The Pathless Path with Paul Millerd

Latest Episodes:

#132 Making Money Simple & Smart - Nick Maggiulli on blogging into a new career, writing for smart people, building relationships in the finance world, the lifestyle creep myth, dying with too much money, and money emotions Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

Nick Maggiulli is a finance data analyst and writer. He is the author of "Just Keep Buying" and has a blog titled "Of Dollars and Data".

🎥🍿 YOUTUBE: WATCH HERE

Links:

⌛TIMESTAMPS
(0:47) The scripts nick grew up with
(5:35) Writing books and blogging
(32:44) Building relationships in the NYC finance scene
(36:07) Why the writers shouldn't dumb down their books
(37:33) Perceptions of money
(1:07:26) Closing thoughts

📕Buy Paul’s Book: The Pathless Path
🤝Join Find The Others: A Community For People On Unconventional Paths

📲Connect + Follow Paul

Twitter: @p_millerd
Paul’s Newsletter: Subscribe to Boundless
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Your Here
I record high-quality video using Riverside: Sign Up Here
Become a sponsor of the Podcast / Newsletter
Want to upgrade your Zoom studio? Check out Kevin Shen’s Dream Studio Course
Want to launch a course? Podia or Teachable are both great
Web Hosting: Skystra Fast WordPress Hosting
Host your own community" Circle 14-day free trial

#131 The Art of Sabbaticals - Cécile and Michelle on finding "forgotten hobbies", writing online, improving their relationship with money, abundance mindset and rediscovering joy Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

Cécile has had a successful career in consulting, acquiring a senior position in a big company that has taken a leadership role in the energy transition in the UK. Although she was passionate about her job she decided to go on a yearlong sabbatical from work, traveling around the world and writing - creating space for her curiosity & creativity.

Michelle has a background in sales but after a couple of years in the business she decided to go on a sabbatical that doesn't seem to have an end. When she isn't busy fending off people who constantly try to hire her, she runs a podcast with her sister - "Status Post Adulting Podcast" and she has written multiple essays, while slowly "getting famous for not working" in the meantime.

🎥🍿 YOUTUBE: WATCH HERE

Cécile:

Twitter: @cecile_mcm
Website: https://www.cecilemarion.org/
Book a 1-on-1 Call With Cecile (Gift Economy): Book Here

Michelle:

Twitter: @mvarghoose
Michelle's Essays: Newsletter
Podcast: Status Post-Adulting

My Essay On The Ultimate Guide To Sabbaticals

⌛TIMESTAMPS
(0:00) Audio intro
(2:27) Deciding to go on a sabbatical
(25:29) "There is nothing to do" - rediscovering joy
(30:05) Lowering the cost of living
(46:58) How people change on a sabbatical - discovering writing
(1:08:30) Getting famous for not working, the gig economy
(1:11:17) The role of writing in Cécile's journey
(1:15:37) Returning to work - closing thoughts

📕Buy Paul’s Book (Published Jan 2022): The Pathless Path 😁👉😁 Want To Connect, Create & Root For Others On The Pathless Path - Join 75+ Others In The Find The Others Community

📲Connect + Follow Paul

Twitter: @p_millerd
Paul’s Newsletter: Subscribe to Boundless
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Your Here
I record high-quality video using Riverside: Sign Up Here
Become a sponsor of the Podcast / Newsletter
Want to upgrade your Zoom studio? Check out Kevin Shen’s Dream Studio Course
Want to launch a course? Podia or Teachable are both great
Web Hosting: Skystra Fast WordPress Hosting
Host your own community" Circle 14-day free trial

#130 You Have One Life - David Senra on finding his life's work, trial & error, the necessity of talking risks, mortality, balancing his entrepreneurial endeavours and family life and what can be learned from reading hundreds of biographies. Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

David Senra is the creator of Founders Podcast and is obsessed with bringing alive the knowledge of the most driven, curious, courageous, and interesting founders throughout history. He has spent almost all his time reading, re-reading, and recording one of the best podcasts on the planet right now.

