Jake Desyllas's Blog, page 28

194 Your Money Or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

This week's episode is a review of the classic personal finance book Your Money or Your Life. Topics covered include:

The inspiring story of the author Joe Dominguez—an early retiree who devoted his life to promoting financial independence for everyoneAn overview of the 9 steps to financial independence suggested in the bookStrengths of the book, especially its focus on actionable steps that you can take to change your lifeWeaknesses of the book, especially regarding the discussion of investment.
Show Notes:
Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe DominguezPrevious episodes about the Permanent Portfolio strategyListen to Episode 194 (21 mins)

193 Cashing In On The American Dream By Paul Terhorst

This episode is a review of the book Cashing in on the American Dream: How to Retire at 35 by Paul Terhorst. Paul and his wife Vicky have been living the early retirement lifestyle successfully for the last 30 years, as perpetual travellers. This book was written back in the 1980s and was one of the first books to suggest a strategy for financial independence.

The book is aimed towards employees (rather than entrepreneurs) and especially people in well-paid jobs. Paul discusses how to tackle the challenges of quitting a lucrative career and radically changing your lifestyle. His strategy is an early example of the extreme saving approach that I discussed in my presentation on four ways to quit the rat race.

The investment suggestions in the book are out of date now and all the numbers have to be doubled for inflation, however it still contains a lot of useful ideas that will be of interest to anyone aiming for financial independence.

Show Notes
Cashing in on the American Dream: How to Retire at 35 by Paul TerhorstPaul and Vicky's WebsiteArticle about Paul Terhorst nowprevious episodes about the permanent portfolio conceptFour Ways To Quit The Rat Race presentationListen To Episode 193 (17 mins)

192 TV Is Obsolete: How To Upgrade Your Media Diet

I got rid of my TV about 15 years ago and I have never regretted it. In this episode, I provide suggestions for how to upgrade your media diet using far better sources than broadcast media. Here's a summary of the system that I adopted for my media diet:
I got rid of my TV (and radio and newspapers too). I did this because vegging out in from of the TV was an addictive path of least resistance for media consumption. I didn't want my choice of what to watch to be limited to what TV channels would broadcast.I actively collect things to watch later from the internet, from streaming services and social media. Everything goes into my media queue. This is very easy to do with capture tools like pocket, instapaper, WatchLater app and Evernote.  I also collect things to listen to later and read later in the same way.I tag everything in my media queue with my own tags, so that I know why I have collected each media item. These tags allow me to organise my media queue by projects I am doing, topics I am interesed in, or just different moods I am in.When I want to watch something, I look at my tag lists and make a conscious decision about what to watch. Having a media queue helps me be more discerning about what media I consume. I end up deleting many of the videos before watching them because they don't seem interesting after all. I highly recommend trying life without a TV.Show Notes:
Business Insider Article on TV useTVL Episode 120: Eight Tools That Will Free Your MindPocket AppInstapaper AppWatchLater AppEvernoteVoice Dream AppPhoto Credit: jason a. cinaListen To Episode 192 (20 mins)

191 Task Management

Whatever you want to get done in life, a task management app is the most valuable productivity tool that I can recommend to help you. In this episode, I explain what a task management app is and outline why it is so useful. I provide examples of how I use a task management app to help reach my goals, as well as some tips for power users. Topics covered include:

Origins of task management apps and some current examplesThe benefits of a task management app over simple "to do" lists.The inefficiency of switching tasks and the value of focussed workHow to use an app to create well-defined tasks that are easier to completeThe power of filtering your commitments by contextThe value of checklists and how a task manager can store themcreating your own "perspectives" on tasksThe most valuable feature to look for in a task management app: filtering by availability
Show Notes:

Omnifocus App by OmnigroupThings App by Cultured CodeThe Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande


Listen to Episode 191 (22 mins)

190 Out Of The Box Interview: Minimalism, Financial Freedom, And More! With Rosie Tran

Comedian Rosie Tran interviews entrepreneur, financial freedom advocate, and author of Becoming an Entrepreneur, Jake Desyllas. They discuss the psychology behind financial freedom and the baggage that many people have associated with money, the importance of being on the same page as your significant other, and why less is always more! Great tips on breaking out of the employee mindset and becoming a free thinker!

