Thu, 24 March 2016
On Episode 133 of the show, I had a listener ask me for my opinion regarding the concept of "mortgage acceleration." Basically, it's the idea of taking out a HELOC on your house instead of (or in addition to) a traditionally amortizing mortgage, putting all your income against the HELOC and then paying your bills out of the HELOC. The key idea with this strategy is that the average daily balance of your account is lower, reducing your interest payments. In Episode 133, I was critical of the idea and the book that espoused it. Today, I've brought the author of that chapter in the book on to defend the idea of mortgage acceleration as vigorously as possible. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Thu, 24 March 2016
Have you ever wanted to invest through an IRA or 401(k) for the purpose of early retirement but found yourself stymied by the thought of paying a 10% penalty tax to gain access to your money? Well, on today's show I've got good news! If you invest through an IRA or 401(k) but later take the INCOME from the account to pay for an early retirement, you may still come out ahead of the taxable account, even though you need to pay the additional penalty tax! Check out the show and attachments for details! Enjoy. Joshua
Direct download: RPF0314-Use_an_IRA_for_Early_Retirement_Even_with_the_Penalty.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 10:23am MST |
Wed, 23 March 2016
What would you do if you left your big-shot corporate gig to pursue an entrepreneurial venture which then fell apart? And then you ran for public office? And lost. And then wound up living in your in-law's garage completely flat broke. Would you then go back, admit defeat, and rejoin the corporate grind? Or, would you continue pursuing your dream lifestyle in a systematic way? My guest today went through that exact process of life. And he's systematically worked to build his dream lifestyle with his family. Today we sit down with Clark Vandeventer, author of "unWorking: Exit the Rat Race, Live Like a Millionaire, And Be Happy Now." Clark has a very encouraging story to share and a wealth of experience in building his ideal lifestyle on the cheap. Enjoy! Joshua
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Tue, 22 March 2016
Today, I respond in detail to this question from a listener: Hi Joshua, I have been really into personal finance for about 5 years now and am considering becoming a financial advisor, specifically with a large company like you used to work for. I am currently a 31 year old physician making around $150,000. I have spent a long time preparing for my career, but I am always drawn to becoming a financial advisor. The medical field is becoming increasingly draining with charting, liability, decreasing reimbursement, increased regulations etc. The problem is in my career I can only make so much money. I can see some more patients everyday, but eventually you can only work so much and with that will just take more time. I already work from 8am-8pm everyday not even including my commute. More patients would just add more time to that. Quite frankly, with the liability and difficult patients I see all the time, I don't think I am paid enough of a premium to take on the risks I take. I know everyone says they aren't paid enough, but I can literally be sued for anything, especially the surgeries I do. In addition, the aggravation of arguing with some patients on deductibles they owe, co pays etc. I don't know if you know what its like to argue with someone about a $32 bill after giving them necessary medical services because they have "insurance" and feel they are entitled to everything medically related for free, but it is draining. I would love to hear your thoughts on becoming a financial advisor with a company like you were with.
I am a religious listener to your show. Not only have I listened to every episode, but I have done so numerous times. I have all the frugality and investment stuff down for the most part, but trying to explore the whole quality of life and "work as if I can never retire" type of mentality. This is obviously a huge decision so I wanted to get as much detail on the job as possible. I would really appreciate your advice and promise I will follow up with you to let you know how everything turns out. I understand how busy you are so if you can't spare any time on this, I understand. Thanks so much. K
Direct download: RPF0312-Whats_the_Financial_Advisor_Career_Actually_Like.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 2:19pm MST |
Fri, 18 March 2016
On Fridays, I do a Q&A call-in show which is open to Patrons of the show. Today we cover:
If you'd like to participate in a Q&A call like this, please become a Patron of the show here: www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron |
Thu, 17 March 2016
I've been wanting to bring lots more "brick-and-mortar-type" entrepreneurs and success stories on the show. There are tons of incredible people out there that we can learn from. But, I've learned that it's actually tough for me to get them on the show! Generally, people with money who have nothing to sell don't seem to want to talk publicly about what they've learned. But, even though it's tough, I'm still working on it. And today, I get to bring you one of this type of interview. My guest today is a former boss of mine, Warren Prescott. He's a great guy who started with few advantages in life. He started as a plumber's assistant as a teenager and today he's a wealthy businessman here in South Florida. Enjoy learning from his experience! Joshua
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Wed, 16 March 2016
I've featured several doom-and-gloom guests on recent shows. I like to give people an opportunity to make their case to me as convincingly as possible and I always enjoy challenging myself with catastrophic predictions. But I struggle with a lot of the advice from those who predict global chaos in short order. Frankly, much of it is impractical. So, in today's show I tackle the subject the way that I would tackle it if I were asked for my practical advice on the subject. I hope it's useful for you! Enjoy, Joshua
Direct download: RPF0309-How_to_Respond_to_Dire_Financial_Predictions.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 3:21pm MST |
Tue, 15 March 2016
I like to share as much "behind the curtains of the financial advice industry" stuff as possible. But I like to do it from a diverse perspective. If you like seeing how good financial planning can dramatically impact a real-life scenario, this is a show for you. My guest is Patrick Renn, a 35-year veteran of the financial planning industry. Patrick runs a wealth management firm in Atlanta, GA and specializes in helping his clients develop well-designed charitable giving programs. If you enjoy seeing nuts and bolts of financial planning applied in the real world, you'll enjoy this show. Enjoy! Joshua
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Mon, 14 March 2016
On Fridays I do a Q&A show for Patrons of the show. www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron Today, we cover these topics:
Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Fri, 11 March 2016
