The Madness Continues

I talk with my buddy James Altucher in his home about all kinds of things: Star Wars, his book, my book, choosing yourself, kicking ass and taking names.

I first met James through my friend William Beteet, but I had known about James for a couple of years - since I heard him on The Jordan Harbinger Show and through his TED talk.

At the time, I was in a pretty bad spot, as I talk about on the pod, and his message of choosing yourself really resonated with me. I've tried to take his advice and the more I have, the better my life has gotten.

Check out Choose Yourself here: https://amzn.to/2Re89S0

Check out James' pod here: http://bit.ly/36PmJGq

Follow him for his newest book, that we talk about on the show.

To get a copy of The Power Bible upon release, please sign up for our email list!

The Power Bible release list: http://bit.ly/2p4uFCo

If you like comedy, please take a look at my newest project, Funny Planet, where we interview comedians from all over the world including the first black African woman to get a Netflix special, Tumi Morake, and the most popular Icelandic Comedian in the world, Ari Eldjárn.

Funny Planet: https://spoti.fi/2teqqXx

Dave Schwensen wrote the book on how to be a working comedian. Literally, that's the book he wrote.

Dave got a gig booking talent at The Improv and had a whole career in it! He got a cross-section of all kinds of talent from the comedy world. For years he taught courses and coached comedians get work, until he got tired of answering the same questions over-and-over again, and finally put all those answers in a book.

Actually, three books!

Dave's the author of these gems:

How to Be A Working Comic, https://amzn.to/2twjpB5

How to Be A Working Corporate Comedian: https://amzn.to/36ypiws

Comedy FAQ's And Answers: https://amzn.to/2ZYaULd

Dave's websites & social media:

http://thecomedybook.com/

http://davelaughs.com/

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2ZQXpwY

Tristan A Smith is a friend from when I first moved to Chicago. We've been on the road and had shows all over the map (in both location and how good they were).

Tristan and I both performed on one of the worst shows of our lives in Davenport, Iowa. We both took it on the chin.

Tristan has the ability to be vulnerable, brave, even confessional on stage in a way that almost no other comedian I know does. His performances are like getting a ticket into his darkest thoughts; and not in the way that other comedians might share. Tristan shares his thoughts in an almost tender way (que eyeroll), and you get a glimpse into his perspective.

I had a lot of fun sitting down with him while I was in town.

Zach Tomasovic and I met at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017, we both had shows at the same venue. Whereas mine went on to receive horrible reviews, Zach received glowing reviews from The Scotsman, AP News, and Time.

Time: http://bit.ly/2EtoX1C

AP: http://bit.ly/36FzUZK

Zach is a very charming, super funny, and extremely personable guy - we hit it off right away. He's hilarious, very creative, and ambitious. After only one conversation about Funny Planet (https://www.funnyplanetshow.com/) he convinced me we had to do it.

We're launching a new podcast soon with the same name and subject matter, talking to some of the best comedians all over the world, famous in their countries, but almost unheard of outside.

Get on board with the early release list here: http://bit.ly/35zU7jG

Lancey is a unique comic - I met him in Chicago years ago when I first moved there. The guy is both hilarious and a great friend.

I'd been going through some shit recently with the passing of my grandfather, and Lancey made a point to reach out and make sure I was alright.

We talk about comedy, Chicago, what it's like getting going in the city, how he got into it, and then the usual dead horses of identity & comedy and when audiences get weird.

Dre is the man behind a kind of legend on the internet. Codename: Diablo is thrown around so much in forums, on reddit, twitter, and is somewhere between a curiosity, a fetish, and a punchline.

Quite frankly, I have a ton of respect for someone who creates anything. The drive to helm a project, put money into it, gather investors, get talent, rent equipment, scout locations, everything, takes so much commitment and energy. It's amazing that anything ever gets created.

Dre has a specific interest in big boobs, cartoonish humor, action, in short, classic Hollywood B movies.

He's created one of the most prolific online, Codename: Diablo, and is about to go to production on the sequel, with an even bigger budget and larger production (no puns intended here).

Check out Codename: Diablo here: http://bit.ly/2DN1fwF

Taking a break from heavy topics, I ran into Brian and Nick at The Laugh Factory in Chicago's Young Hustle show.

Both of these guys are so funny and fun to hang out with, we sat down and just caught up for a bit on the podcast.

Brian is a comedian who grinds hard in Chicago. He's constantly churning out new material and working on the craft. Check him out: http://bit.ly/2XNfniO

Nick Ogle just got done with the first season of Complex's sketch show, Group Therapy, where he both wrote and performed. The dude had his face in Times' Square! Pretty dope. Follow him on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2XcbClu

Check it out!! My book, Cold Call Like A Comedian leading its category on Amazon: amzn.to/36dI8ZQ

EARLY RELEASE list for The Power Bible: bit.ly/2p4uFCo

I sit down and talk with author, sales wizard, and all-around good-time boy Cory Bray! We talk about sales, problems with organizations, and even a little bit about comedy.

He just released another book! This guy is on fire 🔥This one is all about hiring & onboarding sales reps. Even if you're not in the field, managing anyone new and onboarding them onto your team can be a challenge. Take a look at the link below.

Check out Cory's books here: https://amzn.to/2D54fEg

Follow him on LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/buy-triangleselling/

Check it out!! My book, Cold Call Like A Comedian leading its category on Amazon: https://amzn.to/36dI8ZQ

EARLY RELEASE list for The Power Bible: bit.ly/2p4uFCo

I've known Mark Ridley for over half my life, since I started doing stand-up when I was about 16 years old.

But even before meeting him and doing comedy, I heard about the Comedy Castle from my dad, who's best friend was a stand-up comedian in Detroit in the 80s and 90s. The place was like a kind of temple to me, where some of the most talented and interesting people came, and hundreds of others came to watch. My dad and uncles would tell me stories about the Comedy Castle and all I wanted to do was go and be there.

Ridley knows everyone in the business, and is genuinely a huge fan of comedy. He was a lot of fun to talk to, and it was great catching up with him.

Check out Cold Call Like A Comedian (leading it's category on Amazon!): https://amzn.to/36dI8ZQ

Early release for The Power Bible, co-written with William Beteet: http://bit.ly/2p4uFCo

I came across Naomi Snider's book at The Strand in New York, jumping in to get out of the rain. The catchy cover and title caught my attention and after I picked the book up I couldn't put it down.

She and her co-author, Carol Gilligan, take a stab at why the cultural condition we've lived under, patriarchy, is so well described and diagnosed yet so difficult to dislodge. The book is very thought provoking and very well researched.

I reached out to Naomi and amazingly, she shot me an email back and said she'd be happy to talk on the podcast.

The conversation takes off a bit when we get into the meat of the work, and attempt to talk through some honest disagreements. A trained lawyer, she's working on getting her license in psychoanalysis (this makes me feel like I'm definitely not doing enough with my life).

This conversation was a lot of fun, and so was the book (my copy is so annotated from from to back, I might post a pic on social media to show how much I contended with it). Honestly, I'd have a chat like this with her any day, she's great.

Take a look at the book, Why Does Patriarchy Persist by Naomi Snider and Carol Gilligan here: https://amzn.to/2WH2mH2

Naomi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/naomi_snider

Check out my book, Cold Call Like a Comedian: https://amzn.to/36dI8ZQ

EARLY RELEASE list for The Power Bible co-written with William Beteet: http://bit.ly/2p4uFCo