Links:

Follow his podcast: @FoundersPodcast
Listen: Founders Podcast or Itunes

⏳TIMESTAMPS
2:58 The scripts David grew up with
8:09 Working full time while in high school and during college
20:47 Trial and error, finding his life’s work
33:24 Why David thinks keeping his podcast behind a paywall was a mistake
51:15 Nobody understands the scale of the Internet
54:15 The time needed to succeed
1:03:56 Ed Thorp - balancing being an entrepreneur with one's family life
1:14:02 Lessons from David Ogilvy and Marvin Bower
1:24:57 The necessity of taking risks

📕Buy The Pathless Path (Paul’s Book, published Jan 2022): The Pathless Path

😁👉😁 Want To Connect, Create & Root For Others On The Pathless Path - Join 100+ Others In Find The Others

📲Connect + Follow Paul

Twitter: @p_millerd
Paul’s Newsletter (8,700 subscribers): Subscribe to Boundless
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Your Here
I record high-quality videos using Riverside: Sign Up Here
Become a sponsor of the Podcast / Newsletter
Want to upgrade your Zoom studio? Check out Kevin Shen’s Dream Studio Course
Want to launch a course? Podia or Teachable are both great
Web Hosting: Skystra Fast WordPress Hosting
Host your own community" Circle 14-day free trial

#129 Friendly Ambitious Nerd World-Building - Visakan Veerasamy on Long-Orbit Friendships, Preemptive Defensiveness, "Hot Streaks," Writing A Book, Making $1000 for one copy & Negative Comments Jan 17, 2023

Show notes

Visakan Veerasamy is an internet creator and writer, he is passionate about the future of the internet, ideas, and how people can be bolder on their creative journeys.

His mission is to build the greatest social graph of friendly, ambitious nerds that the world has ever seen.

This is our second conversation and dives much more into his current work and how he thinks about the internet.

🎥🍿 YOUTUBE: WATCH HERE

Links:

Twitter: @visakanv
Website: visakanv.com
Buy Introspect: On Gumroad

⌛TIMESTAMPS
(0:00) Audio intro
(2:27) Long-orbit friendships
(7:34) Can rooting for people be learned?
(8:54) Preemptive defensiveness vs live and let live
(12:55) Agreeing with the letter but not the spirit
(14:11) The conformist culture of the US
(15:53) Having a positive vision vs just being against something
(20:04) Posting trajectories, long-term engagement
(28:38) Trying to replace income, burnout, and learning patience
(36:22) Micro-existential crises
(40:07) How is Visakan making money these days?
(44:31) Charging based on value, not on prestige
(46:41) "A homeostatic impulse" to always make the same amount of money, limiting beliefs
(52:19) Pricing books and managing your expectations
(58:10) How did it feel to get $1000 for a book?
(1:00:36) People Visakan is following, shoutouts
(1:13:52) Understanding the scale of the Internet and having low expectations
(1:20:31) Persistence and heart is all you need
(1:26:25) The Internet as a spiritual practice - dealing with negative comments

📕Buy Paul’s Book (Published Jan 2022): The Pathless Path

📲Connect + Follow Paul

Twitter: @p_millerd
Paul’s Newsletter: Subscribe to Boundless
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Your Here
I record high-quality video using Riverside: Sign Up Here
Become a sponsor of the Podcast / Newsletter
Want to upgrade your Zoom studio? Check out Kevin Shen’s Dream Studio Course
Want to launch a course? Podia or Teachable are both great
Web Hosting: Skystra Fast WordPress Hosting
Host your own community" Circle 14-day free trial

#128 Crafting A Life You Love - Amy Tangerine on working in fashion, carving her own path, starting a business, a third-life crisis, scrapbooking as contemplation and learning from and inspiring her children Jan 11, 2023

Show notes

Amy Tangerine is a long-time creator, entrepreneur, and mother. We talk about her path, starting a business that took off, her "third-life" crisis, learning to inject rest into her path, her relationship with her mother, having children, scrapbooking and building a business around work she loves.

WATCH On YouTube

FOLLOW AMY

Her Website: amytangerine.com
Twitter: @amytangerine
Instagram: @amytangerine
Facebook: @amytangerine

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Audio intro
0:12 Introduction
1:10 The scripts Amy grew up with
2:35 Amy's parent's path and the ancestral trauma
6:00 How Amy's parents inspired her
11:03 Amy's vision of her future after graduating college
13:50 The seeds of doubt about her path
14:57 The 1/3 life crisis
17:43 Keeping in touch with your creative side
24:57 Scrapbooking & contemplation
29:33 Suffering a miscarriage and writing a book
37:13 The 3 F's - Fulfillment, Freedom, and Fun
39:07 Creative freedom
42:39 The challenges of working creatively
44:39 Having kids
48:16 Overthinking and worrying

📕Buy Paul’s Book: The Pathless Path

📲Connect + Follow Paul

Twitter: @p_millerd
Paul’s Newsletter: Subscribe to Boundless
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Your Here
I record high-quality videos using Riverside: Sign Up Here
Become a sponsor of the Podcast / Newsletter
Want to upgrade your Zoom studio? Check out Kevin Shen’s Dream Studio Course
Want to launch a course? Podia or Teachable are both great
Web Hosting: Skystra Fast WordPress Hosting
Host your own community" Circle 14-day free trial