I recently had the opportunity to interview Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which is the top selling personal finance book of all time. The concepts of Rich Dad, Poor Dad are well known in the personal finance circles. Rather than trying to get Robert to outline the content of his 20 books, I sought to unwrap a little bit of the man behind the story. You can judge how I did! Enjoy the show, Joshua
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Thu, 10 March 2016
In January 2013, I bought a house, proceeded through the whole process really carefully and thought I'd made some pretty good decisions. But a couple months after closing, I found out that I'd missed an awesome tax credit and kissed $2,000 a year goodbye. How frustrating! I hate missing out on free money, especially when I can get it out of the coffers of the US Government! So, I want to help you do better. And I want to teach you about the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program. Enjoy! Joshua
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Fri, 4 March 2016
On Fridays, we do a Q&A phone conference here at Radical Personal Finance. Today's call was unusual in that we only had one caller, so we spent a lengthy amount of time discussing one particular issue. Today's caller was responding to a previous podcast about how my wife and I handle our finances, specifically with regard to my role as a husband and her role as a wife. We had an excellent conversation on the role of earning money versus the role of being a parent and how to work that out within the context of a family. Enjoy the show! Joshua
Direct download: RPF0304-Friday_QA-Full-Time_Mothers_and_Fathers.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 12:00pm MST |
Thu, 3 March 2016
Will you pay less taxes when investing in a Traditional IRA or a Roth IRA? Do you know? Are you sure? If you're not sure, the answer may surprise you. Let me know if you're surprised! Joshua
Direct download: RPF0303-Roth_vs_Traditional_Taxation.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 10:19am MST |
Wed, 2 March 2016
Hey Radicals! If you have emailed me (especially through the contact form on my website) and I haven't personally responded, please assume that I simply never received your message. I'd love to hear from you, so please write again! From July of 2015 until February of 2016 the contact form had a technical glitch that prevented emails from coming through. That means that I missed hundreds of your communications. I'm sorry! We've fixed the problem now, so please try again. I'd enjoy communicating with you personally. I work very hard to respond to all of your emails so it's disheartening to me that many of you have sent me notes to which I never responded. Again, my apologies! Joshua |
Tue, 1 March 2016
Today on the show we answer this question: "Hey Joshua, Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Thu, 25 February 2016
I'm up here in Nashville, TN at the moment and had the opportunity to connect with Dan Miller from 48 Days to the Work You Love. Dan is a legend in the career advice business. He has helped many, many people transition from work that paid the bills to work that they love. Dan has a lifetime's experience as an entrepreneur and in today's interview he shares his advice with us on:
Enjoy! Joshua
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Wed, 24 February 2016
When I began podcasting, I was looking for information and advice. Although I found some good, there was a real paucity of advice from people who had done something like I wanted to do. I've been satisfied with a lot of the progress that I've made with Radical Personal Finance, and I want to give back to the podcast and community. So, in today's show we do not discuss personal finance or money at all. Rather, this show is all about podcasting. It's simply contains the lessons I have learned about podcasting and commentary on the things that have worked and the things that have not worked. I hope this content is useful to you. And I hope that many of you will go out and start your own podcast. Joshua
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Mon, 22 February 2016
I've long admired Jack Spirko and his show "The Survival Podcast" as a voice of reason in an industry fueled by hyperbole and fear. He does a great job of teaching people how to systematically build a lifestyle of resilience and freedom. And, most important, he teaches that everything you do to build a prepared life should make your life better if times get tough...or even if they don't. Enjoy the interview! Joshua
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Fri, 19 February 2016
On Fridays I do Q&A. If you'd like to participate in a show like this, please become a Patron of the show and you will gain access to the information to call in for these shows. www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron Today we cover:
Enjoy! Joshua
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Fri, 19 February 2016
I will be in Nashville, TN next week for a conference. If you're in the area, I would love to meet up with you. Please reach out to me on Twitter and let me know that you'd like to connect. www.twitter.com/joshuasheats
Direct download: Meet_Up_With_Me_in_Nashville_TN_Next_Week_2-22_to_2-25.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 1:11pm MST |
Fri, 19 February 2016
Can a hobby of writing about personal finance lead to becoming financially independent in a very short time? It did for Jim Wang, my guest on today's show. Jim founded the site Bargaineering as a part-time hobby. It quickly became a leading voice in the world of personal finance websites. Ultimately, it led to Jim's becoming financially independent in a shockingly short amount of time. In today's interview, we seek to go behind the story a bit. To learn about the personal story and lessons learned from Jim's experiences. He has a lot to share that's very applicable to all of our lives. Enjoy! Joshua
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Thu, 18 February 2016
My guest today is Ann Barnhardt. I first became aware of Ann in late 2011 after she published a letter detailing the closure of her firm, Barnhardt Capital Management. At the time, this letter troubled me. Many people make strong statements and publish strongly worded essays. But when someone follows through on their word to the point of closing a functioning firm, I pay attention. I never could quite wrap my head around what happened at MF Global in 2011. Frankly, I still can't. But I thought it would be awesome to invite Ann on the show to hear her first-hand experience. She obliged. During the course of our interview we discussed:
Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Mon, 15 February 2016
Over the weekend, I was reading the book "unWorking: Exit the Rat Race, Live Like a Millionaire, And Be Happy Now" by Clark Vandeventer while sitting in a tire repair shop, waiting for my tire to be patched. When I came to this page, I stopped. And then I had an epiphany. When you're very, very clear on what you want, it's simple and easy to decide what to do. But when you don't know what you want, it's almost impossible to decide what to do. So, do you know what you want? Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Mon, 15 February 2016
Friday Q&A show today!
