It's Your Move: My Million Dollar Method for Taking Risks with Confidence and Succeeding at Work and Life

by Josh Altman

One of the stars of Bravo’s hit series Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles reveals his trade secrets, offering aspiring entrepreneurs and established professionals tips and insights to help them outsmart the competition.

Josh “the Shark” Altman has achieved extraordinary success in a traditional industry and in the most competitive real estate market in the country—all without being “discovered” or catching the proverbial big break. He worked for it. He figured it out. He failed. He learned. He wrote his own script.

The key to his success? Confidence—informed, intelligent, calculated confidence. Calculated confidence means training yourself in your chosen field, knowing it so well that you can trust your gut instincts to guide you towards the best possible option. When key opportunities present themselves, you are ready to seize them.

In It’s Your Move, one of the stars of Bravo’s hit TV series Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles shares invaluable and street-smart strategies for how to build your confidence, establish your reputation, master the knowledge you need to succeed, take the right risks, and course correct when you make a mistake. Drawing on his experiences negotiating multi-million dollar deals and offering impeccable service to his celebrity and high-profile clients, Altman shows you all the right moves to help you become better, stronger and more effective—whatever your profession or ambitions.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 14, 2015

About the author

Josh Altman, real estate powerhouse of the famed Altman Brothers, is a top-producing agent in Beverly Hills and is continually ranked as a top 25 realtor in the country by numerous media outlets including the Wall Street Journal for having sales over a billion dollars locally, nationally, and internationally. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews

[Jerry Ciesielski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Josh Altman’s book (did he even write it? - he thanks a ghost writer in the credits) reads half like a self-congratulatory biography and half like a high school sports coach’s pep-talk.
In this book we learn he soiled his pants on a school bus trip because he didn’t listen to what his gut was telling him, sold questionable mortgage refinances during the sub-prime mortgage crisis, bought an old Spanish-style castle, ogled his “cute blonde thirty-something”lease client who had rich daddy with a CEO boss that was responsible for an amazing deal, wears sharp suits, makes good money, has a beautiful fiancé, and, oh, always closes the deal. He will remind you of those last four things in every chapter.
If you can manage to look past his ego and massive confidence, you may find overused cliches and inane platitudes such as “Confront your weaknesses” or “Always pay attention to the world around you - see what’s changing,” but not much elaboration on those points. Be sure to “put all this advice into action”, except for the the contradictory ones such as “trust your gut instincts,” “but gut instincts can steer you wrong.”
There is very little content in this very short book, and hardly anything that is applicable to anyone who is not Josh Altman. But, if you happen to know a guy (not a woman, this book addresses mainly men) who is - a high school soccer player that switched to football to get cheers from cute girls - who wants to go into real estate, you can buy this book for him. Just be sure to “trust your gut” and buy the book from the dollar-bin at the used bookstore. That would me “a smart-move.”

[Mediaman · Rating 1 out of 5]

This spoiled rich-kid brat (dad was a doctor and a Harvard medical professor) has never grown up. He's still an egotistical jerk who has no problem lying (and he admits it!). Why anyone would trust him with their real estate deals is hard to believe--watch the show and you see him lie. Read the book and you'll read that he lies. AND he didn't even write the book. Look at page 234 where at the very end he thanks "my writer Guy Brenan who helped me put the words on paper."

This guy is a joke and another Bravo TV "star" that has made it due to flaunting his flaws instead of his successes. He has no reason to "write" this "business" book that is supposed to be "inspirational." It's just a bunch of tales (many rehashed from the TV show) of how he sold major properties for big bucks, often to famous people. Any advice here is trite that you've seen in dozens of other self-help books, and there's not one inspiring moment. What you learn is that if you are raised a rich kid you can keep living the lifestyle by lying your way through a profession that apparently takes no real education or ethics.

[MYOB · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tried to be objective but this book was extremely boring, Altman is very narcissistic and spends more time discussing how great his deceptive strategy is than any pragmatic tools effective for the ethical realtor/broker. There's a reason why these episodic reality shows always must have someone like Altman in it, a need for the one to hate, someone sneaky, underhanded who steals clients and spouts his admiration for himself at every segment of the book as well.
Truly a slow read, possibly helpful for people needing sleep. I wonder how many of these he sold?

[Emilie (mathonbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book actually surpassed my expectations; it was a funny, helpful read that I think showed a different, more thoughtful side to the MDL star. While it wasn't the most well-written and probably could have been longer, it did provide some good confidence-boosting strategies and real-talk.

[Benjamin Teper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great & inspiring book! Thank you Josh!

The main reason Josh is wildly successful in business and in life is his strong personality, his passion and perseverance, calculated confidence and he is simply true to himself!
Great advice and stories and easy to read. If you are ambitious and love life, this book is for you.

[Cheryl Trusas]

He is a egotistical idiot..cannot stand him...if u was rich I would never go to the Altman's to buy anything...I would go with Flagg. ..with all the money Altman has you would think he would get a nose job. Seriously....I live in Mass
.and noone I know likes him

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads. I was glad to win this as I have seen Josh Altman on that real estate show. He is so good at what he does and he gives very good advise how to succeed at anything.

[Matthew David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trite.