#127 The Art of Quitting & Reinvention - Nina Simon on living "off the grid" in an intentional community, taking "turns" in marriage and work, having kids on an unconventional path & leaving her dream job at NASA Jan 04, 2023

Show notes

At each professional crossroad, Nina Simon has made the choice most likely to disappoint her mother. She left an electrical engineering job at NASA to design spy museum exhibits, said goodbye to a museum directorship to start a global movement for more inclusive cultural organizations, and now has put down her CEO hat to write crime fiction. Her first novel, Mother-Daughter Murder Night, will be published in 2023 by William Morrow. Nina lives off the grid in the Santa Cruz mountains with 20 people, 16 chickens, 2 trampolines, and 1 zipline.

We talk about:

Leaving her dream job
Living in an intentional "off the grid" community
What she learned from her ambitious days as a museum industry leader
Marriage & kids on an unconventional path
Writing her novel

WATCH On YouTube

FOLLOW NINA

Her Website: NinaSimon.com
Twitter: @ninaksimon

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Audio intro
0:12 Introduction
1:37 The scripts Nina grew up with
4:43 Did Nina see herself as creative growing up?
5:39 Nina's education and why she hated her dream job at NASA
12:17 Fitting your life into your job vs fitting your job into your life
14:39 Nina's approach to money, building a marriage that supports entrepreneurship
19:55 Writing books
27:39 Giving herself a permission
33:17 Making choices that are not "the right choice"
38:37 The non-traditional paths and having kids
46:08 Reinventing yourself, knowing when to leave
52:42 Constructing backward narratives about our lives

📕Buy Paul’s Book: The Pathless Path

📲Connect + Follow Paul

Twitter: @p_millerd
Paul’s Newsletter: Subscribe to Boundless
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Your Here
I record high-quality videos using Riverside: Sign Up Here
Become a sponsor of the Podcast / Newsletter
Want to upgrade your Zoom studio? Check out Kevin Shen’s Dream Studio Course
Want to launch a course? Podia or Teachable are both great
Web Hosting: Skystra Fast WordPress Hosting
Host your own community" Circle 14-day free trial

#126 Hearts on Fire - David Perell on curiosity, being a citizen of the internet, taking himself seriously, childhood obsessions, building Write of Passage, ambition, and money Dec 14, 2022

Show notes

This episode was a delight. I've been following David's journey since 2017 and he was one of the fellow internet weirdos I saw on a similar path that didn't quite make sense. I've been inspired by how many people David has helped onboard as "citizens of the internet" through his course Write of Passage. I'm rooting for David and I think you'll want to as well by the end of this episode.

We filmed this in David's epic studio - I highly recommend watching this one on Youtube

Links Mentioned:

@david_perell (Twitter)
David's course Write of Passage
Friday Find's Links
Act of Creation (Koestler)
Denial of Death (Becker)
Art of Loving (Fromm)
Gutenberg Galaxy (McLuhan)
The Managerial Revolution (Burnham)
Tribe (Junger)
Bullshit Jobs (Graeber)
@culturaltutor (Twitter)

📕Buy Paul’s Book: The Pathless Path

📲Connect + Follow Paul

Twitter: @p_millerd
Paul’s Newsletter: Subscribe to Boundless
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Your Here
I record high-quality videos using Riverside: Sign Up Here
Become a sponsor of the Podcast / Newsletter
Want to upgrade your Zoom studio? Check out Kevin Shen’s Dream Studio Course
Want to launch a course? Podia or Teachable are both great
Web Hosting: Skystra Fast WordPress Hosting
Host your own community" Circle 14-day free trial

Editing by Atman Pandya

#125 Angie & Paul - We're Having a Kid (and other life updates) Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

Angie and I talked about our journey (mostly hers) over the last two years including her leaving fitness, moving to the US, enrolling in Write of Passage, finding her community, and initial traction as a freelancer.