Enjoy! Joshua |
Fri, 12 February 2016
A lot of people in our modern society are very focused on saving for a comfortable retirement. But many people simply aren't going to be able to retire and comfort. I think it's a real mistake to focus first on retiring comfortably if we haven't first made a plan for working comfortably. And today show I'd like to share with you a formula for building a comfortable work life. I believe this is a formula that you can use to assess your current work situation and either appreciate all of the good things about it or make a plan to correct the bad things. Take the concepts in today show and seriously consider your present work situation. Focus on working comfortably first and then, maybe, you'll never even bother with the whole idea of retirement! Enjoy! Joshua Get a $100 bonus when you open a brokerage account with Tradeking. www.tradeking.com/radical |
Tue, 9 February 2016
I'm delighted to have David Hancock on today's show. David is the founder and CEO of Morgan James Publishing. David has a fascinating business history and you'll benefit greatly from hearing his story. He's also an expert at personal branding and marketing. Most importantly, he's figured out how to make an excellent living on his own terms while doing work he loves! Enjoy! Joshua
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Fri, 5 February 2016
I've decided to start doing regular live call-in shows as part of our Friday Q&A. Today we cover these questions:
Enjoy! Joshua
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Thu, 4 February 2016
Do you have some excuses as to why you can't be successful? Well, get ready to get your excuses kicked in. My guest today is Kimanzi Constable. He started his career as a bread delivery driver and hustled his way into becoming a highly paid, internationally-recognized author, speaker, and coach. Along the way, he lost 170 pounds, paid off $180,000 in debt, and learned a thing or two about business. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Tue, 2 February 2016
What makes a bigger difference on your financial outcome: the behavior of your investments or the behavior of you, the investor? Today I have an awesome interview for you with Carl Richards, author of "The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money" and "The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money." Both books are well worth your time. In addition to being a financial advisor, Carl is the awesome dude behind the Sketch Guy column in the New York Times. Enjoy the interview! Joshua
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Mon, 1 February 2016
This weekend a friend of mine asked me for my input on whether they should continue renting their townhome or buy an equivalent unit. It's almost the perfect, real-life case study to consider:
I seized the opportunity to talk it through and run the numbers. Enjoy! Joshua |
Thu, 28 January 2016
Low gas prices have you cheering? Good! But what about when they go back up? Do you have a plan for that? How cool would it be if you could use a fuel other than gasoline in your car? You can! You can run it on wood. My guests today are experts on exactly that. Chris Saenz and Wayne Keith run the website www.DriveOnWood.com Wayne holds a number of world records of driving entirely on woodgas including fastest speed, longest distance, etc.
Enjoy learning how to drive for free! Joshua
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Wed, 27 January 2016
I had the opportunity to attend John Schaub's "Building Wealth One House At a Time" seminar in Sarasota, FL on January 16 & 17, 2016. I've been a fan of Schaub's work for quite a while. After reading his books and many others, I decided that his approach and plan is the approach to real estate that's right for me. So I went to the seminar. I was extremely impressed with the seminar. It was exactly what I hoped it would be. In the show today I share with you:
Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Tue, 26 January 2016
When I was younger I was easily duped by the financial fraudsters that seek to build their empires by deceiving people. Thankfully, I never had any major financial losses, but I was definitely hurt when I discovered how gullible I was. Since then, I've developed some slightly better skills for sniffing out fraud and questionable advice. And in today's show, I share some of my tips with you. I hope that together we can continue to develop our own skills of critical thinking and spread those skills to others. We certainly need more critical thinking across our society! Joshua
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Mon, 25 January 2016
Most of us in the Radical Personal Finance community are pursuing our own financial independence. And most of us want to get there as quickly as possible! But, most of us only have one idea of one way to get there. Did you know there are a bunch of different ways to go job-free and gain financial freedom! I'm excited to bring you my interview with Jake Desyllas, author of "Job Free: Four Ways to Quit the Rat Race and Achieve Financial Freedom on Your Terms." If you have any interest in ever being financially free, this book is a must-read book. (And this interview is a must-listen interview!) Jake has done an incredible job of distilling all the plans and strategies available into a simple, clear framework that you can use to design your ideal financial freedom plan. Enjoy! Joshua
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Fri, 22 January 2016
I talk a lot about business, entrepreneurship, and freedom on Radical Personal Finance. But I probably give short shrift to the incredible benefits of having a job! Our jobs usually provide the foundation we need to support our families, satisfy our responsibilities and obligations, and save the money we need to invest! Today, I share with you 9 benefits I came up with for having a job! Enjoy! Joshua
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Tue, 19 January 2016
Managing money by yourself can be a real challenge. But managing money with your spouse can feel so much harder! But does it have to be that way? Today I have Talaat and Tai from www.HisAndHerMoney.com on the show to discuss the topic with me. They have some deep experience and insight to share with us. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Mon, 18 January 2016
There are three things we control with regard to wealth building: how much we make, how much we spend, and the rate of return we earn on our investments. Those are the only three things you can change and affect. And they're the three things that will make the difference in how wealthy you become. My personal investment strategy has changed and developed over the years. But, going forward, I've decided to invest in real estate. In today's show I share with you some of the back story and some of the reasons I've made this decision. Remember, my goals and skills are different from yours; learn from me, but don't copy me. Enjoy the show! Joshua
Direct download: RPF0281-Why_Ive_Chosen_to_Invest_in_Real_Estate.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 2:52pm MST |
Thu, 14 January 2016
Tonight I'm pleased to bring you an interview with Fritz Gilbert from the website: www.TheRetirementManifesto.com. Fritz is an awesome guy who is just a couple of years away from an early retirement! He's here today to share with us his wisdom and perspective on making a successful transition to retirement. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Wed, 13 January 2016
