The Pathless Path with Paul Millerd

Latest Episodes:

Following Your Inner Compass - Lawrence Yeo on his creative journey, sharing ideas, self-publishing, and playing the long game Jul 08, 2025

Show notes

Lawrence is one of my favorite creators. He shares with passion, vulnerability and care.

I chatted with Lawrence Yeo about his new book, 'The Inner Compass,' exploring themes of self-reflection, creativity, and the journey of writing and self-publishing. We discuss the importance of engaging with the world to gain a deeper understanding of oneself, the role of ambition in creative work, and the dynamics of traditional versus self-publishing.

Click here to watch a video of this episode.
To find his book and support his work:
BOOK: https://compass.moretothat.com
SITE: https://moretothat.com

CHAPTERS
00:38 The Journey of Self-Reflection

01:12 Creativity and Connection

06:38 The Nature of Creativity

08:55 Success and Inner Fulfillment

16:51 The Risk of Authenticity

18:51 Self-Publishing Insights

36:51 The Power of Short Books

38:06 Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

39:58 Creative Intentions in Writing

42:07 Overcoming Fear in Publishing Choices

44:17 The Pathless Path: Choosing Your Journey

47:48 The Next Book: Exploring Money and Identity

52:05 Innovative Approaches to Book Launches

Hustle & Flow - Jack Moses on dropping out of school, hustle culture, spiritual paths, finding flow, and travel as transformation Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, I have a conversation with my friend Jack Moses. Three years ago, Jack emailed me after reading my book, declaring he was dropping out of college. Over time, I've been amazed by his life's actions, from embracing hustle culture to diving deep into spirituality. Recently, Jack led a retreat in Thailand, inspiring me with his courage and optimistic outlook. Join us as we discuss spiritual journeys, trusting our paths, and taking bold steps early in life.

You can check out his podcast too

(00:00) - Introduction to Jack Moses
(00:16) - Jack's Journey: From Hustle to Spirituality
(00:36) - Meeting in Chiang Mai
(02:14) - The Impact of Travel
(06:56) - Returning to School for Football
(07:40) - Navigating the Real World vs. School
(15:24) - The Challenges of Hustle Culture
(18:42) - Writing and Creativity
(23:04) - Spirituality and Personal Growth
(31:15) - Human Design and Life Strategies
(39:44) - Launching the Hardcover Version
(40:45) - Living in Mexico During COVID
(42:50) - The Pathless Path and Finding Flow
(43:47) - Balancing Work and Family
(44:46) - Exploring Synchronicity and Consciousness
(46:15) - The Journey of Writing and Creativity
(51:33) - Navigating Relationships and Freedom
(01:08:44) - The Decision to Move to Asia
(01:10:59) - Publishing and Creative Independence
(01:12:38) - Final Reflections and Gratitude

Paul Q&A Episode - Moving to Asia, Parenting, Preparing for Kids, Pathless Hardcover Art Edition May 30, 2025

Show notes

Personal updates about life, including his recent move back to Asia, reflections on work and career paths, parenting experiences, and insights into education and self-publishing. I share the challenges and joys of parenting, how I think about decisions in regards to kids, and evolving thoughts on publishing and creative projects.

Topics
00:00 Introduction and Life Updates
05:32 Reflections on Career Paths and Work Culture
08:43 Family Relocation and Adjustments
11:06 Traveling with Children: Tips and Experiences
14:40 Advice for New Parents
17:34 Approach to Education for Children
20:33 Self-Publishing Journey and Future Projects

Becoming A Writer - Nat Eliason on his upcoming fiction release, traditional publishing vs. self-publishing, AI tools, tinkering, readers, launch plans May 14, 2025

Show notes

Hello! I'm back! Expect a slow ramp, but there are new episodes coming!

I talked with Nat Eliason about his journey as a writer, from early experiments with ideas to fully embracing writing as a career. We discussed the challenges and rewards of moving from nonfiction to fiction, the trade-offs between traditional and self-publishing, and the importance of audience engagement. We also explored how AI is impacting writing, strategies for gathering feedback, and fiction’s role in addressing societal issues. Nat closed by sharing his vision for the future of his writing and the opportunities ahead.

