How do you defend yourself against manipulative people? Part 1 of a discussion about some useful ideas in the book " In Sheep's Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People " by Dr. George K. Simon. Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!
Sebastian Haffner’s memoirs of his time in Berlin between 1914 and 1933 give a fascinating account of everyday life during the rise of a totalitarian regime. This episode explores the most interesting aspects of his book. I talk about what this extreme situation shows us about the effect that politics has on civil society. Become a Patron of The Voluntary Life for bonus episodes!...
An episode about the best way to inoculate yourself against irrational ideas. Show Notes: Become a Patron of The Voluntary Life for bonus episodes! Argumentum ad Absurdum The Candlemakers' Petition by Frederic Bastiat TVL Episode 225 Comparative Advantage Is Mind-blowing...
A discussion with Hannah Braime about our travel experiences and life as expats in Barcelona. We talk about travel with kids, Barcelona as a destination for expats, current events in Catalonia, and more! Become a Patron to get bonus episodes of The Voluntary Life
Why invest in gold? What is the best way to do so? Is gold obsolete as an investment now that cryptocurrencies exist? This episode answers many listener questions about investing in gold from my perspective as a private investor following the Permanent Portfolio strategy. I am not a financial advisor. As always with investing, you will need to do your own research. Thanks so much to all the patrons who provided great questions for this topic. Show Notes: Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episo...
Should you leave your adult children an inheritance? Should you base your own financial plans around the expectation of receiving an inheritance one day? These questions are relevant to parenting, financial independence, and many other key topics covered on TVL. Show Notes: Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley...
An episode about how to use mind maps as a productivity tool to plan any project and support your creative thinking. Show Notes: The Mind Map Book by Tony Buzan iThoughts Exporting Omnifocus Tasks To Mind Maps Script Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!...
If you are investing towards financial freedom, you face a decision: which asset classes should you put your money in? This episode is about one of the main asset classes: fixed-income securities, or bonds. Bonds can behave in strange ways as an investment, especially in times when interest rates are very low (as they are at present). I'm not a financial advisor and this episode is just my opinions, so you will need to do your own research, but this episode will give you food for thought. Show N...
How could you apply the 80/20 Principle to parenting? In this episode, Jake answers this question using evidence from a fascinating empirical study into how childhood experiences can impact your health and wellbeing for the rest of your life. Show Notes: Support The Voluntary Life on Patreon ACE Study Wiki Page Explanation of ACE Study CDC page on ACE Study...
Many people who are interested in personal freedom and self-improvement find value in an approach to negotiation called Nonviolent Communication (NVC). In this episode, I provide an assessment of NVC, outlining aspects that I find useful, problems with the approach, and some misconceptions of the framework. Show Notes: Become a patron of TVL Nonviolent Communication By Marshall Rosenberg Psychology Book Club Episode on NVC NVC wikipedia page Getting To Yes by Fischer and Ury Parent Effectiveness...
In this episode I explain what I've learned from my favourite TV show and why I recommend that you watch it if you are an entrepreneur or are interested in business. The Profit is an MSNBC show about entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis investing in small businesses. Show Notes: The Profit Marcus Lemonis What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!...
James Davis is a great example of an "unjobber". His unconventional work life has included making money as a professional poker player, transforming a children's summer camp, and starting an online fantasy sports business. In this interview, James talks about how he successfully pursued the unjobbing lifestyle and how you can do so too. Show Notes: James' businesses discussed in the show: Camp Stomping Ground , Longacre , and DFSR Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!...
In this episode, Jake talks about growing up with a view of marriage as an outdated tradition with negative connotations, and how his view changed as he came to understand the positive reasons to get married. Whatever your current view of marriage, this discussion will give you food for thought. Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!
The Estonian E-Residency program is worth considering for anyone running a business online as a digital nomad. In this episode I explain the background to e-residency, how the application process works, and what the benefits are. Show Notes: E-Residency Application Page Xolo.io (formerly Leapin.EU) (Use my referral code: “Jake” for a discount) Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!...
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! The tiny house movement is relevant for anyone interested in minimalism, frugal living, and a travel-oriented lifestyle. In this interview, Link Wilcox talks about her project to build a tiny house. Show Notes: Link's Website TVL Patreon Website...