[Zack Nye · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was inspiring, and motivational. Josh Altman goes through various aspects of his real estate journey, starting from investing in his first property with his brother to selling millions of dollars worth of real estate to celebrities. He explains his journeys from being a kid playing soccer and football, to his working jobs he didn’t fully love to find his true passion. As a kid trying to get my real estate license it inspired me to get going even harder. Josh tries to get you to get in full contact with your gut and to trust your true instincts, and how to use them to find success not only in business but in life. One thing about the book I did not fully enjoy all of was some of the story’s and situations he wrote about. They weren’t about him specifically but I felt they were dragged at some points and made me lose interest. But those only come around for a few occasions so it’s not anything you have to worry about alot. One thing I was loved was the motivational quotes at the beginning of each chapter to prepare you for the situations, and topics he will touch on. I read the book in about 25 days and was a good read for someone who doesn’t read often.

[Kelsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very encouraging and inspiring to read. The author discovered his passion for selling houses when him and his brother owned an apartment together and decided to fix it up then sell it. When they received way more for the apartment after fixing it up than they had bought it for, Josh Altman knew he wanted to sell houses. It is scenarios like this that gives me an open mind about what I can be, sometimes it just comes to you on accident. Each chapter had a different life lesson as the title which would be exclaimed through stories throughout the chapter, which made it really easy to follow and keep engaged. The advice Altman gives is very understandable, and he makes it really easy to believe the things he is saying by giving many different kinds of support. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur, it has some great advice on how to be successful!

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not sure what I expected from this book. I was watching an old episode of "Million Dollar Listings" and decided to read it. I thought Josh Altman could be a little arrogant but I found the book to be a very good description of his success and how to build your own success through hard work, confidence, taking smart risks and being able to take rejection. I found him to be honest about not only his successes but also his failures, and mistakes. Being in the Real Estate business, I found several examples of how to increase people's awareness of you, and how to give the best service to your clients.

[EMMANUEL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josh Altman’s book teaches you how to think smart, to become rich. How to think smart… in of how to be rich. How to think smart… so that you can become rich. How what to think about… so you are smart enough to know how to become rich. How to think… to know what to think about that allows you to work your way in becoming rich.

[Celia D · Rating 3 out of 5]

His ghostwriter did a great job at writing the book so it sounded very much like him. While i did not learn anything particularly new it was nice to read from someone who was confident in what they did even if they weren’t always successful and had bumps in the road. Definitely gives you a positive boost in mood!

[Loretta M. Keefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Very informative and inspirational. Well written and researched. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking not just a career in real estate but any position due to its emphasis on believing in yourself.

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. This is for anyone who is looking to step up in their lives. Offering grounded wisdom, this book is about being and presenting the person you desire to be in your career and life, an individual with genuine passion, work-ethnic, confidence, care, and drive.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, it's a book written by a reality star. There is a lot of "look at me, look how great I am"
But there's also some real gems and good info in here and I found it very inspiring.

[Sarah Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. If you are self employed and/or goal driven this is a great read.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best written, but I did walk away with some valuable tips and found parts of this inspiring.

[John Nustad · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some nuggets of wisdom but very general.

[Anaia Hardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really insightful and interesting. It helps if you are interested in getting into real estate because the author talks about his journey what you should do to improve yourself.

[Lida Athearn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to listen to it on an accelerated speed to get through it. Nothing useful here. Very boring.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few interesting strategies & insight.

[Sheila M.Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!!

I learned a lot! The stories flowed really well together. I recommend this book to friends needy some motivation.
Thanks Josh.

[Rick Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the book laid out the methodology and philosophy behind Josh Altman pretty well. He's obviously a showman and it has lead to the author's success. Inside the book he lays out his reasoning behind some of the things he does, how he's always on the lookout for the next big property idea, and how he puts himself in the position to gain more business.
It's not a nuts and bolts type book, but if you follow along with the ideology it should help you in your real estate career or any career for that matter.

[Yaakov Bernadyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the book and a lot of his stories, to be fair. Yet, the book felt like it was missing substance. I always felt as though I was listening to a narcissist discussing his many conquests while reading. He makes a good point about calculated confidence - but it sounds to me like he is confusing calculated risk with alpha male arrogance. That being said, some of the stories were interesting.

[Renata Medanovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

How should I express myself?? I loved this book!!! I did not expect such a great read from Josh. I am not his fan so I was doubting his book. At first he talks a lot about how amazing he is etc., which was super annoying to me, but later on in the book he talks about his failures as well, which I appreciated!! It gives you an idea how to switch your mistakes and make them future wins!! I read book from other Bravo TV realtor and I loved Josh’s book much more.

[Isaac H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read. At times a bit braggadocios, but the messages hit their marks. I recommend this book for anyone who needs their confidence restored and great ideas on how to get up and make everyday count.

[Phino DeLeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, nothing too profound, except for a few nuggets pertaining directly to realtors. Which I can take advantage of, but he did try to stretch the lesson across to other areas of life.
Overall, it was a fairly quick read and had some great stories to share.

[Brendan Keene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspirational as a young real estate agent... many gems in here...now time to put his advice and stories to action

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and actually bought my son a copy while I was reading it because I thought of him with every page. I found it very motivating and confidence promoting.