Links & book info!

Husk Special Direct Sale: Buy here or https://shop.nateliason.com/products/husk
Husk on Amazon: Buy here or here
More of Nat's stuff: His Website and newsletter

"Dirtbag Rich" - Blake Boles & I Talk About Extracting More Freedom From Life Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

Links:

Podcast
Blake Boles
Dirtbag Rich Site: https://www.blakeboles.com/dbr/

Episode Desription
Paul Millerd is a 39-year-old writer, ex-consultant, and advocate for ditching the default path in favor of what he calls “the pathless path.” (pmillerd.com / @p_millerd)

Paul walked away from a promising corporate consulting career—think McKinsey, prestige, and six-figure salaries—to pursue a life of writing, experimenting, and global wandering. He describes how he initially struggled with unlearning his achievement-oriented mindset, why the idea of good work (work that energizes) became his guiding principle, and how his first self-published book, The Pathless Path, briefly and unexpectedly earned six figures.

We discuss the philosophical basis of work and money, how to avoid the traps of both scarcity and overachievement, and how the value of exercising your freedom is limited by how others exercise their own freedom. (In other words: if you're free to hike on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, and no one's available to go with you, are you really free?)

Paul and his wife have a young daughter, and they struggle to find and live near other, like-minded families. We talk about how online communities help Paul stay connected while living nomadically between Texas and Taiwan and how online self-education was invaluable to his success. We conclude with a discussion of navigating fear and uncertainty on the pathless path.

Throughout the conversation, Paul stays refreshingly honest about the tensions between freedom and stability, the allure of easy money, and the ever-present temptation to fall back into old habits of achievement and validation. Energized by this conversation, I ended up talking more than usual about the tricky balance of factors that leads to a Dirtbag Rich existence.

Matt Yao Interviews Me Dec 05, 2024

Show notes

This was a fun episode. A friend, Matt Yao, reached out to see if he could interview me about my recent book, Good Work.

We first connected when he called me in the summer of 2022. He was in the middle of my book and knew he needed to quit his job.

Over the last few years, he's been on a transformational journey, experimenting with writing, coaching, and several other side quests.

Hope you enjoy this conversation.

You can learn more about Matt here: Matt Yao

Building A Life Around Good Work (Paul Interviewed by Abel James) Nov 05, 2024

Show notes

You can follow Abel's podcast here: Abel James Show

Good Work is Live! (Audiobook preview) Oct 11, 2024

Show notes

Check out and purchase Good Work here: https://pmillerd.com/goodwork

Or from Amazon directly: https://amzn.to/4gwRSCN

#175 20 Families as a "Traveling Village - Nikolaj Astrup on his experiment living in Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan with 20 families from around the world Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

#174 Agency Is A Skill — Cate Hall on leaving law for poker, developing agency, deterministic vs probabilistic economy, risk, burnout, asking dumb questions, defining ambition, seeking real feedback, and the surface area of luck May 29, 2024

Show notes

Cate seemed to be fully entrenched on the default path — she had graduated from Yale and became the Supreme Court advocate on her way to becoming a partner in her law firm. But she didn't want to live the lives of the people around her. She pivoted hard, you could almost hear car brakes squeaking as she made the turn, and over a year she became the number one female poker player in the world. She later started art and perfume companies and led operations at Avlea — a pandemic medicine company. One might think she's simply a superhuman, and what she did is beyond the grasp of mere mortals, but Cate claims that agency is learnable and joins the podcast to tell us how.

🎥🍿 YOUTUBE: WATCH HERE

Links:

X (Twitter): @catehall
LinkedIn
Cate's Article — How to be More Agentic

⌛TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Intro

(01:29) - The scripts that Cate grew up with

(05:54) - Doors-opening credentials?

(09:45) - Leaving law for poker

(17:59) - Developing agency, learning form the others

(23:04) - Deterministic vs probabilistic economy

(26:15) - Risk and the diminishing prestige of the traditional paths

(30:32) - Burnout

(36:42) - Asking dumb questions

(41:21) - Defining ambition

(43:01) - Seeking actual feedback and how everything is learnable

(49:33) - The surface area of luck

(57:07) - Closing remarks

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