The Happy Philosopher Visits the ChooseFI Podcast

podcast chooseFI

Shortly after I was on the Mad Fientist’s podcast, Brad and Jonathan from the Choose FI podcast reached out to me. You see, they also have a podcast exploring aspects of financial independence, and after listening to me and Brandon chat for a bit, they still had questions. They wanted to dive into some of the topics that Brandon and I only scratched the surface of. I had not heard of this podcast before they contacted me, but any friend of the Mad Fientist is a friend of mine, so of course I immediately said yes.

 

Later that day I clicked over to their site and listened to a few episodes, and boy was IĀ  glad I did. They do a great job there, and if you are into podcasts and financial independence, it is a must listen. These guys are passionate about what they do, and it shows.

 

It took a little bit of logistical magic to make it work (mostly due to me scheduling on days that I already had plans (hey, you don’t expect me to cancel my pedicure do you?) This is not due to my super busy schedule, but due to the fact I have not mastered the very complicated art of looking at a calendar and getting the dates right.

 

They were very understanding of my complete scheduling incompetence, and for some reason didn’t cancel the whole thing out of frustration. Don’t worry guys, IĀ  have a few blog posts and Ted talks in my queue to hopefully help me with this in the future.

 

In all seriousness though, I think you will really enjoy this one. We dive deep into some good stuff, and even if you have listened to my other interviews there will be some new stuff in there, so put on some headphones and enjoy.

 

And if you are coming here from the chooseFI podcast, a warm welcome. If you subscribe to the blog you will be bombarded with e-mails at my blistering writing pace of barely once a week (on good months), and the very exclusive and special Happy Philosopher newsletter which I have written exactly zero times….someday it will happen.

 

Once you give it a listen head back over and let me know what you think. Also, if there are questions you have for me that I didn’t touch upon in the interview, ask away in the comments below.

9 comments

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  1. I listened to that the other day and enjoyed it immensely. Your story helped to propel my decision to go part time at my job a month ago. I now work 20 hours a week and have freed up so much time to pursue my hobbies and passions. Like you, one of those is playing guitar. Also like you, my longtime acoustic is an old Yamaha – not a bad guitar per se but not great either. I’ve been dreaming of a nice Taylor, Martin, or Guild but being thrifty and FI I’m always stuck in decision-limbo. If you don’t mind telling me, what guitar did you upgrade to?

    Love your blog!

    1. That’s awesome man, I love hearing stories like this! Part-time is an option worth considering for many people.

      Regarding the guitar it’s a Taylor 416ce and it’s a sweet guitar. Such and upgrade from my $150 college guitar. I got it on a whim from a shop closing down, so very unlike my usual “play every guitar in a 100 mile radius then perseverate about the decision for 3 years” self.

      1. Wow, nice axe indeed! I’m jealous!

        Trust me I know the temptation, I have a Guitar Center 4 bocks away from my house. The credit card is forbidden from entering that store!

    • RR on November 7, 2017 at 6:08 pm
    • Reply

    [quote]”This is not due to my super busy schedule, but due to the fact I have not mastered the very complicated art of looking at a calendar and getting the dates right. “[/quote]

    I almost spit my coffee on the keyboard.

    Once you are retired, this art won’t matter šŸ˜‰

    1. Hahaha, good point! I’ve probably been responsible for the destruction of more than one keyboard that way šŸ˜‰

  2. I first learned about you and your blog when I heard your interview with the Mad Fientist and really enjoyed hearing more of your thoughts and insights on this Choose FI interview. I especially love hearing what you have to say about gratitude, meditation, and ditching the news and TV. Those have all had a huge influence on my daily outlook and overall happiness.

    Thank you, especially, for recommending the 6+ month alcohol fast at the end of the interview. This recommendation really hits home as the son of one of my co-workers is recovering from life threatening injuries after an alcohol-related car crash. I checked out the article you wrote about your alcohol abstinence experience and appreciate how you describe alcohol as “the single most destructive legal substance in our society”. Many people do not realize this and fail to see alcohol affects their behavior and their health. Love the George Carlin quote “Alcohol will turn you into the same asshole your father was.”

    One of the things I’ve learned through my meditation practice is that I will be survived only by the effects of my thoughts, my words, and my actions. I don’t like how alcohol affects any of the three, so I don’t drink much anymore.

    1. Awesome! That was the goal of this podcast in many ways, to expand upon the talk Brandon and I had so I’m glad you enjoyed it.

      It’s hard to answer some of these “best idea” or “best article” questions so I tried to come up with something that was a little non-intuitive. Alcohol is so destructive for so many of us, and often times the only way to see it is through stepping away for a prolonged period of time. It’s a tough sell to people though. I’m sorry to hear of your co-workers son, and I hope he makes a quick recovery. I’ve seen it ruin the lives of many people close to me.

  3. Hello

    I just found this site after listerining to your podcast witht the Mad Fientist. I just found so much parallelisms of your life with mine that I was truly blown away. Thank you for sharing with the rest of the world . I will explore your site looking for wisdom and virtue. Who knows, it might lead me to launch my own Physican towards FI blog in the UK.
    Best wishes.

    1. Excellent, and welcome. My secret mission here is to inspire others to create, so please start that blog and be sure to send me a link šŸ™‚

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