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An Introduction to the Simple Life Together Podcast
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Welcome! We’ve waited a long time to get started on this and we’re so excited to finally “get it out there.” So, in the show we give you an introduction to us, a little bit about our background, what “simple” means to us, and then we talk about our format for the show.
We shared the major “pillars” of our life plan, highlighting that our focus is on the following:
– Faith
– Family
– Friends
– Finances
– Future
Ok, so here’s how we envision the Format of the show:
Every episode, we’ll each pick topics for discussion. Vanessa’s will likely focus on organizing, the household or her business and Dan’s will likely be centered around technology, business or DIY projects. Together, we’ll also focus on family issues/kids, our relationships, future plans, designing our lifestyle, etc. These are just some areas, but we haven’t set any boundaries because life has endless topics.
We’ll also have a segment where we each pick one thing per episode that we want to highlight…something that’s had a positive impact on us since the last show. It could be an app, an experience we had, a conversation, a product, whatever. We tried to come up with a name for this thing, whatever it is, and in the end we just decided to call it ”The Thing.”
Our commitment for the show:
– Nearly complete candor…but some things you know you can’t just put “out there”
– Little sugar coating because life isn’t always sweet and besides, we’re low carb eaters
– Imperfection…because nobody’s perfect. Perfect is the enemy of really good. Our goal is to produce a really good (but simple) show.
– Open to feedback and new topics! We want you to be part of the show because that’s how we all learn
– Not too much structure…because we’ve both had jobs that pegged-out the “structure meter” and now we like our lives to be a little more “freeform.”
A little bit about us…
– We both have our own businesses, which really helps with designing our simply life together
– Dan is retired from his first career and now does Business Development Consulting helping niche business with their branding, media presence, and strategic planning.
– Vanessa is a Professional Organizer and helps clients simplify and organize their lives, at home and at work so they have more time to focus on what’s truly important to them, too.
So that’s what we do for a living and I’m sure we’ll share more about ourselves as we go along.
What Simple Means to Us
– Actually having time to enjoy life with those we love
– Living within our means
– Not being slaves to our possessions
– Embracing the concept of “less is more”
– Living more deliberately
– Focusing on our endstate and how we want our lives to be in the long run
– Less distress (negative stress), more eustress (positive stress)
The Thing Segment:
Vanessa: Not compare herself to others
Dan: Quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Closing Thoughts:
We hope you join us on the journey
If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes
If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com
There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !
Be sure to leave comments below or send us a voicemail. Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome!
Links we mentioned in the show:
Tim Ferriss 4HWW Deferred Retirement Plan
Michael Hyatt’s Life Plan
Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!
Found you through Cliff’s podcast – great first show, I look forward to catching up and then keeping up with it. You have inspired me to continue on with my own simple living podcast, that I recorded twice and then stopped, and have been waffling about whether to keep it going.
Wow! Thanks for the feedback, Emily! Yeah, Cliff has been a great resource as we started the show and I’m glad I can call him Friend.” So glad you decided to start your podcast back up. Be sure to let us know how to find it, ok? The more “simple stuff” we can get the better! Enjoy the rest of the episodes…it’ll be great to have you listening!
Hi Vanessa and Dan,
I have been following the posts on Get Simplifized for some time now and I love it! I finally listened to your first podcast and was very impressed. You both sound great, like you have been doing radio all of your lives. Thanks for the link to Michael Hyatt’s website. I downloaded the eBook “Creating Your Personal Life Plan” and will be reading that soon. I was just talking to my husband about how I don’t really feel in total control of my life. I finished my MBA just last week and now I’m looking for a good starting position in the area of project management, my degree concentration. Things in the world today just seem so chaotic and I often feel at the mercy of circumstances. I like the perspectives you both offer on simplifying life and living on your own terms. I’m going to gradually work my way through the other shows and try to catch up. Thanks for the inspiration and great content.
