Every morning Frank Dekker goes to work at Starbucks. He’s not a barista—he’s an American whose job as a Software Architect allows him to work from anywhere (as long as there’s a Wifi connection). So he moved to Thailand.

His story of moving halfway around the world is awesome and hilarious. He met his wife through Facebook and they were engaged a month later.

Frank is a Christian living in a country that is 99.5% Buddhist. He appreciates Thai people, who he believes exemplify humbleness and humanity.

The podcast starts with a discussion about the 12 soccer players trapped in a cave last year in Northern Thailand. The incident allowed the world to see the selflessness and sacrifice of Thai people. Rescue workers searched for the boys until they were saved 10 days after they went missing—a Navy Seal lost his life during the rescue.

We also talk about family, finances and adapting to Thai culture. Other topics include:

• The selfless attitude of Thai people

• White Westerners’ (FARANGs) impact on Thailand

• Starbucks are opening throughout Chiang Mai

Frank’s Journey to Thailand:

• Leaving America and moving to Thailand

• His attraction to Asian women

• Deciding to fly and meet his wife in Thailand

• His surprise marriage proposal

• Deciding to live a simple lifestyle

Thai Culture:

• Thai nightlife

• The culture of giving dowry before marriage

• Whether he would ever move back to the States

• His study of Asian culture & Eastern languages

• Transportation in Thailand

Balancing His New Life & Work

• Convenience of working at a coffee shop

• Working remotely as a software architect

• Putting in 12-hour days

• His family not attending his wedding

• His baby is an American citizen

• The changes he faced after marriage

Personal Finance:

• Managing his finances

• Frank’s savings plan

• What does he do about health insurance?

• Monthly budget for living comfortably in Thailand

• Taking calculated risks

Fun Questions:

• Do you have a favorite book?

• Favorite passage from The Bible?

• Have you heard people in Thailand talk about Donald Trump?

• What advice would you give to your 18-year old self?

• If someone dropped $1 million in your lap, what would you do with it?

My guest is Leif Dahleen, aka Physician on FIRE. He retired from medicine in August to live a bigger life.

I was excited to have POF on the podcast for a few reasons. First, I've recommended POF's insightful blog, PhysicianOnFIRE.com, to several friends of mine over the years. He's been sharing a wealth of knowledge on personal finance, early retirement, medicine and other miscellany since 2016.

Second, doctors are notoriously bad with money. In fact, The Millionaire Next Door author Thomas Stanley wrote that doctors are the worst under-accumulators of wealth (UAWs) among high-income professionals. But Leif's a contrarian. He took exception to the UAW moniker and became the change he wanted to see—then started blogging to track his progress toward early retirement.

Despite reaching financial independence (FI) at age 39, Leif kept doctoring. Who knew "doctoring" could be used outside of baseball? I digress. Finally, at age 43, he hung up the scrubs, adding RE (retire early) to his FI.

Now he's a FIRE'd full-time family man focused on content creation (last year alone POFire.com had over 3.5 million page views). He & his family also plan to do volunteer work in Honduras and travel overseas [POFO?].

His travels have already begun—he recorded this episode from Guanajuato, Mexico. Here are topics we discuss:

• A major uprising in Ecuador

• Why his family loves Guanajuato, MX

• Political instability in Barcelona, Spain

• Language learning with Duolingo

• Homeschooling kids

Life as an Anesthesiologist:

• Why anesthesia made me question my Catholic upbringing

• Examples of high-stress situations he faced at work

• Grueling schooling required to be a doctor

• Why residents are called residents

Blog Life:

• My theory of why POF is so prolific in producing content

• A day in the life of a retired physician

• Attending Camp FI

• The importance of providing a rich cultural experience for his kids

• Website he used to plan a trans-pacific international cruise

• Plans for a 5-month trip (LA to Shanghai)

• AirBnB tips & advice (use this link for $55 toward your 1st booking)

Money Talk:

• Where he learned the value of a dollar

• What Financial Planners disagree with him on

• Inspiring friends to pursue financial independence

• How Leif handles Twitter trolls

• Tracking & sharing your net worth online

• Online net worth "pissing contests"

More Money Talk:

• How much POF is withdrawing from his assets to live on

• How much POF will spend annually in retirement

• The Rule of 72

• $10 million net worth by age 60

• How J-Money became a millionaire

• Leading cause of physician burnout

• Getting to FI within 10 years of finishing residency

David Peré is an active-duty Marine who devotes his free time to teaching service members and veterans how to build wealth through real estate investing, entrepreneurship and personal finance.