Many people dream of saving enough money to travel the world. But what if there were a way to get paid to travel the world? There is. It's not a pipe dream. In fact, there's not just one way. There are many, many ways! In today's show we speak with Sara Miner. Sara is a longtime listener and supporter of the show and she and her husband get paid handsomely to do work they care about in adventurous locations around the world. I invited her on to the show to share her story and advice. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Tue, 12 January 2016
Today, we cover this question from a listener: Joshua, I know you get a lot of questions, but I was wondering if you have a radical way to get out of an upside down car loan. I do financial coaching for people in our church who have requested benevolence, and most of them have large car payments - e.g. Someone owes $25,000 on a car worth $15,000. I cannot find a solution that is good (and maybe there is none). Dave Ramsey says borrow the difference so you have a smaller loan, but by the time someone is requesting benevolence, they cannot qualify for borrowing any more. Other ideas of rolling it into another car loan with incentives aren't great either. It is really the $3,000 in negative equity and more that I am looking to solve for. Any radical ideas? Travis
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Fri, 8 January 2016
Today we continue with our "Early Retirement FAQ" series with Arebelspy by tackling the topic of inflation! How do you manage inflation risk in retirement? And, even more important, how do you manage inflation risk in very early retirement? This topic is especially important to Arebelspy because he and his wife just retired at the age of 30 and are now traveling the world together! (Even cooler, they did it while earning schoolteacher salaries!!!) Enjoy! Joshua
Direct download: RPF0277-Early_Retirement_FAQs-Inflation.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 2:15pm MST |
Thu, 7 January 2016
Recently I received this personal note from a personal friend of mine: "My wife suggested I reach out to you for advice as we plan to start saving for our soon-to-be-born-son's education. Hard to believe it's going to be just a few weeks now. I've looked into our state's 529 plan, but wasn't sure if there were better options. Any advice would be greatly appreciated." My advice in response was simple: don't set up a college plan for your young child. It's a bad idea and a poor use of money in light of all the other things you can do with money that are better. Interested? Listen. :) Joshua
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Tue, 5 January 2016
I'm excited to launch a brand-new sponsor here in the new year! Our new sponsor is TradeKing. You should be familiar with the TradeKing name--I previously interviewed the CEO, Don Montanaro, on Episode 240 of the show. I sat down with Don in his Ft. Lauderdale office and we talked about the brokerage business and business model. We discussed:
If you'd like to open a trading account with TradeKing, they will give you an extra $100 if you sign up through my tracking link: http://tradeking.com/radical Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Mon, 4 January 2016
One of my major breakthrough moments in life occurred when I learned that success skills were simply that: skills. The same applies to wealth. Success and wealth are not accidents. People are not wealthy by chance, happenstance, or accident. People become wealthy because: 1. They unconsciously learned the knowledge and applied the skills of wealth; or, For me, that concept was incredibly helpful. As we begin a new year, I encourage you to focus on the skills that you need to identify, learn, and perfect during 2016 that will ultimately lead to wealth. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Fri, 18 December 2015
Hey Radicals, I'm in the process of shutting the show down for 2015 and heading off for the holidays. Before I go, I simply want to share a personal greeting with you and a few quick, encouraging thoughts. Listen to the episode! Merry Christmas to you and yours. May you and your family be richly blessed this holiday season and may 2016 be your best year ever! Love, Joshua |
Thu, 17 December 2015
The skill of budgeting is one of the major skills that drives the level of success you achieve in life. But it's a skill that's not only applicable to money but also to other areas of life. In today's show I share with you my ideas on budgeting:
Enjoy the show! Joshua
Direct download: RPF0273-Budgeting_Time_Money_and_Food.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 2:09pm MST |
Tue, 15 December 2015
I was honored with a very cool mention in a New York Times article yesterday (link below) and I thought it a perfect time to build on the subject of how to increase your income! In today's show, I share with you my complete framework for increasing your income. The show is heavy on strategy--you'll have to fill in the specific tactics appropriate for your situation. We cover:
Enjoy the show! Joshua Links:
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Fri, 11 December 2015
I enjoy YouTube. But it's tough to find a good personal finance YouTube channel! Thankfully, there's at least one! My guests today are Mike and Lauren. They are awesome personal finance and early retirement YouTube personalities. We were able to connect for an interview at #FinCon15 so that I could bring you their story. Why should you listen? Well, perhaps you'd like to know how they're on track to retire by the age of 30 even though they never made a ton of money or sold a business. It's all here! Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Wed, 9 December 2015
Following up on yesterday's show, I share with you today 9 myths surrounding the topic of home ownership. These are things that I used to believe and I learned (through the process of owning my own home) that I was wrong. Learn from my mistakes and consider how many of the things we commonly believe about home ownership might not be quite so true as we wish! Enjoy! Joshua
Direct download: RPF0270-Myths_and_Facts_of_Home_Ownership.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 12:47pm MST |
Tue, 8 December 2015
This past Friday we closed on the sale of our house. We owned it for just under three years. When we bought it we had intended to own it for 40 years. Why did we sell? The full story is here in this episode of the show! Check it out and learn from our successes and our failures! Joshua
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Fri, 4 December 2015
Many of us have made mistakes on our way to financial stability. Hopefully we've learned from those mistakes--but wouldn't it be fantastic if we could help the next generation to avoid some of those mistakes? My guest today is Rocky Lalvani. He's a long-time listener of the show, contributor, and Patron. We connected in-person at #FinCon15 and sat down for this interview! Rocky has an awesome immigrant rags-to-riches story that you'll enjoy. He also has a depth of experience in training his children to be financially strong. Enjoy! Joshua
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Wed, 2 December 2015
267-Automate your Spreadsheets and Simplify Your Accounting with Tiller: Interview with Peter Polson
While I was in Charlotte for #FinCon15, I connected briefly with a man named Peter Polson who told me about a new tool he had built to automate the creation of financial spreadsheets. After I got home I signed up for his service and started testing it. I like it! And I think some of you will find it very useful. The Tiller service is a way to automate the import of financial data to your spreadsheets. This eliminates the most time-consuming part of creating spreadsheets and opens up a world of possibilities! Listen to the interview! And, if you'd like, try the service free for two months by using my link: www.tillerhq.com/radical Enjoy! Joshua