Hi, Lisa and thanks! So glad you enjoy the show! Yeah…”who knew” we’d be any good at this? It’s a little different from running around Bullis like back in the day! We have a lot of fun recording the show and (you know us), we keep each other laughing along the way.
Wow! Congrats on the MBA! That must have taken some serious dedication. I hope you find position that fits your passion. There’s nothing that beats that. If you’re not sure what that might be then going through Mike’s Life Plan will help as long as you “let” yourself be truly, truly honest. Like most self-help type things, the value is in the honesty of the process. Again, I hope it helps. Down the road, we may tweak our plan a bit. We like the way Michael laid it out, but we may change it with more of an emphasis on simplicity…go figure. I was with him for a few days recently and left with the impression that he may be expanding on his plan as well. We’ll see.
Keep in touch as you go through the episodes. We’re always open to feedback! Take care!
Lisa, If I knew then (back in the Air Force) what I know now I’d do things so much differently! I too felt at the mercy of circumstance…or ridiculously short supspenses from MAJCOM/higher headquarters…ha-ha!!!! But I’m in love with learning new ways to slowly have more control over my life and priorities. We don’t have things totally figured out yet…but it gets better and better. With each podcast we learn more and more about ourselves and what we want out of life…and we’re thrilled it’s having the same impact on our listeners. Thanks!
Finally! I’m thrilled to have found your site! My husband and I are in the process of “retiring”. I put that in quotes because we are both 48. Way too young to retire, right? We have been conditioned to work & save for our “retirement”. So we’ve been doing that. My husband joined the military right out of high school, we married right after he finished basic training. Had a son soon there after. Started with nothing and living off of about $1000/month. We built up our life with lots of “things”. Trying to keep up with the Joneses, of course. Got swept away in that whole world of consumerism, ugh!
Now we are in our, almost, dream house with tons of stuff. I believe this house is just a large storage unit for all of it. Our only debt is the house and a RV. My husband is retired from the military going on almost 7 years now. He’s been working for DoD the last few years and has loved his job. But with health issues starting to creep up and boredom with his job settling in, we have been talking about just this topic of living simpler, enjoying more time relaxing and living with intent & purpose. We’ve known many people who work, save and retire only to not be able to enjoy that time for one reason or another (old age, bad health or an unfortunate disability). My husband’s pension from the military could support us. And we are still young enough to work if we need to at any point. We each have our own businesses that produce a small amount of income and that we can continue to do. Becoming “free” from our possessions and living on less is something we strive for.
We have been decluttering, purging and cleaning for the last few months and it is an overwhelming task. So overwhelming I’m listening to your podcasts and not tending to what really needs to be done. :/
I’m excited to now have somewhere I can come and get some motivation when I’m burned out of decluttering, cleaning, etc. We really thought we might be the only delusional people out there thinking we can do this at our age. Although our friends and family have been super supportive, they may just be laughing behind our backs because we might just be out of our minds. Although it is super scary to leave what you have become so accustomed to, it’s also exhilarating looking forward to our new chapter and adventure in our life.
Thank you for putting yourselves out there for people like us that need some sort of support. You have a new fan and follower!
Angie…you’re definitely not too young to retire! We can totally relate to everything you shared about keeping up with the Joneses, working for the deferred retirement plan (hoping your healthy enough to enjoy it), etc. It sounds like you are totally in the right frame of mind and on track with working towards simplifying your life. And you’re right…it’s not easy to declutter and simplify…and it certainly doesn’t just happen overnight, but you’ll get there…at least to a point where you feel more in control and deliberate about the simple life you want to live. I know it’s scary. Heck I remember being scared out of my mind when I left the Air Force and going from a two income family down to one. I had no idea how we’d make it with such a dramatic decrease in income, but we made it work and have ZERO regrets! Our lives only got better and I’m sure the same will happen for you.
I’m so glad you are enjoying the podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Best of luck with your editing and decluttering. It can be exhausting but totally worth it!