In today's podcast episode, David shares by what age he plans to become a millionaire, and exactly how he intends to do it. You'll also get a sense of his mindset, discipline and determination. You'll hear why it's not a matter of "if," but when, he will become a FIRE (financial independence retire early) millionaire.

His blog FromMilitaryToMillionaire.com and Youtube channel, which were started with service members in mind, has grown to reach a much wider audience.

Here's what we discuss:

• A debt of gratitude
• Freedom is not free
• A veteran in Paris
• D-Day in Normandy, 1944

Military travel:

• David's favorite country to visit
• Seeing the sunrise at Mt. Fuji
• His best memories of his military experience so far
• He talks about his sense of purpose
• Why he wanted to go back to Afghanistan

Big Questions:

• First investment everyone should make
• Detaching yourself from emotions
• Our media playing on emotions & fear
• The Serenity Prayer
• Solitude in the military
• David's "Why" & Vision Board
• His 25-day mistake
• Learning to determine what you can/can't control
• The similarities between Afghans & Americans
• Controlling his time & creating more time with family

Investing & Personal Finance

• Developing a high aptitude for risk-taking
• Risks you should take at a young age
• Learning to take more calculated risk
• Buy & hold real estate vs. buying flips
• Does he advocate for long-distance real estate investing?
• Buying a house as a kid's college fund

Fun Questions:

• Is it true there are no atheists in foxholes?
• Have you even met anyone in the military you suspected had Communist sympathies?
• What personal finance or real estate book has taught you the most?
• Do you have a favorite FIRE book?
• By what age do you think you'll be a millionaire?
• If someone dropped a million dollars in your lap tomorrow, what would you do with it?
• What are you most grateful for?

I'm grateful that I've had a very purpose-filled life so far . . . and that I've been able to build up this community to start creating another purpose for myself, so that when I get out of the service, I'll still have that sense of purpose." - David Peré, Founder of From Military to Millionaire

When I met Paul Benson, host of Financial Autonomy: Financial Independence Through an Australian Lens, in Washington DC, he had a great idea—an impromptu episode without a host. Instead, we'd ask each other random questions that we thought might interest our audiences.

Paul is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) in Melbourne, Australia, who focuses on financial strategies that give his clients choices. This podcast was an opportunity to learn about wealth-building strategies from an expert. BIG thank you to Paul for putting this episode together.

Don't miss Paul telling the story of his first MLB game, which turned out to be the best game of the season. Also, I give my NFL Super Bowl prediction. Here's what else we discuss:

A Full-time Travel Lifestyle:

• Living in a different country for 30 days at a time
• What it's like to travel full-time
• My writing trip to Costa Rica

Real Estate Investing:

• Why Brad chose real estate for the pursuit of financial independence
• Do CFP's discourage clients from investing in real estate?
• Podcast guest James Lowery from ReThinkTheRatRace achieved FIRE in 3 years

Asset Allocation & Risk:

• How important is asset allocation?
• What is the right asset allocation for a 39-year old who wants to retire a little early?
• When & where to make risky investments with 1% of your paycheck
• Diversification strategy: real estate, equities, bonds, etc.

Compound Interest & Knowledge:

• When your income should skyrocket
• One of the first questions Brad asks coaching clients
• The value of compounding knowledge

Why the Rich Get Richer:

• Using leverage (or not) to achieve financial independences
• A discussion on low interest rates
• Property value appreciation vs. rental yields
• Personal returns are not relative

Happiness:

• The Mindset for Happiness & 7 Habits of Highly Happy People
• Money can buy a lot of psychological well-being & reduce sadness
• "Keeping up with 'The Jones'" in America & Australia
• Happiness as progress toward worthwhile goals
• Excitement vs. fulfillment

Christian Modjaiso is Founder and CEO of OBSERVE. He is the Xtreme Stress Coach, helping extremely stressed people to deal with their stress by observing it for themselves.

