The Voluntary Life

Latest Episodes:

284 What The Founder Shows About Entrepreneurship Mar 19, 2017

Show notes

It is not often that Hollywood makes movies which explore real business challenges. The Founder is a movie about how Ray Kroc created a global restaurant franchise from a small business started by the MacDonald brothers. This podcast episode is about what entrepreneurs can learn from the ideas shown in the movie. Show Notes:

The Founder (Movie)
Fact Checking The Founder
Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc
Becoming An Entrepreneur by Jake Desyllas
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283 Minimalism and Parenting Mar 09, 2017

Show notes

Does becoming a parent mean giving up a minimalist lifestyle? In this episode Hannah and Jake discuss their experience of minimalism and parenting. Some of the topics covered include:

Baby-wearing as an alternative to prams
Co-sleeping as an alternative to cots
Breastfeeding and baby-led weaning as alternative to bottle feeding and baby foods
Buying second-hand stuff for babies
How attachment parenting and respectful parenting fit in with minimalism

Show Notes:

Hannah Braime
Examples of Baby Wearing (baby carriers)
Co-Sleeping With Infants (University of Notre Dame)
Breastfeeding and baby-led attachment
Sleeping Like A Baby: Simple Sleep Solutions for Infants and Toddlers by Pinky McKay
The Fourth Trimester by Susan Brink
The Attachment Parenting Book by William Sears
Baby-led Weaning: Helping Your Baby to Love Good Food by Gill Rapley
Brain Rules For Baby by John Medina
Your Self-Confident Baby by Magda Gerber
Information on risks of second hand mattresses
Unruffled Podcast by Janet Lansbury
The Philosophical Baby by Alison Gopnick
Previous episodes on parenting
Previous episodes on minimalism
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282 The Fear That Motivates Me Mar 03, 2017

Show notes

Jake is interviewed on The Sample Hour podcast with the host, Drew Sample. We had a wide-ranging discussion covering options for living a job-free life, productivity, minimalism as a parent, and motivation— including the fear that motivates me. Show Notes:

The Sample Hour
Job Free by Jake Desyllas
Becoming An Entrepreneur by Jake Desyllas
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281 Listener Feedback on Peaceful Parenting Feb 24, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, I respond to listener feedback about peaceful parenting. Some of the topics covered include:

Is spanking justified?
What about minor kinds of aggression in parenting, such as confiscating possessions?
One listener's experience of practicing peaceful parenting for 18 years.
How come I argue against the use of psychotropic drugs on children?

Show Notes:

Previous Parenting Episodes
The Myth Of Mental Illness by Thomas Szasz
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280 How To Disagree Feb 16, 2017

Show notes

Although it might not seem like it, disagreeing is a skill. To disagree well is not only an important skill, but also a learnable one. Most people disagree so poorly that they fail to even make an argument. This podcast episode presents Paul Graham's excellent article "How To Disagree" and discusses the concept of a hierarchy of disagreement. Show Notes:

How To Disagree by Paul Graham
Graham's Hierarchy Of Disagreement
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279 Designing A Life Without Regrets Feb 07, 2017

Show notes

Hannah and I discuss ways to design a life without regrets. Hannah talks about how to use journaling to stay conscious of what really matters to you. I explain my own journaling exercise inspired by her approach- Each week I complete the following sentence stems:

The most courageous expression of my feelings at the moment would be…
The best opportunity for quality time this week is …
If I were to let myself be happier, I would …
The most extraordinary thing that I can work on these days is …
The best thing I can do to get more transparency in what I do these days is …
The best opportunity for automation in what I do these days is …
The thing am I doing regularly that I least inspired by is …
We are at our best these days when …
The thing I am most concerned about going wrong this week is …
The way I would handle that is …
The thing I am most resisting at the moment is …
The most audacious goal that haven't fully admitted to myself is …

Listen to the episode to find out more! Show Notes:

Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware
Journaling for a Life of No Regrets by Hannah Braime
Paul Graham's Todo Items (in response to Bronnie Ware's article).
Episode 269: Review of A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine
The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna
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278 Three Principles Of Philosophy Applied To Parenting Jan 31, 2017

Show notes

This episode is about three principles of philosophy applied to parenting:

Children own themselves (all people are self-owners).
Parents have positive obligations towards their children (all individuals are responsible for their own actions).
It is wrong to initiate aggression against children (initiating aggression against anyone is unjustifiable).

Philosophical principles don't provide detailed prescriptions for parenting, but they do give a framework for understanding which parenting practices are ethical. If a principle is valid, then all its logical implications are valid too, even if those implications challenge widely-accepted practices. In the episode, I show how these principles can be applied to reevaluate many common parenting practices. Show Notes:

277 Why It Is Worth Striving To Achieve A Job Free Life Jan 22, 2017

Show notes

What will you do when you reach financial independence and job freedom? In this episode, I suggest some of the major opportunities that make this lifestyle worth striving to achieve, based on my own experience. Good luck on your journey, and let me know what you think! Show Notes:

Job Free by Jake Desyllas
Becoming An Entrepreneur by Jake Desyllas
Episode 254 Perpetual Travel With Kids Part 1: Interview With Go Curry Cracker
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276 Society Is Your Relationships Jan 09, 2017

Show notes

Paul Johnson's book, Intellectuals, provides many examples of the disastrous personal lives of intellectuals like Jean Jaques Rousseau, Karl Marx, Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Why do so many intellectuals—who famously argue for a better society— behave so badly in their personal relationships? Johnson suggests a few explanations, such as their need for attention and desire to post-rationalise bad decisions. There is also something about the way that these intellectuals think that leads them to neglect the people close to them. They share a faulty view of society, from which it makes sense for them to care so little about their personal relationships. In this episode, I argue that a correct understanding of society leads to investing in your personal relationships, because your society is your relationships. Show Notes:

275 The Best Books On Productivity Dec 27, 2016

Show notes

Jake's guide to the most helpful books on productivity, including why each one is recommend and what to expect from it. Show Notes:

Getting Things Done by David Allen
Making It All Work by David Allen
Ready For Anything By David Allen
The Power Of Less by Leo Babauta (Review in TVL Episode 253)
Manage Your Day-to-Day edited by Jocelyn Glei
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg (Discussion in TVL Episode 178)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
How To Read A Book by Mortimer J. Adler
The Pomodoro Technique by Francesco Cirillo (Discussion in TVL Episode 120)
The 80/20 Principle By Richard Koch
The 4 Hour Workweek By Tim Ferriss
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Dan Pink
Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister
The Universe Doesn't Give a Flying F-ck About You by Johnny B. Truant (Discussion in TVL Episode 141)

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