The Voluntary Life

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35 Freedom From Politics Part 1 Dec 19, 2011

Show notes

Part 1 in a series of episodes on freedom from politics. Special guest is Stephanie Murphy, host of the Porc Therapy podcast, co-host of Free Talk Live and Prometheus Unchained, all of which are on the Liberty Radio Network. Show Notes: Hans Herman Hoppe on Marxist and Austrian Class Analysis Harry Browne's book How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World Stephanie's book Ron Paul: A Life of Ideas

34 Unjobbing: Author Interview with Michael Fogler Dec 12, 2011

Show notes

This episode is an interview with Michael Fogler about his book "Un-Jobbing: The Adult Liberation Handbook". Michael talks about his life experience, having reached the age of 58 without ever having had a single, full-time job. He talks about how his personal experience in "failures" a traditional career-job route led him to discover unjobbing as an alternative approach. He talks about how he came up with the name "unjobbing" and the influences on his ideas, such as Grace Llwellyn's book "A Teenage Liberation Handbook". Michael provides some tips on achieving personal liberation, including the issue of minimising expenses, saving and ensuring that you "act your wage". He talks about the importance of having other people around you who share your values, especially as the unjobbing approach is not considered "normal" by mainstream culture.

33 Parent-Free By Choice: An Interview with Vickie Bergman Dec 05, 2011

Show notes

Vickie is the author of the Demand Euphoria Blog and Parent-Free By Choice Blog. In this interview we discuss the concept of "Parent-Free By Choice", which is the choice of some adults to voluntarily separate from one or both parents. Vicky talks about why this choice, although quite widespread, is viewed as a taboo subject. Vickie shares her thoughts on whether or not adults who choose to cease contact with their parents are "running away" from issues that they should stay and face up to: "There is this whole stigma about "running away from your problems". It starts with kids and bullying in school where everyone says running away from a bully doesn't do anything, you have to stick in there and face it. That carries over into our family relationships: this idea that "no matter what they do to you they are still your family" and you are supposed to toughen up, figure it out, forgive or whatever. I think that is unfortunate because it allows people to keep treating each other badly. I think running away from somebody who is treating you badly is actually a good thing because you deserve better and you shouldn't put up with it. I think removing yourself from a toxic situation is good for you." Here are Vickie's thoughts on the question of whether people owe their parents anything: "I have often thought about this concept of your parents giving you the "gift of life", but I always think about that word gift and think about how...if it is truly a gift then you don't owe them for it. If they gave you a gift then they shouldn't be charging you for it every day of your life. A lot of parents call it a gift and then make you feel guilty for everything they do for you." Vickie's blog, Parent-Free by Choice, offers a supportive environment for people to anonymously share their own stories about their choices. As Vickie explains; "No matter what happened to them in childhood or how their relationship [with their parents] is now, if they feel like it's not a positive relationship then that is all that matters and they should have the freedom to get out of it."

32 Uncollege: An Interview with Dale Stephens Nov 28, 2011

Show notes

An interview with Dale Stephens, founder of the Uncollege movement. Uncollege represents a revolutionary approach to education: applying the principles of unschooling to higher education. In the interview Dale talks about opportunities to hack your education and go for self-directed learning. He challenges the notion that going to college is the only path to success and identifies the declining value proposition of traditional college education, as well as the potential of an alternative, self-directed approach.

30 The Fear of Freedom by Eric Fromm Nov 14, 2011

Show notes

This episode explores the topic of psychological barriers to personal and political freedom. It is a discussion of the ideas in Eric Fromm's book "The Fear of Freedom" (also published under the title "Escape from Freedom").

29 Successful Entrepreneurship: An Interview With Judd Weiss Nov 07, 2011

Show notes

An interview with Judd Weiss, entrepreneur and author of the Hustlebear.com blog. Judd has been an entrepreneur since he was 14. He became a millionaire by the age of 24 and has launched successful businesses in diverse industries including selling watches online, commercial real estate brokerage and parking. Judd talks about some of the principles behind successful entrepreneurship. Topics include:

How accepting that you start out both ignorant and incompetent can help you succeed
Why success normally comes just after the point when most people quit
Why you don't have to be interested in the product you are selling
What a young startup entrepreneur can use to differentiate themselves from much older and better connected competitors
The impact that pursuing entrepreneurial success can have on your personal relationships

28 How To Get Financial Freedom Oct 31, 2011

Show notes

Financial Freedom is an achievable goal. But what exactly is it and how does making financial freedom your goal differ from more traditional financial goals? A common approach to personal finance goes something like this: MAINSTREAM ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT PERSONAL FINANCE

the goal of personal finance strategies is material wealth and comfort;
the method is getting a secure job;
the measure of how well you are doing is your salary;
debt should be used, with caution, to obtain consumption items (mortgage for a house, loans for a new car etc.);
provision for the future should be made through a pension.

A approach aimed at financial freedom is completely different in every way: ASSUMPTIONS WITH FINANCIAL FREEDOM AS YOUR AIM

the goal of personal finance strategies is financial freedom (the level of wealth is optional);
the method is entrepreneurship;
the measure of how well you are doing is how long before you have to work again, where passive income - expenses > 0
debt should not be used for consumption items, but might optionally be used with caution to further entrepreneurship and value generation;
provision for the future is made through creating passive income streams.

Thoughts on how to adopt financial freedom as your goal are provided in the podcast. The views expressed are only my opinion about this subject and I am not any kind of financial advisor.

27 Getting More Freedom In Your Job Oct 28, 2011

Show notes

You can still have a lot of freedom if you are working for somebody else. Here are some suggestions of what you can do to transform your job and liberate yourself. The youtube documentary about a Brazilian company that is mentioned in the episode is called "The Caring Capitalist".

26 Entrepreneurship Part 2: The Art of The Start Sep 14, 2011

Show notes

This episode is a discussion with startup entrepreneurs including the founders of choreplan.com and knowitapp.com. We talk about the ideas in two great books on entrepreneurship: The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki and Reworkby Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.

25 Entrepreneurship Part 1: The Real Revolutionaries Sep 13, 2011

Show notes

A podcast for those considering starting a business. The episode starts with a look at the value of entrepreneurship as a path to obtaining freedom in your own life and some background to my own experience with entrepreneurship. Two key questions are addressed: how do you choose which project to pursue as a new entrepreneurial venture? Also, how do you overcome the fear of getting started?

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