This episode is about where you choose to live and the impact that this choice can have on your level of freedom. Many people who have written about personal and political liberty have suggested a link between where you choose to live and how free you are. In the podcast we explore 3 different ideas about this choice: The ideas in " Walden " by Henry David Thoreau: finding freedom by living self-sufficiently alone in a rural setting The idea of 'Galts Gulch' in " Atlas Shrugged " by Ayn Rand: fi...
Sep 06, 2012•22 min•Ep. 74
This episode is a review of the book " The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich " by Tim Ferriss. It is a skype conversation with a group of friends. The ideas that we discuss include: taking mini-retirements and getting out of a one-track career mentality extended travelling testing new entrepreneurial ideas with sales pages on the web before starting outsourcing tasks to a virtual assistant Tim Ferriss' personality and how it influences the style and content of the...
Aug 28, 2012•1 hr•Ep. 73
This episode is about how you as an individual can help alleviate poverty in a non-political, principled way. It's an economic view of how you can reduce poverty through economic development and the wealth that it generates. Jake presents ideas of the economist Ludwig Von Mises about how you can create economic progress and development, focussing on three key activities: creating technical innovation, which helps to make everything cheaper for everyone within the economy being an entrepreneur, w...
Aug 20, 2012•13 min•Ep. 72
This episode is an interview with Kristov, an application security specialist, about what kind of measures individuals can take to ensure a level of security and privacy for their computers and their online life. In the interview, we cover security and privacy for a range of topics including: email use web browsing malware and viruses password managers data storage use of torrents VOIP and chat application security for entrepreneurs...
Aug 15, 2012•54 min•Ep. 71
The second part of the interview from the B ecoming Who You Are Podcast . We talk about a whole range of topics including: The fear of criticism that can come up when putting creative work out there The challenges of being yourself at work The future of The Voluntary Life podcast The difference between abstract business planning and being conscious of what's really happening in your business now The balance between having dreams and staying in touch with reality Getting support from the people i...
Aug 07, 2012•35 min•Ep. 70
This episode is an interview with Marc de Mesel , who was previously on the show talking about investing in Europe . Marc runs a blog on investing in Europe in dutch and also an investing blog in english . In this episode, Marc talks about the hidden tax that is inflation. We discuss the difference between official inflation figures and the real loss of purchasing power that ordinary people experience. We also talk about ways in which an individual investor or saver can cope with inflation, incl...
Aug 01, 2012•43 min•Ep. 69
This is a repost of the latest Becoming Who You Are Podcast , where I was interviewed by the lovely host of BWYA, my partner Hannah . In Part 1 we talk about how The Voluntary Life began and about feeling free to be yourself in your friendships.
Jul 24, 2012•22 min•Ep. 68
This is a short spontaneous speech by Jake taken from the Porc Therapy appearance in the previous show (see episode 66 ). It is about alternatives to political activism for getting more freedom in your life. I hope you enjoy it!
Jul 23, 2012•8 min•Ep. 67
This is a repost of an episode of Porc Therapy hosted by Stephanie Murphy that Hannah and I appeared on. "My friends Jake from The Voluntary Life and Hannah from Becoming Who You Are join me today for this fun podcast-only show where our discussion centers around living free – now! We begin with a PorcFest 2012 wrap up, then talk about connecting over shared values, immigration issues, the Free State Project , civil disobedience and political activism (and our disagreements with both), Jake’s am...
Jul 17, 2012•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 66
This episode is a review of " The Virtue of Selfishness " by Ayn Rand. It is a group discussion and the guests include Stephanie Murphy from Porc Therapy and other friends. Here are some of the things we cover in the discussion: The book's gutsy title and the controversy surrounding it. The pros and cons of Ayn Rand's morality and her own moralising. Aspects of the book we found unconvincing, such as her dismissal of voluntaryism and her idea that no conflict of interest is possible between rati...
Jul 16, 2012•59 min•Ep. 65
This episode is a continuation of the discussion I had with Brett Veinotte about how entrepreneurship is not taught at school and why. It was recorded live for the School Sucks Podcast at Porcfest . We talk about why it is that teachers are usually the last people who you would expect to learn entrepreneurship from and what you can do to learn it yourself. Sorry about the audio quality, it is a little choppy but still listenable....
Jul 11, 2012•10 min•Ep. 64
This episode is part of a discussion that I had with Brett Veinotte from School Sucks Podcast at Porcfest . Brett and I talked about how entrepreneurship is totally alien to compulsory schooling. School prepares you for a life of working for someone else, whereas goals like working for yourself, growing a business and obtaining financial freedom are never discussed. We discuss things that you can do to overcome the conformity that school sets you up for, such as starting a business as young as p...
Jul 10, 2012•34 min•Ep. 63
This episode is an interview that Jake did on the P orc Therapy Podcast , recorded live at Porcfest 2012 . In the interview, Jake talks about some of the things you can do to live more freely whatever society or economy you find yourself in, such as investing in friendships and living abroad.
Jul 02, 2012•21 min•Ep. 62
This episode is an interview that Jake did on the Free Talk Live radio show. Jake talks about entrepreneurship as the best way to achieve more freedom in your life and to make the world a better place.
Jun 26, 2012•11 min•Ep. 61
Matt and Molly have been unschooling their two children for a year. In this episode, they talk about their family's experiences during their first year of living as if school didn't exist.
