Extra: For Train - Begging Adventures in Vienna
Text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DO0FQdsnsSLtAwSa29g4FdnNT0VVfDQF/view?usp=sharing
Episodes
Valiant Growth: Earn Self-Esteem, Build Amazing Relationships and Achieve Freedom through Radical Personal Development
Valiant Growth is a podcast about personal growth with a self-knowledge edge. My mission is to empower you to earn self-esteem, build amazing relationships, achieve freedom in your life through radical personal development.
The topics discussed are psychology, success, productivity, personal finances and financial independence, relationships and therapy, all with a focus on the inner world.
Episodes
Extra: Eternal Past, Permanent Present - Growing Up in the Ruins of Post-Communist Romania
A short piece I wrote about the material culture of post-Eastern Bloc, pre-EU Romania that I grew up in. Photo credit: evz.ro, Bianca Zaharescu - It's Bucharest in 1996, I was there too. The text and some pictures: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rmy_kTZDiThV0G6msDEufoyX_-05M65tJVM_fCsG2TY/edit?usp=sharing
0055 - Season Finale: I Guess I’m Not a Swashbuckling Entrepreneur
One year and one month ago I’ve set out to become a full-time entrepreneur. I have not succeeded. Can you learn from my mistakes? This is the final episode of Valiant Growth, season 1. Photo credit: daivinandleah via Flickr...
Interview on Yakkin With Nick: Moving to England, Non-Violent Relationships with Nick Hazelton
I've been thinking about talking more about my story with breaking contact with everyone I knew three years ago and completely resetting my life while coming to England. I especially wanted to talk about the painful mistakes I have made in talking to my family and friends following my understanding of the Freedomain Radio relationship strategy. I just couldn't figure out the personal development garb to dress those in to make them fit into the Valiant Growth format. They might make it into an ep...
0054 - Why You Want to Exercise and Live Healthy (with Chris Stefanick)
I’ve been an ultra-sedentary person for most of my life and had zero interest in anything to do with physical health. But I am doing more now than I did before. And my friend Chris Stefanick can claim some credit for that. He showed me a vision of health that’s focused on living a better and longer life, having more fun, having fewer limitations, of joy in movement and nutrition and self-care not because the end result impresses someone but because it’s a path of self-mastery, of learning someth...
0053 - Put Your Self-Study on Steroids: The Interview Learning System (with Shane Radliff)
It’s amazing to live in an age where all knowledge is at our fingerprints! You don’t have to transcribe ancient texts at candlelight in a monastery or do questionable menial tasks for a guru anymore to gain access to some knowledge. I had a two-hour round trip commute to the university - I quit midway when I figured out I could learn more than what a whole day in higher education had to offer by simply reading a business book in the same time. That said though, self-study has its fair share of c...
Valiant Feedback 001 - Staying Frugal When Going Out, Looking For Better Governments
How do you stay frugal when friends want to go out? And can you actually find better groups and collectives instead of building independence? I answer these two questions in this extra show. 1: "What do you do when someone suggest for instance grabbing a lunch when you have no desire to spend even on drinks but find it hard to say "well, I do not wanna spend money on food or drinks"?" 2: "I find myself really valuing from the attention paid to underlying needs in this discussion. It makes me won...
0052 - How to Stop Worrying About the World Without Giving Up On It - Interview with Shane Radliff
In 1974, a man disappeared somewhere in the Siskiyou Mountains, never to be heard of again. He wasn’t a tourist lost in the forests - he’s been living in the region for years. He wasn’t a rookie camper overwhelmed by wilderness - he had written several articles on camping and survivalism, based on his own experience of practising these skills. So what happened to Tom Marshall? Letting Go Isn't Free A basic and well-known tenet of stoicism is to stop trying to act on (and worrying about) things t...
0051- Politics Don't Matter (When Compared)
It was a little past midnight on Wednesday and I was sitting in the bathtub. It was the 9th of November, and I was feeling terrible. I had no idea who the Prime Minister of Romania, the country where I grew up, was. I had no idea which party was in power in the UK, where I had been living for the past year and a half. But I had just spent 12 months following the ups and downs of of the 2016 US elections, a country that I couldn’t vote in, had no real way of living in in the short and medium-term...
Valiant Growth Now a Blogcast
I've become quite fed up with a show notes that had very little value to the listener. So I've decided to turn them into full-blown, stand-alone blog posts! Hence, until this experiment lasts, I am now running a blogcast instead of just a podcast. Are you as excited about this as I am?
0050 - How To Make Your Productivity System Easy To Run - with Jake Desyllas
So you’ve followed the advice my previous talk with Jake Desyllas and set up your own basic productivity system. You know that a system like that is not a pedantic badge of honour, but is in fact the best way to add actions to your ideals – to LIVE your values. You also know the three components of any successful productivity system : Capture: Get things out of your head Review: Check everything regularly Organize: Put things in their right place You probably are in a happy place - so allow me t...
0049 - Frugality is Questioning the Normal - Interview with Nicolas Berube Part 2
Sometimes people tell me: “Philip, it’s all fine for you, but you can’t do this stuff with a family and car based culture”. That makes a lot of sense to me: in many ways, being a single, young person is the easiest way to keep costs on the low end. That is why I was very happy to ask Nicola, a listener who called in about his story on how he biked and lived in his tent in backyards to travel Europe to tell me more on how he, as a married man with a child, living in the sometimes less than hospit...