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Wed, 25 November 2015
Does being frugal and building financial independence mean that you can't have any fun? And, is it possible to get through college on a budget and still have fun? Today we have a fun discussion with Martin Dasko from the personal finance blog Studenomics. Martin has an awesome approach to teaching young men and women how to build financial independence without missing a party! Enjoy! Joshua
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Tue, 24 November 2015
It's easy to jump into holiday mode, but don't jump just yet! Let's keep our work boots on and learn just a little bit about investing today before we get into the Thanksgiving holiday. My guest today is Rick Ferri, founder of a company called Portfolio Solutions. Rick is a really great guy and a real expert at investing and portfolio construction. You'll hear his detailed background in the show and I think you'll come away from today's episode with a deeper sense of respect for what he's doing. Enjoy! Joshua
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Mon, 23 November 2015
Today on Radical Personal Finance I'm pleased to introduce you to a brand-new sponsor! And, it's a sponsor who will help you save some cash! I've been aware of SoFi for quite awhile and they were high on my list of brainstormed potential sponsors for the show. I was finally able to connect with them at #FinCon15 in Charlotte this year and to hammer out the terms of a sponsorship agreement. SoFi is a very cool new company that is bringing real innovation to the lending space. They got their start by helping people refinance student loans but now they're aggressively expanding to other areas as well. My guest today is one of the co-founders, Dan Macklin. Sit back and enjoy the story of entrepreneurship and industry-changing innovation! Joshua
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Fri, 20 November 2015
During October and November I've been doing a weekly conference call with Patrons of the show. We've been talking about all kinds of interesting subjects! On today's call we chatted about:
Enjoy! Joshua
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Thu, 19 November 2015
We talk a lot about diversification within the context of investments. But what about diversification of your income? After all, how risky is it for you to depend on a single source of income to fund your life and lifestyle? The paradox is this: the more specialized you become in your career, the more you can earn. But the more specialized you are, the riskier your income is! The challenge is for us to figure out how to reconcile these two things. Today, I share my thoughts on the subject with you. Enjoy! Joshua
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Tue, 17 November 2015
BiggerPockets.com is the largest real estate resource online--perhaps in the world. Today we have Josh Dorkin, the founder of Bigger Pockets, on the show to share the story with us. The story is a classic case of an entrepreneurial endeavor gone well. Sit back, pay attention, and learn the lessons and themes of how one person went from struggling real estate investor to become king of a real estate empire. Enjoy! Joshua
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Mon, 16 November 2015
The word "trust" has a bit of a mystique in the modern financial world. It's a word that everyone knows (we all know a "trust fund kid") but few people understand and even fewer understand accurately. Trusts are both simple and complex. They're simple in concept but can be quite complex in application. Today I share with you some basic background on trusts and trust planning. I also share with you some thoughts regarding the use of a revocable living trust within the context of your personal estate planning. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Fri, 13 November 2015
Wouldn't it be cool if you could work really hard for a few years, save aggressively, and then quit your job and travel the world? Today's guest has done just that. Today I have Brandon, the Mad Fientist, and his wife Jill on the show! Brandon recently hit his Financial Independence number and he and Jill hit the road for some long-term travel. Enjoy this interview where we dig into what's great about financial independence and what ain't so great. Enjoy! Joshua
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Tue, 10 November 2015
I'm thrilled to bring Jay Fleischman back on the show. Jay was a guest on Episode 214 of the show and it was a popular show and I received a lot of great feedback. Most importantly, I learned a ton from the interview! Today, Jay and I tackle the actual process of analysis. If you have student loans, Jay gives you the step-by-step action plan for what you need to do in order to analyze your options. We're also launching Jay as the newest sponsor of Radical Personal Finance. He's a perfect fit for a sponsor and I think he'll be able to serve you in some really wonderful ways. Listen to the show. Then:
Enjoy the show! Joshua |
Fri, 6 November 2015
Ever wondered about the basics of estate planning? Today's show is a simple overview of the major estate planning documents. We talk about wills, living wills, and powers of attorney and discuss what they mean and why they're important. This is not a technical deep-dive; this is a light and friendly overview. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Thu, 5 November 2015
Many of us are focused on the primary goal of transitioning from work that doesn't suit us to work that does. After all, if we can solve the work conundrum, our lifestyle can be massively improved even if we're not yet rich! My guest today is Jeff Goins and he has blazed the trail ahead of us and has successfully made the transition to a career he loves. Even better, he's written a book on how you can do the same thing! Enjoy the interview and the learning! Joshua
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Wed, 4 November 2015
It happens to so many people: your car breaks down at an inconvenient time and you're facing a massive repair bill. The stress starts to mount and you find yourself wondering--should I just go out and buy a new one? Or, sometimes worse, you feel like every other week you're flushing money down the drain to fix your car and you're getting tired of it. Feeling totally frustrated, you're tempted to trot out and assuage the headache with a new car. Should you do it? How should you try to assess your options and make the decision? That's the question I tackle in today's show. Listen in and let me know what you think! Joshua
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Mon, 2 November 2015
I had the opportunity to connect with JD Roth, one of the most well-known personal finance bloggers in the industry while I was in Charlotte, NC at #FinCon15. We had a great interview. We talked in detail about JD's personal story with finance and how he set out to Get Rich Slowly--and wound up getting rich fast. We also talk about the great things and not-so-great things that resulted from the journey! Enjoy the interview! Joshua
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Tue, 27 October 2015
Today I'm sharing with you the audio from the live conference call I recently hosted for all the Patrons of Radical Personal Finance. This was a super-fun experience for me! Having the live interaction was fun. Topics included:
Enjoy! Joshua
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Mon, 26 October 2015
Shannon McLay from the "Martinis and Your Money" podcast invited me on her show last month to talk about life insurance as part of "Life Insurance Awareness" month. Enjoy this interview with me where I share all of my advice and thoughts about how to approach the life insurance situation. The original interview with Shannon appears on her site here: http://financially-blonde.com/radical-thoughts-on-life-insurance/ Joshua |
Thu, 22 October 2015
Have you ever thought about writing a book? If you have, you're part of the 80% of Americans that dream of doing just that! But how do you go about it? And, perhaps more importantly, why should you consider it? Today I present to you an interview with my personal publishing coach, Patrick Snow. Patrick is an international best-selling author, professional speaker, publishing, speaking, and book marketing coach. He's already been tremendously helpful to me as I work on my first book and I look forward to continuing to work with him! Enjoy this episode where we talk about the business of writing and why you should write and publish a book. Enjoy! Joshua
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Tue, 20 October 2015
Let's put our work boots on today and dig into some of the science of financial planning. We've been doing a lot of fluffy, motivational-type stuff on Radical Personal Finance recently. That stuff is really valuable but it needs to be tempered with some serious knowledge. Today, let's talk about annuities. Annuities get a bad rap in the financial marketplace. And rightly so. They've been shamefully misrepresented, oversold, and abused by many insurance agents. But do they have a place? Can they be an incredibly useful tool in the toolbelt of a good financial planner? I believe so. In today's show I work to share with you some background and structure about annuities. This will help you to understand the words involved and the different product structures available. We talk about:
Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Mon, 19 October 2015
We've generally been trained how to think about finance by the financial services industry. Their plan for your finances? Well, each step involves a financial product of some sort or another. But what if we think a little more strategically? Could we get better results? I think so. After speaking with today's guest, Doug Goldstein, I think that the metaphor of chess is a good way to train our thinking. Doug is the co-author of a book titled: Rich as a King: How the Wisdom of Chess Can Make You a Grandmaster of Investing. Enjoy this interview as we discuss how to approach finances like a chess game! Joshua Links:
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Wed, 14 October 2015
One of the benefits that $200/mo. Patrons of Radical Personal Finance get is being able to choose a topic of the show. Here's the note that prompted today's episode: Joshua, Double income medium- to high-earning couples frequently ask me how to lower their taxes (the second income is at a higher rate of >28%, plus state 3.75% and social security 7.65 or 40% all in). I'm assuming I'm missing things. What do you have to say on the subject? One reason my wife doesn't work is that its not worth it. Thanks, Patron Today's episode includes my response and advice for how couples can approach this conundrum! Joshua
Direct download: RPF0249-Tax_Reduction_for_Dual_Income_Couples.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 12:06pm MST |
Tue, 6 October 2015
The most challenging question that I get asked on Radical Personal Finance is this: "Joshua, how do I find a great financial advisor?" It's hard because there are great advisors at most (all?) firms and there are terrible advisors at most (all?) firms. More importantly, there are different advisors for different stages of life and different levels of need. Unfortunately, all these get lumped together under the term "financial advisor," which is, itself, a non-specific and mostly useless term which could refer to any number of job descriptions. However, I still try to answer the question. And today, I'm working to answer it with a new sponsor: Paladin Registry. This show is an interview with Jack Waymire, the founder of Paladin Registry and it contains an in-depth interview discussing the challenges and process of finding a great financial advisor. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Fri, 2 October 2015
After a way-too-long hiatus, Friday Q&A is back! On today's show, we cover:
Enjoy! Joshua
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Thu, 1 October 2015
Sometimes you discover something that's been out there for years and you want to smack yourself in the head for not tuning in to it sooner. That's how I feel when it comes to YNAB. (For the uninitiated YNAB stands for You Need A Budget.) I was reintroduced to YNAB by my own listeners (the full story is in this episode) and today I'm thrilled to introduce YNAB as a sponsor of Radical Personal Finance! Check out this interview with Jesse Mecham, the founder of YNAB for an introduction to him, his story, and the YNAB company. It's a super interesting story of entrepreneurship, growth, and the creation of an awesome product which fits a real need that most of us have. Enjoy! Joshua
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Fri, 25 September 2015
I love to talk with people who have achieved financial independence. But I especially love to talk to those financially independent people who have achieved it in a very accessible way! Frankly, it's hard to relate to a tech titan who sells their latest greatest app company for a billion dollars. But I can relate to someone who has simply worked hard, saved aggressively, invested conservatively, built an entrepreneurial side hustle and achieved their results over time! My guest today is Scott Alan Turner and he's done exactly that. Sit back, relax, and enjoy his story! And make sure to take special note of how you can copy and model him and his success. Enjoy! Joshua
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Thu, 24 September 2015
When I was younger my brothers and I spent lots of time talking about how to make our millions of dollars with passive income. Two businesses seem to be prominent when you go down that line of thinking as a young person: car washes and vending machines. We didn't pursue either of those businesses. But much later I did wind up working with some clients who had a vending business. And I was intrigued by their business. My guest today is a vending expert. Matt Miller started his vending business the hard way and built it slowly. Over time, he wound up finding a new niche for his vending products: stickers. He's since gone on to create a franchise to teach others how to do what he has done. Enjoy his wisdom, experience, and insight! Joshua
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Wed, 23 September 2015
Interpersonal skills of relationship are a huge deal and your mastery of them will massively impact your level of success in life. All else being equal, people would rather do business with people they know, like, and trust. All else NOT being equal, people would STILL rather do business with people they know, like, and trust! So, this is an area that we should give attention to. My guest today has devoted years to studying, mastering, and teaching interpersonal skills. Jordan Harbinger is the co-founder of the highly successful Art of Charm. I caught up with him at Podcast Movement 2015 and invited him on the show to share some lessons with us. He delivered. Enjoy the interview! Joshua