🍿 WATCH ON YOUTUBE

Links:

Angie's Site: Angie Creates
Her Experience in Write of Passage: From Fear To Thriving
Angie's Podcast: Angie Creates (English & Chinese)

Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
0:15 Introduction & Angie's challenge
1:06 Angie Challenging Relationship With Fitness
6:48 Letting go of Fitness after launching a course
10:40 Setting a deadline to quit fitness creator stuff
13:35 Moving back to the US with Angie & mindsets
16:05 Struggling to find a job and US business culture
17:25 Success narratives from Paul's family
22:15 Communities that accept you & Write of Passage
24:05 Angie's experience in Write of Passage
34:35 Freelancing for course creators
36:15 We're having a kid!
40:30 Self-employed life and kids
42:30 Afraid of being a "full-time mom"
43:45 Work, money & identity
49:05 Paul & Ambition

📕Buy Paul’s Book (Published Jan 2022): The Pathless Path

📲Connect + Follow Paul

Twitter: @p_millerd
Paul’s Newsletter: Subscribe to Boundless
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Your Here
I record high-quality video using Riverside: Sign Up Here
Become a sponsor of the Podcast / Newsletter
Want to upgrade your Zoom studio? Check out Kevin Shen’s Dream Studio Course
Want to launch a course? Podia or Teachable are both great
Web Hosting: Skystra Fast WordPress Hosting
Host your own community" Circle 14-day free trial

#124 Can You Ever "Make It" While Self-Employed - David Kadavy on Doing Work You Love, Self-Publishing, Traveling & Perspective, Mini-Lives & Living as An Expat Dec 05, 2022

Show notes

David talks about his self-employment journey, discussing topics such as graphics design, studying abroad, work identity and engagement, self-publishing books, and advertising on Amazon. He reflects on his experiences and explains how he shifted from a traditional job to self-employment, including how he experienced a new reality after leaving his job.

We talk about how hard it is to ever "make it" on a solo journey and how you are constantly starting from day 1.

🍿YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/mykDRmuDvwI

Links Mentioned:

AUDIO TIMESTAMPS
1:37 What are the scripts David grew up with?
8:51 The impact of studying abroad
12:21 Living in different places while hating vacations
20:18 The moment David realized this is not how his life is supposed to be
28:38 How did David feel at the beginning of his self-employment?
34:42 Work identity and engagement
41:53 Burning with curiosity and not having a choice but to follow it
48:37 Is the self-employed path easier than it was before?
49:35 "To be me for a living"
57:03 Doing things for the sake of it
1:00:36 Self-publishing books

📕Buy Paul’s Book (Published Jan 2022): The Pathless Path

📲Connect + Follow Paul

Twitter: @p_millerd
Paul’s Newsletter: Subscribe to Boundless
Paul’s YouTube: Subscribe

🙏Further Ways To Support The Podcast:

I use Transistor to host this podcast. It rocks. Launch Your Here
I record high-quality videos using Riverside: Sign Up Here
Become a sponsor of the Podcast / Newsletter
Want to upgrade your Zoom studio? Check out Kevin Shen’s Dream Studio Course
Want to launch a course? Podia or Teachable are both great
Web Hosting: Skystra Fast WordPress Hosting
Host your own community" Circle 14-day free trial

#123 McKinsey Partner to Indie Freelancer - Adam Braff on writing online, the gig economy, consulting skills, consulting Nov 28, 2022

Show notes

Adam Braff grew up in a house where writing was always encouraged. His mother published a newsletter, and his father was a data analytics consultant. He started out as a lawyer, but after the dot-com boom led to a surge in demand for consultants, he decided to make the switch. He now runs his own consulting firm and writes regularly on a variety of topics. Braff himself became interested in consulting during the first dot-com boom. He transferred from MIT to Brown in order to study linguistics, and eventually became a strategy consultant at McKinsey.

Relevant Links:

Adam's Website and McKinsey Essay
Tom Critchlow's Writing
Venkatesh Rao's The Art of Gig

Timestamps
0:00 Audio Intro
0:48 The scripts Adam grew up with
3:54 Shifting from MIT to Brown
5:33 Becoming interested in consulting
7:25 What was it like from 1999 to 2002?
9:08 Adam's path to becoming a partner at McKinsey
11:56 Leaving McKinsey
14:05 What kept Adam at McKinsey for 10 years?
16:06 What do people get wrong about McKinsey?
18:49 Decentralization and the emergent order
21:46 The new ideas in customer experience Adam helped shape
24:06 Going into the finance industry in 2009
25:23 Turning data into insights
27:20 How to influence other executives to embrace the "hypothesis first" framing?
28:44 The 2 skills from the consulting world that are missing elsewhere
30:28 Teaching the importance of feedback
33:22 Development Group Leaders
35:21 Lessons from working at a hedge fund
42:01 Did the world of billions inspire Adam to go solo?
42:56 Becoming a freelancer
46:52 Should you clearly define the services you're offering as a freelance consultant?
50:18 The role of Adam's writing
51:44 Did the nature of Adam's projects shift over time?
53:14 The best part of the self-employed life Adam didn't expect
54:15 AI & The Future
58:10 The forecasting contest