The Voluntary Life
By The Voluntary Life
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Podcast Description
Ideas for finding freedom in an unfree world. A podcast of interviews and discussions about topics such as entrepreneurship, unjobbing, financial freedom, investing, unschooling, freedom from politics, freedom in personal relationships.
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1 |
The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg | This episode discusses ideas from the book "The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age"by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg. "In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries -- the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society," will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the power of government." Podcast Episode | 5/21/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Entrepreneurship Part 9: Financing Your Startup | How will you finance your startup? This episode presents some thoughts on the issue of financing for entrepreneurs based on my own experience, including: Why bootstrapping your business with revenue finance is the best way to fund your own startup, if you can do itThe benefit of having some personal savings and no major financial commitments, if you want to start a businessThe role that loans can play in funding your venture and how taking out loans for business is a far better use of debt than taking out loans for consumption itemsWhy selling equity in your company (taking investment from VC or others) is ultimately a very expensive way to fund your ventureWhy Business Development Grants are never "free money" and have serious drawbacksThe importance of looking long and hard at whether you really need the money to get going. You probably don't need nearly as much as you think Podcast Episode | 5/18/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Entrepreneurship Part 8: Selling Your Business | Every entrepreneur will ultimately exit from their business, in one way or another. Unless you plan to just wind it down, one day you'll probably want to sell your company. In this podcast, Jake talks about his experience of selling a business and answers some key questions about the process, including: Why sell your business? How do you find a buyer? When is the right time to sell? How do you value your business? What happens in the negotiation process? How long does it take? What happens after the sale? Podcast Episode | 5/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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4 |
Freedom From School: An Interview With Laurette Lynn | An interview with Laurette Lynn, author, speaker and host of the Unplugged Mom internet talk show. Laurette's work emphasizes the need for families to unplug from mainstream assumptions in learning and living, disconnect from the artificial process of life and discover the freedom and joy in learning and living more authentically. In the interview she talks about freedom from school for kids and families. Laurette explains the choice that she made not to send her kids to school "because they don't need it". She shares her thoughts on how you can raise your kids free from school too. Check out the previous episodes related to unschooling. Podcast Episode | 4/30/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Entrepreneurship Part 7: Negotiation | This episode is about negotiation for entrepreneurs. Some basic practical tips are provided about negotiating, such as: The benefits of writing everything down (even though it seems obvious)Why it's better to be explicit about how you want do business, such as with a simple set of standard termsNegotiating about all the terms and avoiding the pitfall of focussing narrowly on priceSome of the deeper principles underlying negotiation are also explained, such as: The concept of your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) and how it determines the dynamic of the negotiationThe value of appealing to objective standards and avoiding a "contest of wills"Why win-win negotiations are the only way to get any lasting agreement that will workWhy it makes sense to adopt the premise that you'll never be able to rely on enforcing legal contractsThe excellent book on negotiation recommended in the podcast is "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" by Fischer and Ury. Podcast episode | 4/23/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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6 |
Self-Publishing: An Interview With Tarrin Lupo | An interview with Tarrin P. Lupo, about how he become a self-published author and how you could to. Tarrin is best known for being the author of the historical fiction series "Pirates of Savannah" and his children's book "Catch That Collie". He has successfully published thirteen eBooks and short stories. He is also a liberty activist who runs a news service called The Low Country Liberty Report and co-hosts the Wheels off Liberty podcast. He currently resides in Savannah Georgia and is a member of the Free State Project, spending time in New Hampshire promoting the ideas of Freedom and Liberty. In the interview Tarrin explains the difference between self-publishing and traditional routes to publishing for authors. He talks about the business of self-publishing and provides guidance on how to successfully market your work. He shares his thoughts on the skill of writing and on what it takes to write commercially. He also provides his views about intellectual property and the publishing industry and his thoughts about where the industry is going. Podcast Episode | 4/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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7 |
Financial Preparedness: An Interview With Medium Tex | This episode is an interview with Mike, one of the moderators and main contributors to the Permanent Portfolio discussion forum. Mike, or "Medium Tex" as he is known on the board, is an independent investor and co-author of an upcoming book on the permanent portfolio approach to investment. In the interview Mike explains a simple way of understanding all the different economic conditions we might face and how to be financially prepared for any of them as a private investor. You can get more information about the concept of the permanent portfolio in these two previous podcast episodes, in Harry Browne's book "Fail-Safe Investing", on the permanent portfolio forum and on the Crawling Road website. Podcast Episode | 4/3/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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8 |