Christian lives in Democratic Republic of the Congo. He speaks six languages, was on a university chess team before he went to high school and attended a top engineering school in the US. He has a bachelor’s degree in pure mathematics.

This episode wasn’t all love and praise; however, Christian & I had serious disagreements about important topics, including race, relationships and anxiety. But as students of human nature who love to learn, we enjoyed every minute of it.

Other topics we discuss:

• Dikembe Mutombo vs. Michael Jordan

• His expectations of America vs. his experience

• Understanding American jokes

• Getting spanked vs. caned

• Adapting to American’s perception of child abuse

• His favorite African-American comics

• My friend in Zambia, Bonie

Getting an American Education:

• Coming to America [from Africa] at age 19

• Being a minority for the first time

• “White people-smart” vs. “black people-smart”

• Racism in America

• Culture of dependence

• Victim mentality

• Incidents of racism he experienced in America

American Culture:

• Attending a top engineering school in the USA

• Getting a Math degree

• What Christian thinks of the term “African-American”

• “Black culture” in America

• Feelings of inadequacy

• “Looksism” vs. Racism

• The African-American comedians he admires

• Latino culture in America

Dealing with Stress & Anxiety:

• Ending human suffering

• Having a strong desire not to suffer

• Catalyst for starting his company

• Getting kicked out of school

• Understanding your suffering

• How he observes emotional states

• How he became better at handling his own mental stress

• The difference between stress and anxiety

• Capacity for emotional intelligence

• Separating thoughts from emotions

• Confidence stemming from preparation

• Coach Christian’s 3-step program

Fun questions:

• If someone dropped a million dollars in your lap, what would you do with it?

• What’s your favorite book for dealing with stress?

• What’s your favorite podcast?

• What are you most grateful for?

The solution to a stressful situation isn’t something you control. The effects [to causes] happen on their own . . . Focus on what you can do . . . Observe the facts . . . The solution will take care of itself. – Christian Modjaiso

• Connect with Christian

• Get free coaching

I introduce listeners to my good buddies because they’re studs. My guest on the podcast today is Michael D’Albor. In this discussion, I learned things about my longtime friend that I didn’t know. Consequently, my respect for him has only grown.

A deeply personal chat, Michael talks about the moment he found out his wife was a lesbian after 13 years together (7 years married). He also shares what it was like going through an unexpected and tough divorce.

We discuss the split-second of lifelessness that forever changed Michael’s life. He tells me how later that day, doctors told him there was a 98% chance his daughter wouldn’t develop the mental capacity of a little girl beyond 3 years old. He’s now a single father of a special needs child and shares a day-in-the-life.

Michael & I became fast friends as baseball teammates at Nicholls State University. When his playing career was over, he earned an MBA and went into commercial banking. We talk about his career, finances, love and money. Also, what he’s learned traveling to places most Americans will never get to see.

Other topics we cover:

• Perception of time when traveling

• Comparing Asheville, NC & Salzburg, Austria

• Bradley’s attempt to run track in college

• Whether Michael can beat Bradley D in a race

• His unexpected divorce

• Finding out what his wife was doing behind his back

• Sexual curiosity: men vs. women

• Doing everything he could to save his marriage

• Personal growth through divorce

Michael’s Education & Career:

• How Michael paid for college

• The scholarship Michael received

• His love/hate relationship with sales & finance

• What he would tell a younger brother who was considering an MBA

• 6 years in consumer lending

• His income in 2008-2009

• A talk he gave recently to his alma mater

• Importance of budgeting & managing credit

• NFL players’ financial stress

• Checking email while on a vacation

• Career goals

His Daughter Jolie:

• Michael’s profound love for his daughter (his Lil’ Doo-Bop)

• Specifics of Jolie’s condition

• Raising a special needs child

• Doctors warned of the severity of mental challenges

• Setting up a will & trust for her

• His ex-wife’s new bride joining “Team Jolie”

Mental Toughness:

• How divorce and raising a special needs child aided his mental toughness

• Whether Michael wants more kids

• What most drives you now?

• Are you excited to get out of bed every morning?

• His favorite quote is from 2006 Rocky Balboa movie

Finances:

• How he invests his money

• Are you a budgeter?