0048 - Cycling Through Europe - Interview with Nicolas Berube
Imagine that you have a magic marker. It looks like the usual whiteboard companion, but it has secret that only you know about. You see, with this marker, you can go into any store, pick any item off the shelf, and write your own price on it. And when you go to the checkout, they accept your price, no matter what it is, and everybody walks away happy. Where can you get this magic marker? You already own it! It’s called creativity. It’s also called adventurousness. Or flexibility. With those tool...
Out and About - Radical Personal Finance - Tips to Hitchhike Europe (or Anywhere Else) on $40 a Week (with a Food Budget of $2 Per Day!) Interview with Philip Frey from Valiant Growth
I've started releasing guest appearances I've made on other podcasts. The first one is an interview with Joshua Sheats on Radical Personal Finance about hitchhiking and budget travel in general. I share my experiences and we both go in depth on tactics around hitchhiking, housing, transport and ultralight backpacking. Here are Joshua's show notes: Do you wish to set out and travel but feel like you lack the money? Well, what if you did it anyway and just adjusted your style of travel to fit a mo...
0047 - Is Early Retirement Extreme About Financial Independence?
Early Retirement Extreme may be one of the four ways to quit the rat race on the surface. I think, however, that underlying ERE is a much deeper philosophy. In fact, I’d say that saving a lot of money, investing it and living of the income is a completely optional part of ERE. What this approach has taught me is the value of resilience, independence and living a well-rounded life. Through looking at our needs (and the strategies handed to us by the mainstream to meet them) critically, we can con...
0046 - Day 21 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Investing for Early Retirement Part 2
On the final day of the 21 day ERE makeover (but only penultimate of the series), Jacob addresses a simplified approach to investing, called Dogs of the Dow. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-21-investing-for-early-retirement.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support On the final day of the 21 day ERE m...
0046 - Day 20 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Own Classics
Frugality and high-quality products are not antithetical - you just have to own classics. Join http://forum.earlyretirementextreme.com for ERE specific advice, and http://valiantgrowth.com/community to meet fellow Valiant Growth listeners. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-20-own-classics.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http:...
0046 - Day 19 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Getting Rid of Your TV (Addiction)
A TV (or insert other entertainment technology here) will cost you some money, but it will cost a lot more than that for your growth - if you aren’t aware of what you are doing. But entertainment is not the greatest threat - in fact, for many of you, it may not even be all that significant. The allure of narrow technical skills over broad life skills (personal development) can just as well cost you in terms of your long-term happiness. Presentation on personal development (skip intro): https://y...
0046 - Day 18 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Join a Challenge
Self-imposed constraints (a.k.a challenges) can be a great tool for accelerating your frugality, building your self-esteem, and having fun at the same time. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-18-join-a-challeng.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support...
0046 - Day 17 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Maintaining and Repairing Things
We throw things out too easily sometimes. The good news is that you can become a handyman perhaps more easily than you’d think. And perhaps one day you can start building your own things! Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-17-maintaining-andrepairing-things.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support...
Title: 0046 - Day 16 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - The Stuff You Actually Keep and Use
How being frugal on quantity can actually get you really great quality. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-16-the-stuff-you-actually-keep-and-use.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support...
0046 - Day 15 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Quiz - The First Two Weeks of The Makeover
A bit of fun revision today, going through the previous 14 days and self-scoring on the ERE test! The scale is 90 points scores an A, 70 a B, 50 a C, 30 a D and 10 an F. Housing is worth 30, transport is worth 20, food is worth 10 and the rest are 4-5. I used 4. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-15-the-first-two-weeks-of-the-make-over.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valia...
0046 - Day 14 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Investing for Early Retirement Part 1
Jacob lays out his (2009) active investment strategy, while I comment on the balance of offence vs. defence in ERE. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-14-investing-for-early-retiremen.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support
0046 - Day 13 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Insurance
The particular conditions of an extreme saver warrants a critical look at which insurance makes sense and which doesn’t. This episode talks about types of insurance for ERE pursuers. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-13-insurance.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support...
0046 - Day 12 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Establishing a Savings Account
What to do with your first 10K, tax sheltered vs not and emergency cash. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-12-establishing-a-savings-account.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support...
0046 - Day 11 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Connecting Your Stuff With Your Neighbors
Make use of communal resources by starting or joining in a system of responsible sharing. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-11-connecting-your-stuff-with-your-neighbors.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support...
0046 - Day 10 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Calculating Your Net Worth
Why and how to calculate your net worth, what to include and what not to include. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-10-calculating-net-worth.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support...
0046 - Day 9 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Budgeting
Budgeting is often presented as key element of frugality and early retirement. Jacob Lund Fisker challenges that idea and present his decision making system (including the 300 factor). I then comment on why I still consider budgeting to be important for different reasons. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-9-budgeting.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere D...
0046 - Day 8 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Get Engaged!
Meaningless work is a self-perpetuating cycle. People buy things to take their minds off of work, and work to be able to buy those things. Challenging this cycle in your own life is on the greatest leaps that you can take in your personal development. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-8-get-engaged.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcas...
0046 - Day 7 of the Early Retirement Extreme 21 Day Makeover - Going Car Free
The overlooked cost of owning a car, and benefits of walking/cycling plus strategies for going car free. Original article at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-7-going-car-free.html A more detailed discussion of the ERE philosophy at http://valiantgrowth.com/e30 Get Early Retirement Extreme The Book at http://valiantgrowth.com/ere Donate to the podcast at http://valiantgrowth.com/support...