Author Interview: Jeffrey Tucker on "It's A Jetsons World" | An interview with Jeffrey Tucker about his latest book "It's a Jetsons World: Private Miracles and Public Crimes" (available online for free). Jeffrey is the executive editor of Laissez Faire Books. He is past editorial vice president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and past editor for the institute's website, Mises.org. He is also an adjunct scholar with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and an Acton University faculty member. "It's a Jetsons World" is about how we are surrounded by miracles created in the private sector, particularly in the digital universe, and yet we don't appreciate them enough. Meanwhile, the public sector is systematically wrecking the physical world in sneaky and petty ways that really do matter. Jeffrey discusses these themes further in the interview, such as the global communication revolution that we are living through and it's amazing impact on all our lives. He also talks about the destructive role that the State is having during this time of great progress. "We are very fortunate to be living in a social, cultural and economic transition that makes the industrial revolution look like nothing by comparison. The amazing irony is that it is happening exactly at the same time when Leviathan, at least in the developed world, is on the march as never before". Jeffrey Tucker (from the interview) He discusses some of the ideas from the book in more detail, such as the negative impact of Intellectual Property law and the moral hazard that it creates, as IP corrupts the outlook of entrepreneurs. The interview is full of Jeffrey's brilliantly optimistic and positive outlook. "We shouldn't be afraid to read things that are utterly contrary to what think we believe, because it's only going to strengthen us. If we are fearless intellectuals, which we should all be- to the point where we are utterly fearless, then we shouldn't be afraid of any writer, any genre or any political point of view. It just makes us better thinkers." Jeffrey Tucker (from the interview) Show Notes: The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World The Ultimate Resource 2 Steve Jobs: "we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas" Podcast Episode | 3/26/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Entrepreneurship Part 6: Getting Things Done | A podcast about freeing your mind to get things done. A big challenge with time management and productivity that I experienced was how to overcome that feeling of being overwhelmed. How do you free your mind from the nagging thoughts of all the things that you need to do, so that you can get on with actually doing stuff? In this podcast I discuss my journey through trying many approaches to time management and the value that I found in David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) approach. Unlike traditional personal productivity systems, GTD helps you harnesses the creativity and intuitive power of your unconscious to work with you, rather than interrupt you. I outline what I think are the most helpful concepts in the GTD approach and how it might help you. Podcast Episode | 3/19/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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10 |
Investing In Friendships | When it comes to friendships, are you investing wisely? Podcast Episode | 3/12/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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11 |
Investing in Gold and Silver | Meet the gold bugs! An international discussion among friends who all invest in precious metals. The discussion covers some important questions that all private investors face: Which do you invest in, gold or silver? If you hold both, do you have a strategy as to how much gold vs silver you hold?What percentage of your overall portfolio do precious metals have?How will you know when to sell your precious metals? In the discussion we refer to the book "Guide to Investing In Gold and Silver" by Michael Maloney. Podcast Episode | 3/5/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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12 |
Entrepreneurship Part 5: The Unexamined Business Is Not Worth Building | This episode is about the amazing value that comes from tracking your business. Whereas 'business plans' are really just 'business guesses' and can often be a waste of time, tracking the reality of your business is always incredibly useful. The data that you have about each aspect of your business (your sales opportunities, your contacts, your cash-flow and many other aspects) is the most valuable asset that you have. Podcast Episode | 2/27/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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13 |
Living And Parenting Free Of Religion: An Interview With Carisa Brewster | An interview with Carisa Brewster, author of the Cup of Curiosity blog. Carisa describes herself as a writer, mom and nappy chick with way too many interests. In this interview she talks about the experience of breaking free from religion and choosing to parent and unschool her children free from any religion. Her blog covers many diverse topics from books, natural hair, living in Oregon, interracial issues, breastfeeding/parenting and pop culture. She is also a (self-confessed) huge Star Wars and Star Trek geek, but only a moderate comic book geek. Podcast Episode | 2/20/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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14 |
Investing In Europe: An Interview With Marc De Mesel | This episode is about investing inside the Euro zone as an independent individual investor. It is an interview with Marc de Mesel, who runs a blog on investing in Europe in dutch and also an investing blog in english. Marc talks about his experience applying the Permanent Portfolio strategy in a European context. He also provides his thoughts on speculating in gold and other precious metals. The episode is provided as food for thought to encourage critical thinking and independent decision-making in regard to investment: it is opinion only and should not be considered any kind of financial advice. For more information about the concept of the permanent portfolio see Harry Browne's book "Fail-Safe Investing". You can also hear more about the Permanent Portfolio concept in this previous episode. The book that Marc mentions in the episode is "Tomorrow's Gold" by Mark Farber. Podcast Episode | 2/12/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Author Interview: Paul Rosenberg on A Lodging of Wayfaring Men Part 2 | Part 2 of the interview with Paul Rosenberg about his novel "A Lodging of Wayfaring Men". Paul shares his thoughts on many of the other themes covered in the novel: sexuality, relationships, the unconscious mind and religion. He explains his view on intellectual property and why he chose to release the novel using the creative commons license. He also gives an insight into his upcoming books. Podcast Episode | 2/6/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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16 |
