My conversation on DOAC, the 2nd biggest podcast in the world

Back in December I got on an airplane, something I try hard not to do these days, and flew to New York. The flights, both going and returning, were delayed of course.

What would prompt such rash behavior?  This guy:

An invitation from Steven Bartlett to be on his podcast Diary of a CEO, and a bit of gentle persuasion from my publisher, Madeline. A Christmas Party invitation might have been involved.

Diary of a CEO is currently the #2 podcast in the world, and it is not hard to see why. Steven’s team is very detail oriented and professional, his guests (with perhaps this one lapse) are some of  the most interesting people in the world, and his interview style is relaxed and engaging. 

So much so that, where Hasan Minhaj beats me with sticks, Steven  lulled me into revealing two very personal stories I had never shared anywhere before. Even as I was telling them I was thinking, “Wait. What am I doing here?!”

 

He also made an announcement he probably should have run past his girlfriend first. Heh.

Of course, most of the time we spent discussing The Simple Path to Wealth and the power of financial independence. We even cracked open a beer, strictly for illustration of course.

The interview dropped just a couple of days ago and is already closing in on a million views. It will certainly have the largest reach of any I have done and will take the message to many folks outside the FI community. 

I hope you’ll give it a listen.

And if you’re ready to start your year off on the Simple Path, or to gift it to someone who is, you can find the New Edition in Target, Walmart, bookstores everywhere or just click here:

Amazon

Here’s to a happy, healthy & prosperous 2026

 

 

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Important Resources

  • Talent Stacker is a resource that I learned about through my work with Jonathan and Brad at ChooseFI, and first heard about Salesforce as a career option in an episode where they featured Bradley Rice on the Podcast. In that episode, Bradley shared how he reached FI quickly thanks to his huge paychecks and discipline in keeping his expenses low. Jonathan teamed up with Bradley to build Talent Stacker, and they have helped more than 1,000 students from all walks of life complete the program and land jobs like clockwork, earning double or even triple their old salaries using a Salesforce certification to break into a no-code tech career.
  • Credit Cards are like chain saws. Incredibly useful. Incredibly dangerous. Resolve to pay in full each month and never carry a balance. Do that and they can be great tools. Here are some of the very best for travel hacking, cash back and small business rewards.
  • Empower is a free tool to manage and evaluate your investments. With great visuals you can track your net worth, asset allocation, and portfolio performance, including costs. At a glance you'll see what's working and what you might want to change. Here's my full review.
  • Betterment is my recommendation for hands-off investors who prefer a DIFM (Do It For Me) approach. It is also a great tool for reaching short-term savings goals. Here is my Betterment Review
  • NewRetirement offers cool tools to help guide you in answering the question: Do I have enough money to retire? And getting started is free. Sign up and you will be offered two paths into their retirement planner. I was also on their podcast and you can check that out here:Video version, Podcast version.
  • Tuft & Needle (T&N) helps me sleep at night. They are a very cool company with a great product. Here’s my review of what we are currently sleeping on: Our Walnut Frame and Mint Mattress.
  • Vanguard.com

Comments

  1. Sandy says

    It was an amazing interview, I watched as soon as I saw it. Maybe you can answer a burning question: I don’t see any microphones anywhere, how is he capturing audio?

  2. Claudinei Fernandes says

    Acredite, assisti o podcast em São Francisco de itabapoana no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Sou fã dos dois.

  3. The Kechi One says

    Hi Jim,

    Been a while since I left a comment on one of your posts. More than ten years ago I started to follow your advice as a lowly English teacher in Japan. My journey brought me back to the U.S. and back to Japan once again. During all of that time I never forgot your sage advice and followed the simple path to wealth. I can proudly say I just left a job with as professional of an “F-U” as I could give (don’t worry, they deserved it) and have no plans of looking for a new career. Maybe some part time gigs if I want to. I’m mid fourties’ and couldn’t be more excited! Thank you for providing the most life changing advice, after my high school history teacher who taught us about compounding interest.

    It is great to see you and your wisdom getting the exposure we all knew it deserved more than 10 years ago! I think many of us are watching your interview yelling “Duh! Where have you been Hasan! Where have you been Steven!”😊

    As much I was influenced by MMM, ERE, and a host of other FIRE bloggers, yours was always the advice I came back to. When things got spicy, and we saw big pull backs, I always came back to read your posts and felt the wind back in my sails.

    Now I own my freedom.

    Hoping the best for you and all of those following the simple path.

  4. Alan says

    Hi JL,
    I watched David Bach’s video (House vs Stocks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99xyy1nUpug
    ) where he argues that buying a home is a powerful way to build wealth — essentially prioritizing real estate over index fund investing. That seems to contradict your advice in The Simple Path to Wealth about focusing on low-cost index funds for long-term wealth building. Can you share your perspective on this and explain where you agree or disagree with Bach’s view?

    • JL Collins says

      Hi Alan…

      I am unfamiliar with Mr. Bach and his ideas.

      In my writings and interviews I have explained mine as best I am able. I imagine he has done the same.

      You should listen and read both, and decide for yourself.

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