Jun 18, 2012•39 min•Ep. 60
An interview with George, who emigrated from Greece to resettle in the UK. George provides many suggestions that will be relevant for anyone considering emigration, even if you are not in the EU. If you do live in the EU, it is very much worth considering the opportunities of doing what George has done and relocating to a place that might better suit your needs.
Jun 06, 2012•30 min•Ep. 58
This episode is a recording of a talk given by Chris Guillebeau about his new book The 100 Dollar Startup . The talk took place in Shoreditch, London on 25th May 2012 and Chris kindly gave permission for me to record it for this podcast. In the talk, Chris shares some of the stories of the many "solopreneurs" and small business owners that he interviewed for the book, all of whom are using creative self-employment to give themselves more freedom in life....
May 28, 2012•41 min•Ep. 57
This episode discusses ideas from the book " The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age "by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg. "In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries -- the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society," will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the pow...
May 21, 2012•28 min•Ep. 56
How will you finance your startup? This episode presents some thoughts on the issue of financing for entrepreneurs based on my own experience, including: Why bootstrapping your business with revenue finance is the best way to fund your own startup, if you can do it The benefit of having some personal savings and no major financial commitments, if you want to start a business The role that loans can play in funding your venture and how taking out loans for business is a far better use of debt tha...
May 18, 2012•27 min•Ep. 55
Every entrepreneur will ultimately exit from their business, in one way or another. Unless you plan to just wind it down, one day you'll probably want to sell your company. In this podcast, Jake talks about his experience of selling a business and answers some key questions about the process, including: Why sell your business? How do you find a buyer? When is the right time to sell? How do you value your business? What happens in the negotiation process? How long does it take? What happens after...
May 08, 2012•30 min•Ep. 54
An interview with Laurette Lynn, author, speaker and host of the Unplugged Mom internet talk show. Laurette's work emphasizes the need for families to unplug from mainstream assumptions in learning and living, disconnect from the artificial process of life and discover the freedom and joy in learning and living more authentically. In the interview she talks about freedom from school for kids and families. Laurette explains the choice that she made not to send her kids to school "because they don...
Apr 30, 2012•48 min•Ep. 53
This episode is about negotiation for entrepreneurs. Some basic practical tips are provided about negotiating, such as: The benefits of writing everything down (even though it seems obvious) Why it's better to be explicit about how you want do business, such as with a simple set of standard terms Negotiating about all the terms and avoiding the pitfall of focussing narrowly on price Some of the deeper principles underlying negotiation are also explained, such as: The concept of your Best Alterna...
Apr 23, 2012•23 min•Ep. 52
This episode is an interview with Mike, one of the moderators and main contributors to the Permanent Portfolio discussion forum . Mike, or " Medium Tex " as he is known on the board, is an independent investor and co-author of an upcoming book on the permanent portfolio approach to investment. In the interview Mike explains a simple way of understanding all the different economic conditions we might face and how to be financially prepared for any of them as a private investor. You can get more i...
Apr 03, 2012•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 50
An interview with Jeffrey Tucker about his book " It's a Jetsons World: Private Miracles and Public Crimes " ( available online for free). " It's a Jetsons World " is about how we are surrounded by miracles created in the private sector, particularly in the digital universe, and yet we don't appreciate them enough. Meanwhile, the public sector is systematically wrecking the physical world in sneaky and petty ways that really do matter. Jeffrey discusses these themes further in the interview, suc...
Mar 26, 2012•59 min•Ep. 49
A podcast about freeing your mind to get things done. A big challenge with time management and productivity that I experienced was how to overcome that feeling of being overwhelmed. How do you free your mind from the nagging thoughts of all the things that you need to do, so that you can get on with actually doing stuff? In this podcast I discuss my journey through trying many approaches to time management and the value that I found in David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) approach. Unlike tra...
Mar 19, 2012•22 min•Ep. 48
When it comes to friendships, are you investing wisely?
Mar 12, 2012•15 min•Ep. 47
This episode is about the amazing value that comes from tracking your business. Whereas 'business plans' are really just 'business guesses' and can often be a waste of time, tracking the reality of your business is always incredibly useful. The data that you have about each aspect of your business (your sales opportunities, your contacts, your cash-flow and many other aspects) is the most valuable asset that you have.
Feb 27, 2012•19 min•Ep. 45
An interview with Carisa Brewster, author of the Cup of Curiosity blog. Carisa describes herself as a writer, mom and nappy chick with way too many interests. In this interview she talks about the experience of breaking free from religion and choosing to parent and unschool her children free from any religion. Her blog covers many diverse topics from books, natural hair, living in Oregon, interracial issues, breastfeeding/parenting and pop culture. She is also a (self-confessed) huge Star Wars a...
Feb 20, 2012•29 min•Ep. 44
This episode is about investing inside the Euro zone as an independent individual investor. It is an interview with Marc de Mesel , who runs a blog on investing in Europe in dutch and also an investing blog in english . Marc talks about his experience applying the Permanent Portfolio strategy in a European context. He also provides his thoughts on speculating in gold and other precious metals. The episode is provided as food for thought to encourage critical thinking and independent decision-mak...
Feb 13, 2012•53 min•Ep. 43
Part 2 of the interview with Paul Rosenberg about his novel " A Lodging of Wayfaring Men ". Paul shares his thoughts on many of the other themes covered in the novel: sexuality, relationships, the unconscious mind and religion. He explains his view on intellectual property and why he chose to release the novel using the creative commons license. He also gives an insight into his upcoming books....
Feb 06, 2012•27 min•Ep. 42