Author Interview: Paul Rosenberg on A Lodging of Wayfaring Men Part 1 | This Part 1 of an interview with Paul Rosenberg, author of "A Lodging of Wayfaring Men". Instantly named Freedom Book of The Month and a major influence in the Cyber-underground, A Lodging of Wayfaring Men is the story of freedom-seekers who create an alternative society on the Internet - a virtual society, with no possibility of oversight or control. It grows so fast that governments and "leaders" are terrified, and fight to co-opt this cyber-society before it undermines the power of the governing elite. In this interview Paul talks about his intellectual development, his influences and the background to writing the book. He discusses the parallels between the novel and recent developments in crypto-currency, such as Bitcoin. He shares his thoughts on the current state of the internet, prospects for liberty and the potential for developing communities of people with shared values. Podcast Episode | 1/31/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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17 |
Financial Independence from Parents | This episode is about the freedom in adult life that is gained by achieving financial independence from parents. Jake talks about some of the findings of the book "The Millionaire Next Door" by Thomas Stanley. Dr Stanley surveyed people in America who had become millionaires within one generation and collected data on many aspects of their lives. One finding that he identified was that adult-children who continue to receive economic subsidies from their parents tend to be much less successful in developing wealth within their own lives. Those who don't receive "economic out-patient care" end up wealthier and also have better relationships with their parents. Podcast Episode | 1/27/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Entrepreneurship Part 4: Profit is Sanity | A podcast for entrepreneurs about getting your business to profitability and making it more and more profitable once you get there. The title of this podcast comes from the saying "turnover is vanity and profit is sanity". Some of the topics covered in the episode include: The unjustly-bad reputation that profit has in our culture and it's originsThe other motives (unrelated to profit) that entrepreneurs have and the problems that they cause for their businessProfit as the truly rational measure of how healthy your business isTwo approaches cutting expenses to increase profitThe value of measuring profitability at the project or product levelThe necessity of measuring all aspects of operations to find out where you make a profit and where you don'tPodcast Episode | 1/16/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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19 |
Entrepreneurship Part 3: In Praise Of Selling | In this podcast, Jake talks about the most important responsibility you will ever have as an entrepreneur: selling. He talks about how to overcome the barriers to selling that most entrepreneurs face: the cultural prejudice against sales, ignorance about what selling really is and the psychological barrier to selling (the fear of rejection). Stages of Selling To Learn More About: ProspectingContactingQualifyingPresentationHandling ObjectionsClosingReferrals Checklist for New Entrepreneurs: Have you started selling yet? Are you setting aside specific time within each day or week devoted only to selling?Are you measuring everything that you can measure about your selling activity? Show Notes: Glengarry Glen Ross (great movie, but also an example of how negative the representation of selling is in our culture) How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins (a recommended book). Podcast Episode | 1/11/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Psychological Freedom: An Interview With Daniel Mackler | An interview with psychologist and filmmaker Daniel Mackler about the subject of psychological freedom. Daniel shares his thoughts on what psychological freedom means: the healing from past psychological traumas. He identifies the root of trauma in unhealthy parenting and talks about his own journey towards more psychological freedom. Podcast Episode | 1/2/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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21 |
Freedom From Politics Part 2 | Part 2 in a series of episodes on freedom from politics with special guest Stephanie Murphy, host of the Porc Therapy podcast. Show Notes: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world" by GandhiPenn Gillette on politicsSchool Sucks Podcast on Ron PaulGeorge Carlin on Not Voting Doug Stanhope on Democracy"If Voting Changed Anything They'd Make it Illegal" by Emma Goldman Poster by Will Moyer Podcast Episode | 12/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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22 |
Freedom From Politics Part 1 | 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 Freedomain Radio podcast Complete Liberty Podcast Podcast Episode | 12/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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23 |
Unjobbing: Author Interview with Michael Fogler | 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. Check out our previous episodes on Unjobbing. Podcast Episode | 12/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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24 |
Parent-Free By Choice: An Interview with Vickie Bergman | 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." Podcast Episode | 12/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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25 |
Uncollege: An Interview with Dale Stephens | 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. Podcast Episode | 11/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 25 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Must listen podcast!
What kind of life do you want to live? How can you get there? The Voluntary Life podcast is an absolute must listen for anybody interested in persuing and achieving real freedom in their life. Do you want to live life on your own terms? This is the podcast for you!
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