Brad and Jonathan discuss an evening of FI and how to be a storyteller.
Richmond Screening Of Playing With FIRE
The June 19th showing of Playing with FIRE was a hit. Over 500 people turned out for an evening of Financial Independence.
It just made me realize the scale of what the movement is. That was to me the biggest takeaway.
The volunteers behind the screens really made this event happen.
Shout Out To Ed
Ed is a key volunteer of the ChooseFI movement. Without Ed and his vision, the infrastructure of ChooseFI may not be what it is today. He volunteers many hours a week to help spread the ChooseFI message, especially to underserved communities.
Ed has helped build a team that is spreading an amazing message of FIRE. Thanks Ed!
FI 101
Our new course is going live soon. FI 101 is intended to be a resource for the community. With the information in the course, it should help people take action.
If you can incorporate the aggregation of marginal gains in your life, and that of your family, your friends, and your network is going to be so much better.
Sign up for the waitlist to take this course here. Please take it and send us feedback. We want to know what you think!
Why Everyone Needs To Be A Storyteller
Today, Christine is back on the show to share her best tips for becoming an amazing storyteller. Since founding her business, A Little Local Flavor, she has honed this useful skill.
Although you may not want to start a food tour side hustle, being a good tour guide and storyteller is useful in many situations. Whether you are running a meeting or on a conference call, being an effective communicator is useful. Plus, being the person that knows where to go will make you a valuable friend to have.
Being an effective communicator is just so important in the day to day life.
If you are interested in building a side hustle through storytelling, then what are you waiting for?
If you limit yourself to a completely original thought that nobody has ever had before then it’s probably going to unnecessarily limit what you come up with.
You can add your own unique selling proposition to anything. Make your side hustle your own!
How To Build A Storyteller Skill Set
When you start to explore your city with the eyes of a tour guide, seek out the stories.
Try to talk to people that know a lot about the city. And really start figuring out the stories of people that have made your city what it is today because I promise you are gonna uncover some real gems.
When you find a good restaurant or bar, get to know the staff. Find out what the story behind the business is. The most important thing you can do is to practice.
I can tell you. Day one of being a tour guide, my tour was probably terrible.
Take action and start learning. Test out your abilities by seeing whether or not people pay attention when you tell a story.
Listen to the full episode with Christine here.
Community Feedback
Let’s see what’s happening in our community.
Local Group Shout Out: Baltimore
The ChooseFI local group in Baltimore had it most successful meet up yet. Alex, the leader, interviewed a member of the community that is FIRE. The group discussed his drawdown strategy and learned in the process.
The next meetup is on August 10th to discuss solar panels in depth!
Voicemail From Maria
Hi, Jonathan and brad. My name is Maria Bell and I’m here in Richmond along with you guys. And back in January my sister turned me onto the ChooseFI podcast.
My husband and I are in our mid-50s and while we have been saving since we’ve been in our 20s we didn’t really know that much about the index funds and we just kind of let things ride and thought we were making the best choices. We’ve been car payment free and consumer debt free for 4 years. I haven’t taken a paycheck for years. 100% of my pay goes into my retirement and we’ve got a couple of rental properties but when I discovered your show I realized that I had not been optimizing everything that I could. My friends thought I was crazy when I gave up my cable four years ago and the landline.And now I’m realizing that I was on my way to FI but it just wasn’t happening quick enough.
I just want to thank you guys so much for everything that you do. I know I’ve reached out to you on Facebook and I’m stoked about watching playing with fire tonight at the Byrd Theatre and meeting both of you. But I just want to let you know as someone who is in front of groups of people all the time such as myself, that I am spreading the message. And I am hoping to change other peoples lives because I know a lot of the people that you feature on your show tend to be in their 30s and 40s. But there are 50 and 60-year-olds out there who think they will never be able to retire and they have these lavish lifestyles and they are going to work themselves into the grave because they think that’s what’s normal. And we are trying to influence our community and not only hit our FI but to do it early, earlier than norm. So thank you so much for all that you do and yes I am truly addicted.
Voicemail From David
With ChooseFI, David got his wife on board with the FI lifestyle. He wanted to share two pieces of advice:
- Uber credit card. As an alternative to a premium travel credit card, David has the Uber credit card. It offers free cell phone insurance which saves him around $240 a year. Plus, it offers a $50 credit for streaming services.
- Affordable executive MBA program. He recently got an online MBA through Smartly for just $4,500 instead of up to $130,000 for another program. It is a great way to get new skills without paying a premium.
Although Brad and Jonathan do not buy phone insurance, it was a good tip for someone that does.
Look for cards that have the little perks that you get value from.
For Brad and Jonathan, premium travel cards make more sense based on the values in their life. If you are interested in learning more about travel rewards, then check out the free course here.
Related Episodes
New to FI? Be sure to check out Episode 100: Welcome To The FI Community!
