The Voluntary Life

Latest Episodes:

244 Thinking Rationally Part 2: Imaginary Creatures and Machines Apr 30, 2016

Show notes

The biggest challenge of thinking rationally is not learning new techniques, it is overcoming irrational and anti-rational ways of thinking. In Part 1 of this series, I talked about how religious faith conflicts with your rational faculty. This episode is about a secular way of thinking that will derail your rationality. It is a way of thinking about society that seems to be very rational, but is in fact an abuse of reason. Listen to the episode to find out more! Show Notes:

The Counter Revolution Of Science by Friedrich Hayek

243 Thinking Rationally Part 1: Faith Versus Reason Apr 23, 2016

Show notes

Rational thinking is the engine behind all the great achievements of the modern world. It is the vital tool for making your own choices and for freeing yourself from prejudices and indoctrination. This series of episodes summarises all the best ideas that I've found about how to think rationally. Part 1 uses the example of the history of Christianity in Europe to explain the conflict between religion and rational thinking. Show Notes:

The Closing Of The Western Mind by Charles Freeman
If A Then B: How the World Discovered Logic by Michael Shenefelt and Heidi White

242 Financial Pros And Cons Of Home Ownership Apr 15, 2016

Show notes

Home ownership is often touted as a financially savvy choice, but is it? This episode explores the financial pros and cons of buying your own home for those interested in financial independence. Show Notes:

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley
I'm not a financial advisor and you will need to do your own research.

241 Selling Our Home To Travel The World Apr 06, 2016

Show notes

As part of adopting a minimalist lifestyle and becoming expats, we sold everything that would not fit into one suitcase each. The biggest part of our downsizing was selling our apartment and all the furniture in it. This episode is about the practical and psychological lessons from selling the flat, getting rid of all our stuff, and changing from being homeowners to travelling renters. Show Notes:

Home Inventory App (mac)
Episode 217— Panama: Our Adventure Begins
Other Episodes on Minimalism
Job Free by Jake Desyllas

240 Freedom Lovin' Interview— Job Free Mar 23, 2016

Show notes

Kevin Koskella from the Freedom Lovin podcast interviews Jake about the ideas in his book, Job Free, as well as life in Panama, entrepreneurship, and the permanent portfolio. Show Notes:

Freedom Lovin Podcast
Job Free by Jake Desyllas (now in paperback and kindle)

239 Minimalism And Clothes Mar 15, 2016

Show notes

Preparing for a life of travel involved getting rid of anything that I could not take with me in one suitcase. One big source of clutter to address was clothes. My clothes took up a lot of space, yet I hardly ever wore many of them. As part of my extreme decluttering, I got rid of every item of clothing beyond a minimal set that would fit with my one-suitcase plan. The process included making an inventory, deciding what to keep or get rid of, and selling or giving away a huge amount of clothes. Whether you plan to travel or not, this episode will give you some food for thought about changing your approach to clothes. Show Notes:

238 Zero Data Mar 06, 2016

Show notes

This episode is about how I moved all my data into the cloud. This has been an essential part of adopting a digital nomad lifestyle but is also relevant for anyone who wants a more minimalist, clutter-free life. I digitised any data that could be, such as music, movies, photos, books, and documents. Once digital, I moved all my data into cloud storage of one kind or another. Then I got rid of all data clutter that was part of my stuff: CDs, DVDs, photos, spare computers, etc. Now all my data lives in the cloud. In the episode, I explain how I implemented a zero data system, and I outline some of the key issues to address. These include privacy (encryption), backup, redundancy, and sync vs archive. Show Notes:

Article: Zero Data: Thoughts About Sync, Storage, and Backup
TVL Episodes on minimalism
Going Paperless Part 1 and Part 2
Cloud Music: iTunes Match, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music
Cloud Movies: Netflix, iTunes
Cloud Storage: Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud
Cloud Books: Calibre E-Book Management
Cloud Notes: Evernote
Encryption: SpiderOak, Boxcryptor, FileVault
Backup: Crashplan, Backblaze, Time Machine, SuperDuper

237 The Tech Of Permanent Travel Feb 29, 2016

Show notes

Brian Sovryn of the Sovryn Tech Podcast interviews Jake about his lifestyle of perpetual travel and minimalism, and the technology that makes it possible. Show Notes:

Sovryn Tech Episode 165
Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i Mobile Document Scanner
Calibre E-Book Management
Evernote
VoiceDream
AirBnB
Uber
Google Translate
Keyboard Maestro
Mac Power Users Podcast
TripAdvisor Offline Guides
TripIt
Becoming An Entrepreneur by Jake Desyllas
Job Free by Jake Desyllas

236 The Free State Project Feb 22, 2016

Show notes

The Free State Project is a social experiment encouraging 20,000 people interested in "liberty in our lifetime" to move together to New Hampshire. The idea is to create an intentional community of like-minded people who are interested in personal and political liberty. By concentrating people with similar values in one place, the aim is to have a greater impact on the local culture and thereby generate more freedom. In this episode, I interview Stephanie Murphy and Brian Sovryn—two members of the Free State Project— about their experiences in New Hampshire as part of this community. Show Notes:

235 A Better World Starts With A Clean Bedroom Jan 31, 2016

Show notes

Brett Veinotte from the School Sucks Podcast and Jake Desyllas from The Voluntary Life discuss the process of upgrading and maintaining positive habits. Topic covered include:

Habits may seem trivial, but the are the most important part of a productivity system
Two approaches to change: slow and steady vs. New Year's resolution
Triggers for activating habits vs. friction against habits
How do we do it? morning routine, 7 Weeks (Android app), Jake uses Way of Life (iOS)
No matter what else is going on, do the simple things; even though these seemingly minor habits are the first thing that fall by the wayside when we're really busy
Jake: "Habits dramatically reduce the amount of willpower and brainpower required to get things done. Once you have implemented a habit and can do it on autopilot, you conserve willpower and brainpower, helping you get more done."
Willpower is a scarce resource; it degrades decision to decision
Identifying resources beyond willpower
Jake: "Habits are easiest to adopt when they are simple to understand, when you minimize any friction at the start of the action, when there are clear environmental triggers that tell your unconscious to start the habit, and when you have feedback (rewards) for completion."

Show Notes:

School Sucks Podcast
Willpower by Roy Baumeister
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Manage Your Day-to-Day by Jocelyn Glei
Job Free by Jake Desyllas
Al Switzler Ted Talk

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