• Living on less than what he earns

• Investing in travel – expanded his horizons

Fun Questions:

• If someone dropped a million dollars in your lap, what would you do with it?

• Do you have a favorite book?

• Do you have a favorite quote?

• If you could go to the moon tomorrow and it would only cost $20K, but you had to be gone for six months, would you go?

• Question for Brad: What are the top three notes in your phone?

• Is there a travel experience that you learned the most from?

• What are you most grateful for?

My guests on the podcast this week are Alex Nerney and Noah Riggs. Both are inspiring Internet entrepreneurs I met at FinCon this past week.

There’ll always be a place on this podcast for sharp young guys full of energy & ambition. When I met these two men at the Hilton Washington DC, I knew they’d bring a lot of value to a short discussion.

We pack a lot into our half-hour chat, including:

• The best part of FinCon

• Alex & Noah’s working relationship

• Our nation buried in student-loan debt

• ROI of Internet courses

• Being featured in Forbes, Inc. Magazine & Entrepreneur

• Alex’s 6-figure blog

• ROI of college tuition

• Noah’s plans to finish school

• Work to learn, you will earn later

• Becoming an attractive person

• How to find good mentors

• Being the hardest worker in the room

• How to ask for referral

• How to view investment returns

• The decision to start a blog

• Noah took Alex’s Pro Blogger course

• Alex shares how he met his business partner (hint: Tinder)

• Their favorite personal development book

• Happiness in America vs. other places

• Measuring success in the East vs. West

• What they would do with a new $1,000,000

• How we got our investing start

• Investing in Pokemon & Basketball cards

• Holding stocks for the long-term

• Stocks that Noah & I own in common

• McDonald’s & Microsoft as long-term holds

• Investing in the S&P 500

• Traveling to Bali (Indonesia)

My guest on the podcast is Nicholas Hutchison of BookThinkers, a fast-growing Instagram platform for book lovers. Nick is from Boston, Massachusetts, and works full-time as a sales professional.

We discovered on the podcast we have a lot in common. In addition to books, Nick and I share a passion for self-development & travel. We discuss the value of reading, traveling, and creating a path to financial freedom when you're young.

Nick's end-game is what he calls "total freedom." In this episode, he details how he plans to achieve total freedom.

A few books we discuss at length are The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss & Vagabonding by Rolf Potts. Other topics we discuss:

From Boston

• Nick lives in North Easton, Massachusetts (20 miles south of Boston)

• Spent 5 years in New Hampshire

• Living close to Fenway Park

• Benefits of living in small community + close to big city

Book Thinkers

• How BookThinkers started

• Has 30K followers on IG and growing

• Time-management

• Setting priorities

• Using a journal

Self-Development

• Software sales career

• Having flexibility in your job

• 80-20 rule (The Pareto principle)

• Self-assessment / activity tracker

• Multi-family real estate investing

• Learning to say "no"

• Setting life goals

Monetizing Instagram:

• Automating & scaling a business

• BookThinkers mobile app

• Creating a network

• Partnering with authors

• Keeping strict accounts

Public Speaking:

• Learning to speak confidently

• Overcoming anxiety

• Speaking tricks & tips

• Taking constructive criticism

Vagabonding:

• The value of traveling

• His first solo travel (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

• Travel as a spiritual experience

• The personal sacrifice involved in travel

• Experiencing different cultures of the past

• Traveling to places not possible 30 years ago

Fun Questions:

• Why does it feel so wrong to only read half a book?

• Do you think it's better to read (over the next two years) 100 books twice, or 200 books?

• Do you think books should be remade for modern audiences?

• Do you think new writers should write covers the way new musicians do covers?

• If someone dropped $1 million in your lap what would you do with it?

• If you were given an opportunity to shadow Xander Bogaerts for three days, would you pay $5,000 to do it?

• Would you pay $25,000 to shadow Tom Brady for three days?

• Which is the one book you wish everyone would read?

Questions for Brad:

• Questions for Brad: What is the number one book that you would recommend for someone just starting out in the self-development space?

• Question for Brad: What book has had the biggest impact on your life?

My guest on the podcast is my good friend of 25 years from Nuremburg, Germany. Jürgen works as a commercial manager at a major German company. He also invests in real estate, managing all 9 properties himself.