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Tue, 22 September 2015
Money in marriage is an extremely challenging area of life. Researchers often say that money fights and money problems is the number one cause of marital stress. My guest today is Derek Olsen. He and his wife Carrie have written a book called "One Bed, One Bank Account: Better Conversations on Marriage and Money." I was able to catch up with him at Podcast Movement 2015 where we dug into the major questions of how to handle money together. Make sure to stay tuned at the end of the episode. There's a 30-minute bonus episode on the radical lifestyle that they are living! Joshua Links:
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Mon, 21 September 2015
I had the opportunity to sit down with Casey Lewis while I was in Fort Worth, Texas a couple months ago. Casey has worked his way through his own money transformation and he has a lot of experience and wisdom to share about the process. Along the way, we discuss:
Enjoy! Joshua
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Sat, 19 September 2015
I'm here at #FinCon15 in Charlotte, NC this week and I had the privelege of interviewing Don Montanaro, the CEO (and co-founder) of TradeKing! We recorded this episode live on the #FinCon15 podcasting stage on September 18, 2015. We cover the details of:
Enjoy! Joshua
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Thu, 17 September 2015
It might seem like the only way to make money in today's world is to create and sell a digital product. It's not. Frankly, the physical product world is probably much less crowded than the digital world! My guest today is Andreea Ayers. She is awesome. She created a business that made and sold yoga-themed tshirts. Then, she created a business that sold soaps. Now, she's taken her success and experience with her own brands and turned it into a consulting business where she helps others to duplicate her success. It's a super fun interview. Enjoy! Joshua Links:
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Thu, 17 September 2015
I love to bring financial advisors onto Radical Personal Finance in order to break down the barriers of communication between advisors and the general public. Katie Brewer is a financial planner based in Texas. She specializes in working with Gen X and Gen Y clients. I invited her onto the show to dig into what's different about planning for Gen X and Gen Y clients as compared to the general public. Also, I grilled her on the reality of what it's like to actually build a financial planning practice from scratch. Enjoy! Joshua
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Mon, 14 September 2015
My guest today is Anthony Tran. Anthony is the Founder of Marketing Access Pass, an All-in-One Online Marketing Training and Services website. Enjoy! Joshua
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Fri, 11 September 2015
236-Another Financial Advisor Turned Podcaster! Interview With Joe Saul-Sehy from Stacking Benjamins
I'm not the only former financial advisor who became a podcaster. My friend Joe Saul-Sehy has trod the same path! We had the opportunity to catch up at the Podcast Movement conference and we were able to talk shop about the financial advisory business. Enjoy! Joshua
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Thu, 10 September 2015
I met Aaron Walker at the Podcast Movement Conference in Fort Worth last month. After listening a bit to his story, I immediately invited him onto the show to share some of his experience with us. Aaron is a serial entrepreneur. He's developed pawn stores, built homes, and run coaching groups. Interestingly, he's a long-time member of a study group with Dave Ramsey, Ken Abraham, Dan Miller as well as some other notable Nashville businessmen. This leads to some interesting insight into some of those gentlemen! Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Tue, 1 September 2015
I met Bryan Norris at the Podcast Movement conference in Fort Worth, Texas. I'm glad I did. Brian is a professional numismatist and a real expert in rare coins and money. Numismatic coins are an interest of mine and I was thrilled to bring him on the show. We cover:
Enjoy this one! Joshua
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Mon, 31 August 2015
Happy Monday, Radicals! This morning I want to share a few experiences I'm grateful for and use it as an opportunity to encourage you as you begin your week. I've been tremendously blessed over the past weeks by many friends and family members who have volunteered their time and talents to help me in my time of need. I'll never be able to repay them. And yet, if an opportunity arises, I will work to repay them because I now have social debt. And, I'll be happy to work to repay them. In today's show I share with you some simple thoughts around the social giving economy and some encouragement for you to focus on being a "Go-Giver" towards others. It's a character trait that may help you tremendously in your time of need. Enjoy! Joshua
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Thu, 27 August 2015
Climbing the corporate ladder is time-tested and proven path to income and impact. And the cool thing about this approach to career success is that you can begin where you are and simply start working the process. My guest today did just that. Lee Cockerell started with few advantages. After a stint in the military he took a job as a waiter in a Hilton hotel and went to work. He finished his 41-year corporate career as the Executive Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World responsible for 40,000 cast members. After retiring from the corporate world he transitioned to teaching leadership and sharing the principles of success that he has learned with others. Lee is a dynamic guy and a wealth of information and inspiration. Enjoy the interview! Joshua
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Tue, 25 August 2015
Over the last few days global securities markets have been rocked with massive losses. Naturally, times like this should cause us to seriously consider our investment strategy and take a look to see what the appropriate response might be. Many of us have a significant amount of our life savings invested in public securities markets and it can be frightening to see the impact of the declines in market prices. But what should we do? In this episode I share with you some ideas and ways of thinking which you can apply to your situation. Take a few moments to consider the input and assess your personal strategy. Enjoy! Joshua
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Thu, 13 August 2015
I love hearing entrepreneurship stories because they speak to me of people who clarify what they want and pursue it aggressively. Vision is required for you to be willing to leave the bed of employment where things are comfortable and warm and pursue the rocky world of entrepreneurship. The road isn't easy. But it can be easier if you will build a financial foundation underneath you before you launch. My guest today is Cliff Ravenscraft, best known as the Podcast Answer Man. Cliff has an amazing entrepreneurial story and today I get to bring it to you in great detail. Cliff openly shares where and how he started and the steps that he has taken to bring him to his current level of financial success. Pay attention: he's experienced the joy of living on the $11,000 of profit he earned in his first year (not easy to live on that amount) and the joy of earning over $500,000 gross income last year. Learn from his story. Enjoy! Joshua
