The Voluntary Life

Latest Episodes:

254 Perpetual Travel With Kids Part 1: Interview With Go Curry Cracker Jul 19, 2016

Show notes

A fun conversation with Jeremy and Winnie from Go Curry Cracker. Back in Episode 162, we talked about their path to financial independence through extreme saving, and their lifestyle of perpetual travel in early retirement. In this episode, they talk about their experience of perpetual travel as a family. Their son Julian makes makes a guest appearance too! Show Notes:

253 A Review Of The Power Of Less Jul 15, 2016

Show notes

Leo Babauta's book, The Power Of Less, is about using habits to help you focus on what matters in life. In this review, I talk about some of the most helpful ideas in the book, especially the suggestions about establishing a productive morning routine to kickstart your day. I also talk about some of the limitations of the book, and make suggestions for other useful books on this topic. Show Notes:

252 Adapting To Big Changes Jul 06, 2016

Show notes

Back in episode 217, my wife Hannah and I spoke about the beginning of our adventure moving to Panama. In this episode we talk about a lot of big changes that have happened since then! The episode provides an insight into our story, but it also touches on many themes important to The Voluntary Life. We discuss travel, minimalism, and adapting to big changes in life. Show Notes:

251 Entrepreneurship And Personal Development Jun 30, 2016

Show notes

Entrepreneurship is not just about building a business, it is also about building yourself. I see entrepreneurship as an intensive personal development program. This episode is from a recent interview that I gave about this topic on the Valiant Growth podcast. Show Notes:

Valiant Growth Podcast
Becoming an Entrepreneur by Jake Desyllas
Job Free by Jake Desyllas
Drive by Dan Pink

250 Job Free: Introduction Jun 17, 2016

Show notes

This episode contains the introduction of the audiobook version of Jake Desyllas' latest book, Job Free. Whether you want to achieve financial independence and retire early, or simply never work for anyone else again, this book provides an essential guide to the different lifestyle-design strategies open to you. You can get hold of the audiobook on Amazon and Audible, and it will shortly be available on iTunes. If you prefer reading, you can also get a paperback or e-book version on Amazon. Show Notes:

249 How I Carry My 600-Book Library In Hand Luggage Jun 07, 2016

Show notes

If you are interested in minimalism or a travel-oriented lifestyle, moving to a digital-only book library is a great benefit. Even if you don't plan to travel, switching to e-books has a ton of other advantages over maintaining paper books. This episode is all about the tools and techniques for managing an e-book library, including:

Making the transition from a physical to a digital library.
Choosing a database application for managing e-books.
Organising an e-book library with tags and other metadata.
Having a system for keeping your own notes about books.

Show Notes:

TVL Episode 115 How To Go Paperless Part 1
TVL Episode 157 How To Go Paperless Part 2
Free e-books at the Mises Institute and Online Library of Liberty
Calibre (Free e-book management App)
Evernote

248 Thinking Rationally Part 6: Your Superpower For Self-Determination May 31, 2016

Show notes

This episode is about the role of rational thinking in life. Rational thinking is a discipline of self-mastery, similar to the discipline of achieving physical fitness. I tackle some misconceptions about rational thinking and answer these questions:

What does cognitive science tell us about thinking rationally?
What are the costs of thinking rationally, and what are the benefits?

Show Notes:

How To Think For Yourself Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure
They Live

247 Thinking Rationally Part 5: Reason And Emotions May 21, 2016

Show notes

If you want to think rationally, what role do your emotions play? Is there a conflict between thinking rationally and experiencing feelings? In this episode, I explain the history of ideas around reason and emotion, and provide an overview of how to think rationally about feelings. Although the Enlightenment was a revolution in thinking rationally, Enlightenment philosophers never resolved their contradictions about the relationship between reason and the emotions, leaving a legacy of confusion about this topic. Instead of slavishly following feelings or repressing and ignoring them, rational thinking gives you a deeper, richer emotional life. Rational thinking enables you to pay attention to your feelings and make use of their valuable information. Show Notes:

Othello by William Shakespeare
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks
Episode 189— Envy: A Theory Of Social Behaviour by Helmut Schoek

246 Thinking Rationally Part 4: Listener Feedback On Faith Versus Reason May 15, 2016

Show notes

So far, the Thinking Rationally series has generated more listener feedback than any previous episodes! In this episode, I respond to feedback on the topic of faith versus reason. Here are the questions covered:

Can reason be accommodated within religious faith?
Don't we all live by some kind of faith, anyway?
Do I argue that we are "nothing more than matter in motion"?
Did I present a fair history of Christianity?

Show Notes:

Episode 243— Thinking Rationally Part 1: Faith Versus Reason
How To Think For Yourself Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Job Free by Jake Desyllas
How To Leave A Review on Amazon

245 Thinking Rationally Part 3: Anti-Rational Ideas May 08, 2016

Show notes

Rational thinking transforms your life, by giving you autonomy and the freedom of the individual. Since it spread during the Enlightenment, rational thinking has also transformed society and created the modern world. Yet many influential philosophers explicitly rejected rational thinking, because they understood where it would lead and did not like what they saw. This episode is about anti-rational ideas. I cover how these ideas emerged as a reaction to the Enlightenment, and why such anti-rational ideas are so popular today among contemporary philosophers. Show Notes:

Explaining Postmodernism by Stephen Hicks (free pdf and audiobook on author's website)
Intellectuals by Paul Johnson

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