Jurgen shares insight on German immigration, politics, and perceptions of Donald Trump. We also talk about how we met, if America was what he expected it to be, and the interplay between men & women.

Topics we cover:

• Festivals & Traditions in Nuremburg

• My first Euro soccer game

• What he learned about life traveling abroad

• Our grandfathers' roles in World War II

• German sentiment when Trump was elected

• Investing in real estate as a retirement plan

How We Met:

• Jürgen was turning 18 when he lived in US

• Being a high school exchange student

• Jurgen's first pool party in America

• Celebrating 25 years of friendship

• His favorite high school memories

• Why he chose to live one year in Houston

His Year Living in America:

• How proud he was to be in America

• How US high school was different from Germany

• How people treated him in the US

• What he remembers about Texan girls

• Listening to AC/DC, Guns-n-Roses, Metallica

• Developing confidence in speaking

• Determining whether a girl is being flirtatious or nice

Jürgen in Paris (and other countries):

• His time in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok

• Doing his master's thesis in Spain

• Developing an open mind through travel

• Choosing places far from your own culture

• Why Jurgen doesn't like dining out

• Appreciating little things

World War II:

• What he learned in his high school history classes

• Nuremburg during the war years

• Our grandparents' WWII stories

• Hearing screams from the back of trains

• Deciding between Army/Navy

• Visiting Zeppelin Field, Third Reich Museum, Palace of Justice

Discussion on Politics:

• Opinions on German immigration

• Increasing population in Nuremberg

• Angela Merkel as Chancellor 14 years

• Building border walls

Real Estate & Stock Market Investing:

• Investing in what you know

• Home-country bias in investing

• Types of loans he uses for investment

• Average price paid for his apartments

• Raising rents in Germany

• 70% of Germans not invested in markets

Relationships:

• Jurgen's been in a relationship for 6 years

• Differences in dating in US vs. Germany

• Many women think men are imperfect women

• Feminism / #MeToo

• Favorite books on intersexual dynamics

• Attracting women through honesty

Matthew Ory is a defense attorney, commercial real-estate developer, and quasi-venture capitalist. He occupies a special place, not only in my life, but in the Man Overseas sphere. I've written about Matt on the blog and referenced him on a big podcast.

Matt was my roommate for four years—three years at Nicholls State University and one year during his first year of law school in Houston. Living with Matt helped me to realize the importance of surrounding yourself with people who not only encourage and inspire you, but also plan to do big things with their life.

On this podcast, you'll hear someone who has an appetite for life & success that is infectious. Matt's burning desire to succeed fuels high stress-levels, which he uses to his advantage.

His sense of urgency, he says, stems from his dad. Dr. Dirk Ory, even at 81 years old, takes 10,000-15,000 steps every day, never eats fast food and exercises every morning.

We discuss:

• Riding in a Mardi Gras parade

• Discipline learned playing college basebal

• No excuses.

• Why he decided to become a real estate investor

• Habits & hard work

• Living with a sense of urgency

• Growth vs. Enough

• Focus under duress

• Accountability

Relationships:

• Caring for yourself to care for others

• How to think about friends (as you get older)

• Comparing work ethic vs. intelligence

• A true friend is a low-maintenance friend

Mike Ory (Matt's brother):

• Mike always saw the good in people

• Had uncanny mental tenacity—read lots of SEAL books

• Selfless to the end—diverted funds to those he considered less fortunate

• So many people attended Mike's funeral that the start was delayed

Lessons from Pain:

• What Matt went through at the end of Mike's life

• Being a trans following trauma

• How to approach a friend who has just lost someone close to them

• He remembers Mike every day, but still can't talk about him

• Mike's spirit is with him at all times—it drives him

• Crushing blow—sky is now the limit

• Holding himself accountable to Mike

Being a Criminal Defense Attorney:

• The stress of being a criminal defense attorney

• Operating on others' demise

• Things he wish he'd known in undergrad

• Advice to those considering law

• Whether movies are accurate portrayals of law

• Biggest misconception of defense attorneys

• The business side of being an attorney

• What he looks for when hiring

• The gratitude he feels for how hard his staff works