The Voluntary Life

In order to gain self-knowledge, you have to reduce the gap between what you think about yourself and reality. Although this is often an uncomfortable process, the truth is always liberating. In this episode, I share two theories from social psychology about why we sometimes lie to ourselves and fool ourselves, as well as suggestions for overcoming these tendencies. I describe some of my own approaches to overcoming self-deception by getting objective data about my life. Show Notes

• Trivers' Theory of Self-Deception
• The Better Angels of Our Nature by Stephen Pinker
• The Dunning-Kruger Effect
• TVL E200 Quantified Self
• TVL Episode The Unexamined Business Is Not Worth Building

Jake shares his own tools and systems for independent learning. These are the hacks for proactive learning, rather than being an uncritical consumer of ideas. Topics covered include:

• Making objectives for your learning and capturing them in Evernote
• Coping with the information firehose
• Filtering your search for learning materials using reading lists and subject tagging in Pocket app.
• Capturing learning resources in databases using apps like Calibre and Evernote
• Effective note taking with mind maps, highlights and written notes
• Critical thinking
• Habits to support learning
• Automating parts of your learning system

Show Notes:

• Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter Diamantis
• Evernote app
• Jeffrey Tucker interview
• Pocket App
• Mind Mapping, Mindmaps and Mind Maps: Tutorials, Information and How-tos
• iThoughts Mindmapping App
• Voicedream app
• Drafts app
• Calibre app
• IFTTT
• GoodReads
• How to Effectively Read and Implement Books
• TVL 178 Upgrading Habits

This episode is about using technology to automatically collect and analyse data about your life. I share some examples of my own automated tracking of health and productivity data. I'm using various apps to analyse the data in the background and compile all the results into an automated, objective journal. It's getting easier all the time to quantify your life with minimal effort. Doing so can give you objective data and meaningful analysis about whatever matters to you. This can help you to live a more conscious and fulfilled life. Show Notes:

• Quantified Self
• Fitbit One by Fitbit
• Timing App (mac)
• RescueTime
• ifttt.com
• GiftttDy
• Day One Journal App
• Applescript
• Keyboard Maestro

Is owning a car really worth it? This episode is about the financial and lifestyle benefits of deliberately choosing not to own a car (I'm in my early 40s and I've never owned one). Topics covered include:

• Why owning a car is often a waste of money
• The health and lifestyle benefits of living car free, especially walking and cycling
• Alternatives to car ownership including car clubs, peer-to-peer transport (e.g. Uber and Lyft), public transport
• The problem of car dependency and why it exists
• Challenges of not owning a car
• Suggestions for how to live car free

Show Notes:

• The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
• Life Between Buildings by Jan Gehl
• TVL E74 City Air Will Make You Free
• Walking 10,000 steps per day

We are all subject to a psychological process called decision fatigue: every choice you make depletes your willpower and lowers your ability to self-regulate. This is true for trivial decisions as well as life changing ones. By designing trivial decisions out of your life, you can retain decision making capability for the things that really matter to you. In this episode I share some of my own experiences with avoiding decision fatigue and explain why I think minimalism is a great way to help you focus on the things that really matter. Show Notes:

• Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy Baumeister
• The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
• Article: Decision Fatigue Exhausts Self-Regulatory Resources But So Does Accommodating to Unchosen Alternatives
• Image Credit: mylerdude

Brett Veinotte is an educator and host of School Sucks Podcast. This episode is an interesting discussion with Brett about the power of conformity and how to resist it. Topics covered include:

• How conformity to "normal" spending habits prevents people achieving financial independence
• Solomon Asch's conformity experiments and what we can learn from them
• How conformity can alter your perception
• The importance of allies in resisting conformity
• The role of privacy in reducing conformity
• The danger of conforming to a subculture (and still being a conformist)
• How exposure to different views can increase your independence of thought

Show Notes:

• School Sucks Podcast
• School Sucks Facebook Group
• Solomon Asch Conformity Experiments
• Opinions and Social Pressure by Solomon Asch
• Stanley Milgram's Obedience Experiments
• Berns' study of conformity
• The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden
• Doug Stanhope on Nationalism

In this episode, I interview life coach and author Hannah Braime (my lovely wife) about the relationship between self knowledge and entrepreneurship. Hannah is the host of the personal development website Becoming Who You Are. As a coach she helps people to develop their self knowledge and live a more authentic, fulfilling life. She is the organiser of an upcoming online symposium, The Entrepreneur's Inner World. Topics we cover include:

• The role of self knowledge in entrepreneurship
• Key themes that came up when Hannah interviewed 24 entrepreneurs
• The benefits of entrepreneurship for personal growth

Show Notes

• Becoming Who You Are
• The Entrepreneur's Inner World Symposium
• The Ultimate Guide to Journaling by Hannah Braime (free sample chapter here)
• Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
• Ep. 142 Extraordinary Time: An Interview With Augusto Pinaud
• Double Double: How to Double Your Revenue and Profit in 3 Years or Less by Cameron Herald
• The VIA Survey (Online Strengths Questionnaire)
• The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor
• Becoming an Entrepreneur: How to Find Freedom and Fulfillment as a Business Owner by Jake Desyllas

Cherie and Chris live on a converted vintage bus that they have packed with technology. They call themselves technomads (technology-enabled nomads). The bus has a solar electric system, lithium ion batteries, a mobile internet setup, and lots of other fun gadgets. Cherie & Chris work online whilst travelling and visiting new places. In this interview they share their inspiring story, including both the highlights and the downsides of life on the road. Show Notes:

• Technomadia Website

This episode is a review of the classic personal finance book Your Money or Your Life. Topics covered include:

• The inspiring story of the author Joe Dominguez—an early retiree who devoted his life to promoting financial independence for everyone
• An overview of the 9 steps to financial independence suggested in the book
• Strengths of the book, especially its focus on actionable steps that you can take to change your life
• Weaknesses of the book, especially regarding the discussion of investment.

Show Notes:

• Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

This episode is a review of the book Cashing in on the American Dream: How to Retire at 35 by Paul Terhorst. Paul and his wife Vicky have been living the early retirement lifestyle successfully for the last 30 years, as perpetual travellers. This book was written back in the 1980s and was one of the first books to suggest a strategy for financial independence. The book is aimed towards employees (rather than entrepreneurs) and especially people in well-paid jobs. Paul discusses how to tackle the challenges of quitting a lucrative career and radically changing your lifestyle. His strategy is an early example of the extreme saving approach that I discussed in my presentation on four ways to quit the rat race. The investment suggestions in the book are out of date now and all the numbers have to be doubled for inflation, however it still contains a lot of useful ideas that will be of interest to anyone aiming for financial independence. Show Notes

• Cashing in on the American Dream: How to Retire at 35 by Paul Terhorst
• Paul and Vicky's Website
• Article about Paul Terhorst now
• Four Ways To Quit The Rat Race presentation