I felt like we were doing well. We kept growing every month. So I kept at it. In 1997, I tried to sell the company, but nobody wanted it. But I kept in touch with everyone and kept sending all potential suitors monthly updates. For about a year, half my job was pitching new clients, and half my job was pitching potential people to buy the company.

[00:02:42] Finally, in August 1998, the time was right, and we sold the company. And by the way, this was my third attempt at starting a company. The other two had failed. I've read so many cases of authors who sold their books door-to-door for years, until finally word-of-mouth spread, and they became bestsellers.

[00:02:59] John Grisham being a great example, Eckhart Tolle being another. And how many actors spent 5, 10, even 20 years as carpenters, waiters, whatevers, before they got their first big role that put them over the top? Or Thomas Edison trying 9,999 times to light a lightbulb before he finally got it right on the 10,000th attempt? Eventually, water dripping on a rock will wither away the rock.

[00:03:24] The only thing I will add, that water is inside of you, and the rock is all the constipated excrement that has curled up in your mental intestines from years of hypnosis by corporations, the government, your friends, your family, your peers, your bosses. You have to wither that rock away. The voice inside that constantly whispers, I can't, needs to be silenced. First, persistence is not something you do with external goals, but it is something you do internally.

[00:03:53] It's the fire you keep trying to start inside yourself until it grows and becomes bigger and bigger. Then, everything you touch feels your magic, your presence, your power, your persistence. It is the persistence that comes with preparation. You do this by every day checking the box, did I improve physically? Did I make my life better emotionally? Did I make my life better mentally? Did I make my life better spiritually? Don't get sucked into past failures. Don't fantasize about future success.

[00:04:23] Just today. Did you check the box? Did you ignite the fire? Accepting that suffering is going to happen and understanding that accepting that suffering ultimately leads to success is the key to persistence. It's the key to ultimate success. I've written about my daily practice, which I view as the only way I was able to persist when times were so hard I felt like all I could do was die in shame.

[00:04:48] I would turn on the TV and watch the news and wish I was the person who died in the horrible bus accident or the freak lightning accident. I'd be jealous of the people who had the courage to jump off bridges. How many golf balls do you have to hit before you hit a hole in one? How many serves in tennis before you score an ace? How many different girlfriends or boyfriends before you meet the one you will marry? How many books do you have to read before you can say, this is the best book I've ever read?

[00:05:16] How many planets will we have to explore before we find another one with intelligent life? Persistence runs through every aspect of our lives. We do something over and over again for many reasons. A. We learn from every attempt. I've had several business successes, but several out of 20, 30, maybe even 40 attempts. Does that make me a loser to have failed so much? No, of course not. One success means you are a success. At least I hope so.

[00:05:45] Then I blew it and had to start from scratch. But at some point you know if you can do it once, you know the trick to make it happen again. And a big part of that trick is persistence. B. Hear that on tomorrow's episode. You just listened to part one of the post titled, How to be persistent and get success, by James Altucher of jamesaltucher.com.

[00:06:11] Purchase new carpet from the Home Depot and get it installed for free right now. Shop the stylish choices and simple pricing of carpet from Home Decorators Collection, Traffic Master, or LifeProof with PetProof Technology. And see for yourself why nobody beats our prices. Enjoy new carpet with free installation right now at the Home Depot. Offer valid October 15th through November 1st, 2026. Exclusions apply. For licenses, see homedepot.com slash license numbers.

[00:06:42] Pink Panther us here. Coach and Spotify are teaming up to bring music and style together, and they want you to be part of it. Grab your friends and head to the Tabby Tour, hitting cities around the country with live performances from special artists, exclusive experiences, and personalized products. And discover custom playlists on Spotify, built just for you based on who you are and how you listen. Live your story with Coach. Learn more at coach.com.

[00:07:09] And thank you to James, who is an entrepreneur, writer, investor, trader, and podcaster. On his podcast, he has interviews with a bunch of talented people like Nancy Cartwright, Sarah Blakely, Tony Robbins, Ariana Huffington, and many more. That podcast is called The James Altucher Show, and you can always find it in the top charts of the business category over at Apple Podcasts for very good reason. He's published 20 books and founded or co-founded over 20 companies.

[00:07:35] So come on by jamesaltucher.com to learn and read a lot more. That's Altucher, A-L-T-U-C-H-E-R. James always has a unique take on things. So that's going to do it for this episode. I hope you enjoyed it, and that you'll tune in tomorrow for the continuation, part two of this post. And that's where your optimal life awaits.