Jake's speech at the Freecoast Festival 2017, presenting five ways to live the voluntary life: Rational Thinking Personal Freedom Peaceful Parenting Financial Independence Internationalisation Show Notes: Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! The Freecoast Festival
What does forgiveness mean? What is it for? Should you forgive others in order to be free? Or is the idea of forgiveness a trap? Check out the episode to find out more! Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! This episode answers questions from TVL listeners on the topic of investing in stocks. It provides an introduction to low-cost, passive investing with index funds. When choosing investment funds, a key issue for passive investors is the expense ratio. This episode explains the huge difference between average expense ratios and those of low-cost funds. I am not a financial advisor. This episode is about what I've learned as an individual i...
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! This episode is about suggestions for implementing a weekly review for productivity. It is a conversation from the patron-only livestream that I do with supporting listeners every month. You will find it helpful if you are interested in implementing or upgrading your own weekly review habit. Show Notes: The GTD Virtual Study Group Podcast Become a Patron of The Voluntary Life...
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! This week's episode is a discussion with Hannah Braime about a very interesting book called Against Therapy by Jeffrey Masson. We recorded this for the Psychology Book Club Podcast. I'm including it on The Voluntary Life because it is highly relevant to everyone interested in self-knowledge and psychological freedom. Show Notes: Psychology Book Club Podcast Against Therapy by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson The Assault On Truth by Jeffrey Mouss...
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! This episode presents some very interesting data on the average age of entrepreneurs when they start their first business. You might find the results surprising... The research cited is the Kauffman Foundation study in the US and the Sandler Training study in the UK....
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! This episode presents the implicit principles that underpin non-peaceful parenting, and contrasts them with the principles of peaceful parenting that was discussed in Episode 278. Show Notes: Episode 272 Why I Choose Peaceful Parenting Episode 278 Three Principles Of Philosophy Applied To Parenting...
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! Is unselfishness a virtue? Or is the idea of unselfishness a trap used to prevent you from living your own life? What is selfishness anyway? This week's episode is about different theories of selfishness, including Harry Browne's idea of the unselfishness trap and an alternative definition of selfishness by Oscar Wilde. Show Notes: Become A Patron of The Voluntary Life...
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! This week's episode is a response to this listener email: "I am very close to the financial independence. I have listened to some podcasts you have on the topic, but I still have some doubts. I know that my parents will not understand why I am not getting up every morning to go to the office. I know that my friends will ask about my next professional challenges and why I decided to quit. I cannot mention the financial independence because...
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! There is a saying in investing that "cash is trash", because cash provides such low returns and loses value owing to inflation. Yet every investor has to deal with cash in some way and there is always some role for cash within a portfolio. So how much of your net worth should you have in cash? Why hold it? When should you rebalance in and out of cash? Harry Browne thought carefully about the role of cash with his permanent portfolio strat...
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! This week's episode is a response to this listener email: "I've been a long term listener, but honestly I'm having a difficult time [seeing why I should be] a paid subscriber. I listen to several podcasts and a similar characteristic seems to be FI and hosts who are millionaires. Provide real value for those who don't enjoy that status and the money will come. There's too many of us who want to be financially independent but don't have a ...
Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards! The Areas of Responsibility framework is a very powerful productivity technique for sorting your life out. It helps me answer questions such as: What am I doing with my life, and why? Is what I am doing right now a good use of my time? What should I devote my efforts to in order to build the life I want? In this episode, I introduce Areas of Responsibility and explain how to start implementing them. I've also got some big developments to ...
"Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places and under any circumstances to deal and/or associate with stupid people always turns out to be a costly mistake." Carlo Cipolla In the 1970s, an economic historian called Carlo Cipolla wrote a provocative article titled "The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity". His theory emphasises the destructiveness of stupid behaviour, and explains why it...
This week's episode features Hannah and me discussing our move to Girona. We talk about adapting to a travel lifestyle with a baby, the challenges of minimalism and travel, beautiful Girona as an expat location, and many more topics! Show Notes: Hannah Braime TVL 254: Perpetual Travel With Kids Part 1: Interview With Go Curry Cracker Become A Patron of TVL to get bonus episodes and rewards!...
A response to this interesting listener question: "Hi Jake, I would like to hear your thoughts on making the decision to have a child. I am 33 years old, and there are lots of expectations on this one. I find it difficult to escape this identity trap and to know for myself if I want to become a parent or not. I know it's a BIG one, and it is personal, but your podcast is probably the only place which talks about parenting from a unique perspective different than the norm. I will be curious to he...