Show Notes:
Out Of The Box Podcast

Listen to Episode 190

189 Envy: A Theory Of Social Behaviour By Helmut Schoek

Why are "haters gonna hate"? This episode is a review of a fascinating book called Envy: A Theory of Social Behaviour by Helmut Schoek. Here are some of ideas that are discussed in the review:
What envy is and how it differs from jealousy or a desire to emulateThe key feature of envy being strongest where status differences are small Why envy exists in every society and why it could never be completely eliminatedWhy envy is camouflaged The link between envy and irrational thinkingSchoeck's theory of why envy exists and how it might have some positive role (as well as being highly destructive)You can cure yourself of envious feelings by turning it into creativity instead of destructivenessWhy you must never let haters stop you from doing something wonderfulShow Notes:
Envy: A Theory Of Social Behaviour By Helmut Schoeck

Listen To Episode 189 (23m)

188 Financial Independence Part 4: Relationships

This episode is about how personal relationships can either be the most important source of support in achieving financial independence, or the biggest hinderance. Topics covered include:
Romantic relationshipsFriends and neighboursFamilyShow Notes

E166 Retired at 33: Interview with Justin from Root of GoodE164 We Plan To Retire At 30: Interview with Mike and LaurenThe Millionaire Next Door by Thomas StanleyE162 Spend Little, Save More, Travel the World: Interview with Go Curry CrackerE147 Rosie Tran Interview: Financial Freedom and Personal DevelopmentTrading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods by Silverstein and FiskeThe Overspent American by Juliet SchorE171 From Million Dollar House To Tiny Home: Interview With Jacki Rigoni118 Decluttering And Community Selling: Interview with Jorja LeavittFinancial Independence From ParentsImage Credit: Charlie Foster
Listen to Episode 188 (20 mins)

187 How To Read More Than 50 Books A Year: Discussion With Hannah Braime

This week's show is a discussion with my lovely wife Hannah Braime about how to read more than 50 books per year (Hannah reads over 100 per year!). Hannah is a life coach and the host of the website Becoming Who You Are. In the episode we talk about why reading matters and share all the hacks we know for getting more reading done.

Show Notes:

Becoming Who You AreHow many books can you read in a lifetime? from Cosmos by Carl SaganCalibre free e-book library management applicationVoice Dream iOS AppKindle Highlight FeatureMacJournalGoodReadsDrafts iOS appEvernoteListen to Episode 187 (34 mins) 

186 Natural Project Planning

As an entrepreneur, I wanted to learn more about the project planning because I needed to delegate and collaborate with others. I now see project planning as integral to getting things done in all areas of life. This episode is my own take on an approach called the natural planning model. These are the three minimal steps I use in planning every project:
Naming the outcomeIdentifying the next actionReviewing each project regularlyIf I am stuck on a project, the more detailed planning I do includes:
MindmapsCreating a project documentation template in EvernoteWriting down more details about the purpose and mission to clarify this for myselfJournaling and brainstormingIdentifying project components and milestonesScheduling and programming tasks in a task management app (I use Omnifocus)Show Notes:
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David AllenOmnifocusEvernoteImage: Kamil LehmannListen to Episode 186 (20 mins)

185 How To Set Meaningful Goals For The Year Ahead

For many years I wanted to set meaningful goals for the year ahead, but struggled with the process. I never knew quite where to start and I often felt like I was just making goals up, without any real emotional connection to them. Consequently, I wasn't really committed to my goals and I found the whole process of making annual goals frustrating. I often gave up and didn't bother with the whole thing.

Over time, I've developed a method of setting annual goals as part of my overall productivity systems.  Now that I have a method, I find setting and meeting goals much easier and, best of all, the goal-setting process has many other benefits, regardless of whether I meet a goal. In this episode I explain my method of goal setting. Here is a very short overview of the steps:

Divide up your life into all your Areas Of Responsibility. I have 15 of them with names like Finances, Health, Relationship, Friends, Writing, Podcasting etc.Make a page for each Area Of Responsibility. I use Evernote, but use whatever works for you.On each AOR page, work out what this aspect of your life means to you. I do this using Mindmaps, unstructured journalling, and some structured writing (details are in the podcast).Add a section to each AOR page where you write down all your specific aims: what you want to change, implement, improve, or enhance about this aspect of your life.  For inspiration, review your vision board for each AOR (If you don't know about vision boards see episode 101 on How To Dream Big).Put all your list of aims together and read through to get an overview of everything you want from all aspects of your life.From your list, choose 4 or 5 Big Hairy Audacious Goals for the year ahead—whatever you feel most emotionally committed to.I also choose some Less Hairy goals for the year ahead too.Set yourself a reminder to review your list of goals regularly throughout the year (at least quarterly).Tick off the goals as you reach them. Celebrate reaching your goals. Be supportive to yourself- if you only got to 70% of an original goal at year-end, celebrate the 70% win too.Rinse and repeat at the end of the year.Show Notes:
Episode 101 How To Dream BigGetting Things Done by David AllenThe Simple Way To Achieve Your Big Hairy Audacious Goals by Hannah BraimePhoto Credit: kmillard92 ccListen to Episode 185 (17 minutes)