The Power of No

Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Abundance, and Happiness

By: James Altucher, Claudia Azula Altucher

Narrated by: James Altucher, Claudia Azula Altucher

Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

"No" is sometimes the hardest word to say. It's also the most necessary. How many times have you heard yourself saying yes to the wrong things - overwhelming requests, bad relationships, time-consuming obligations? How often have you wished you could summon the power to turn them down? This program will help you take back your power by showing that a well-placed "No" can not only save you time and trouble, it can save your life.

Drawing on their own stories as well as feedback from their fans and students, James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher clearly show that you have the right to say no: To anything that is hurting you. To standards that no longer serve you. To people who drain you of your creativity and expression. To beliefs that are not true to the real you. It's one thing to say no, the authors explain. It's another thing to have the Power of No. When you do, you will have a stronger sense of what is good for you and the people around you, and you will have a deeper understanding of who you are. And, ultimately, you'll be freed to say a truly powerful "Yes" in your life - one that opens the door to opportunities, abundance, and love.

©2014 James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher (P)2014 Hay House

Authors who should not have narrated their book.

What disappointed you about The Power of No?

I could not listen past a couple of chapters because the authors' voices were so hard to listen to. The female author was very difficult to understand and the male was simply annoying. And, the overview that was given early in the book made me realize that this was not a good purchase. It wasn't what I expected at all. It sounded like a bunch of postmodern hocus-pocus and not practical advice on how to say no to the demands placed on us by others. I will be calling Audible to return this book.

Would you be willing to try another one of James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher ’s performances?

No way.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Irritation.

repetitious

i think the bottom line of this book is great. however, the core ideas in which reaching the bottom line are responsible: constant mention of mysticism and the big bang. if it weren't for those things as well as the author getting to the bottom line faster, I'd recommend this book.

Not what I expected

What would have made The Power of No better?

It almost seemed like a recorded conversation and not an organized book. They went off on tangents on almost every topic, that's what filled most of this book.

Has The Power of No turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, as long as other authors are more organized than these 2 were.

Would you be willing to try another one of James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher ’s performances?

No

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Power of No?

I would re-edit most of the book. I would have the authors re-think the conversation style they have with this selection.

Not for me

What disappointed you about The Power of No?

A lot of jabber, not much fruitful advice.
Truth be told - I only listended to half of it.

Has The Power of No turned you off from other books in this genre?

Sort off. I know that a lot of "self help" books are not very good.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher ?

Luke Daniels

Just listen to their radio show, ignore the book

Would you try another book from James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher and/or James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher ?

The recommendation from one of the authors of Freakonomics got me to get this. Scary smart was the term. I never saw it. This is a rambling, personal discussion with occasional harangues. If you like this stuff apparently they have a radio show which they tell you about endlessly. Listen to that. .

Would you ever listen to anything by James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher again?

no

Would you be willing to try another one of James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher ’s performances?

absolutely not. they really should get a professional reader.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

If you have no ability to control your life maybe this could be useful

UGH! they tried hard

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

the authors who read their own book were extremely unprofessional--uhhhs, umms littered the 'reading.' The chapter I listened to felt like it was all over the place--a rough draft of what could be an interesting book. Their worldview was also all over the place "The universe wants to protect you" was one of the many lines I laughed out loud at.

What was most disappointing about James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher ’s story?

I quit within 2 chapters, so I can't accurately comment on the whole thing.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Grating voice for him. Hers was fine although I found myself more interested in trying to affect her accent more than listening to the book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Hilarity and head-shaking. There may be interesting things in later chapters, but it was just not good, let alone great.

Any additional comments?

I feel like they really did want to help people, but they should have said 'no' to narrating their book, and a publisher should have said 'no' to the book in it's current form.

Just say no to this book

What would have made The Power of No better?

If someone else had read it. I dozed when he was reading and couldn't understand most of what she said.

Has The Power of No turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but I will read the reviews before I spend money on a book like this next time. How it got an overall review of 4 stars is beyond me.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher ?

Anyone with a personality. Oh and only one person. The interaction of the two made it unbearable.

What character would you cut from The Power of No?

Both.

Any additional comments?

If this hadn't been a "deal" I would want my money back. As it is I don't think I got any value from this book. Such a shame....

100% self-absorbed

This book is weird. And it's one of a kind. One of a kind in the sense that I couldn't listen to more than an hour or so, before giving up. In retrospect, I can't believe it took me that long to realise how useless this book would be to me.

The book is weird, in that the authors, who are a couple (as suggested by their last name Altucher) reads it themselves. Fine and fair enough, but they really stretch that format, by talking on top of each other. Suddenly having her voice interrupt, or vice versa, after one person talking solo for maybe 15 minutes; feels weird. As if you're in your friends living room, been there for a few hours, and suddenly you realise his partner was also home, sleeping under the sofa. Yes, weird example, but this book IS weird - and you get the idea.

This book is also mindlessly boring and full of anecdotes that few other people than the authors themselves can get excited about. I'm all for transparency and authenticity, but in this book, it's feels like being at a wedding, positioned between two guests, who also happen to be a couple ("The Altucher's" also know as "The MeMeMe's") that can't stop telling you about their life, in every little detail, and make much grandeur of each and every little event, as if it's the biggest since the birth of Christ.

Come on.

I do realise the book may be in a good format for some listeners, just not me. It feels like they just pressed record, started rambling, sent it to a foreign language virtual assistant for editing (meaning that this person couldn't editorially edit it) and pressed the "Publish to Audible" button;)

Bad narration, anecdotal ideas

A book that could have been a single article. The authors aren't good narrators. The ideas aren't backed by anything but opinions.

Some really bad advice...

James, Claudia and their audio technician chatter about some faux mixture of Oriental thought/meditation and daily life with little to no comprehension of theoretical foundations. Several times I stopped and thought, "WOW! That's a really bad suggestion!" Don't think of your life in thirty years...you might be dead. They allowed some of their headphone banter to get into the recording, I guess they felt that it enhanced the experience, but in reality it just exposes them as shot from the hip types who don't really know where they are going, but they will eventually get there.
If you are going to journey through this life with a philosophy that philosophy needs to take you from womb to tomb. If it can't look thirty years down the line then it can't look thirty minutes.
It was an interesting listen with some original perspectives, but the authors come across as just winging it which defeats the purpose of sharing it in audio/book format.