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Wed, 12 August 2015
Effective tomorrow, 8/13/15, the global headquarters of Radical Personal Finance will be moving! I'm about to start unplugging my computers and microphone but I wanted to make sure to ship today's show before doing that. So, I decided to share with you how I've approcahed this decision to move. I think it will be helpful for you to consider how to Think Slow, Move Fast, and Prioritize Your Life. Now, time will tell if it worked for me or not! :) Joshua
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Tue, 11 August 2015
228-How and Why to Buy a Car for Cash: Interview with James Kinson from the Cash Car Convert Podcast
At the recent Podcast Movement conference in Fort Worth, Texas, I had the opportunity to connect with James Kinson, host of the Cash Car Convert podcast. James has a fun story to share and some great lessons to teach. He's a long-time car guy who got the debt-free religion and changed his car-buying habits. To his delight, he's wound up a good deal richer than ever before! He's got some great lessons to share and in this show we discuss:
Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Mon, 10 August 2015
As we head into the back-to-school season in the United States, I've been thinking a lot about the value of college and I've come up with a framework that I think will be useful to you. I see the 5 major benefits of college as these:
It's helpful to identify these benefits. But it's more important to understand how to manipulate the system to maximize your opportunities with each of them. Once you understand, you can design your own radical path to success. Enjoy the show! Joshua
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Thu, 6 August 2015
I recently returned from the Podcast Movement Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. While I was there I had the opportunity to interview Danny Peña the day before he was inducted into the Podcasters Hall of Fame. For the last ten years, Danny has built Gamertag Radio into a major voice of influence in the video game industry. And, he's built a business out of a passion. Listen to the interview to hear:
Enjoy, Joshua Links:
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Fri, 31 July 2015
"Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time" by Brian Tracy is an absolute goldmine of a book. Without question, this is a 5-star book. Before you read it though, it's important for you to understand what it is and what it isn't. It's not a deep-dive treatise of productivity systems; rather, it's an overview of the core principles of productivity that you need in order to organize your life around accomplishing more, meaningful things that will move you toward your goals. It's short, fast, and pithy. Tracy begins with the big picture focus of making sure you're doing the right things--planning the things to do that directly tie to your goals and things that are going to have the biggest impact on your achievement of those goals. Then he continues with the practical suggestions to help you actually do those things. Here's my recommendation: get the audiobook version and listen to it on the first of every month for the next 60 months. Even if you did nothing else for your personal development and improvement it would be enough to catapult you into the upper tiers of your company and career. Enjoy! Joshua
Direct download: Short_Book_Review-Eat_That_Frog_by_Brian_Tracy.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 6:00am MST |
Thu, 30 July 2015
I'm not able to record and release a show for you today so I'm releasing an interview that I gave on the Voluntary Life podcast with Jake Desyllas regarding Tax Strategies and Financial Freedom. This is Part 2 of a 2-part series. The interview was originally released on June 21, 2015. Enjoy! Joshua
Direct download: TVL_E210_joshua_sheats_interview_part_2.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 3:00am MST |
Wed, 29 July 2015
I'm not able to record and release a show for you today so I'm releasing an interview that I gave on the Voluntary Life podcast with Jake Desyllas regarding Tax Strategies and Financial Freedom. This is Part 1 of a 2-part series. The interview was originally released on July 14, 2015. Enjoy! Joshua
Direct download: TVL_E209_joshua_sheats_interview_part_1.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 3:00pm MST |
Wed, 29 July 2015
Good morning, Radicals! Two quick announcements for you this morning:
Have a great weekend! Joshua
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Fri, 24 July 2015
(audio from a video book review) All else being equal, people would rather spend time with, work with, buy from, and help those that they like. The skill of being likeable and helping people to like you is thus a very useful life skill and can be an important component of your success toolbox. Boothman establishes two beautiful aspects to being likeable: 1. It’s a learned skill. This means that no matter who you are and where you’re starting from, you can improve and develop your skills so that others like you more and more quickly. 2. It’s an honest and ethical practice. Even though the title has the typical “self-help schmarminess,” there is nothing tricky or conniving about the tools and tactics in the book. You would want everyone in your life to understand the concepts of this book and to practice them continually in their relationship with you. Ultimately, likeability largely boils down to active listening and we all crave friends who are careful, active listeners. This book is not deep. Boothman doesn’t dig into science research or discuss a lot of history. Rather, it’s useful and practical. You can immediately learn and apply the content. I appreciate that! I listened to the audiobook version and I enjoyed listening to it in the author’s own voice. He does an excellent job conveying the emotion and tone of his work. However, I purchased the written version so that I would be able to access the outline and notes for reference and so that I could do some of the exercises contained within it. The book was published in 2000, so there are plenty of used copies available for $0.01. Also, the Kindle version is a downright bargain at $2.51! http://amzn.to/1LW3D2z Enjoy the book! Joshua
Direct download: Short_Book_Review-How_to_Make_People_Like_You_in_90_Seconds_or_Less_by_Nicholas_Boothman.mp3
Category:podcast -- posted at: 7:15am MST |
Fri, 24 July 2015
I've got a very special interview for you today with Tom Corley. Tom is an accountant and financial planner by trade. He began interviewing his wealthy clients to try to understand what they do differently than other people. Over time, his research expanded to additional interviews with poor people in an attempt to understand their lifestyles and habits. This research formed the foundation for his first book, "Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals." After a slow start, the book gained traction and attention and he followed it with his next book, "Rich Kids: How to Raise Our Children to be Happy and Successful in Life." But what I found most interesting was Tom's personal story. Through the course of the interview, you'll hear me draw out the parallels between Tom's personal life and his books. I'll also draw out how his life has changed as he began to implement the rich habits that he learned from his wealthy interviewees. Enjoy! Joshua
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