This episode might be a little bit different from most podcasts you listen to in that you're going to have to actually work in order to benefit from it.

I get it. You're already bitten down to a nub, and you just want to crack open a cold one and listen to a couple of guys run their mouths for awhile. Well, there will be time for that in future episodes, but I think you'll be glad you put on your thinking cap and really listen in to this one.

Today we hear from John Foster, a man I met at an event where he was speaking on the topic of angel investing. After his talk, I approached him and asked if he would be willing to speak about angel investing on my new podcast, the one you're listening to now.

He said absolutely, he'd love to do it, and we were able to make it happen!

We begin with the audio of John's YouTube presentation, "Zero to Austrian in 18 Minutes"; then go right into the interview talking about angel investing.

I knew next to nothing about angel investing, outside of what I'd seen on Shark Tank, before I recorded this interview. And it turns out that Shark Tank, ahem, exaggerates the actual angel investing scenario for dramatic effect.

I promise you'll come away from today's episode with a genuine knowledge of what angel investing is. You might even find yourself snickering at your friends who are raving about the crazy antics they recently saw on an episode of Shark Tank!

Here are a few of the questions I was able to ask John about angel investing:

-Is there some connection between your company and angel investing? Are you really giving middle-schoolers MBA’s?

-What exactly is angel investing?

-How did you get get into angel investing?

-What does the private company ecosystem look like and where does angel investing fit in?

-What about accelerators and incubators?

-What sort of companies do angels want to invest in?

-What does the process look like? Is it basically like Shark Tank?

-What about just getting a loan from your local bank? What about grants?

-How do entrepreneurs get into this game? What should they look for? What are their chances?

-Is the recent increase in interest rates having any effect on the space?

-What’s with Silicon Valley Bank blowing up? Does that impact startups?

Resources mentioned:Middle School MBA

Scott Adams: How to Fail At Everything...

About the guest:

John Foster is president and founder of Middle School MBA, an Ed-Tech company disrupting the business/entrepreneurship space.

John received his BS, Chem Eng, and MBA from LSU and was kindly employed for the next thirty-three years by Freeport-McMoRan, Stauffer Chemical, Rhone-Poulenc, and Innophos, Inc.

His industrial career failed its way through process engineering, plant operations, business management, M&A, and corporate strategy; finally failing big enough to exit.

He founded Middle School MBA to teach kids the lowdown on business, economics, and entrepreneurship, hoping they might fail bigger and sooner.

Download my bundle of FREE audiobooks to listen in your car, at the gym, while walking the dog, or wherever you happen to listen to audiobooks!

Titles include As a Man Thinketh, Success and Failure, and Obvious Adams.

Just visit my home page and tell me where to send the audios!

https://jamesdnewcomb.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Outwitting the Devil Audiobook

Read and/or listen to Napoleon Hill's unknown book titled Outwitting the Devil. Edited and...

Napoleon Hill's forgotten classic Outwitting the Devil is now available FOR FREE in audio format - narrated by James D. Newcomb.

Visit Energeia.LIVE to gain access to the recordings!

When Sana and I lived in Vietnam, one of our favorite places to eat for a special occasion was a restaurant in Hanoi called Pizza 4 P's. Just say it out loud, and you understand the double meaning of it.

Wonderful food and atmosphere, and it was always an amazing dining experience - if we were lucky enough to get a table. The place was regularly sold out.

Well Sana and I were recently discussing the 4 P's concept that is often used in marketing and sales strategies: Product, Price, Promotion, Place.

And after giving it some thought, I realized there are a few more P words that I would use specific to the content creation niche. My specialty is podcasting, but I think it would apply to anyone that creates something, then hits a button that says "publish".

Those 4 P words are:

1. Purpose
2. People
3. Process
4. Perform

Sana and I had some thoughts on these four words, so we sat down to record a podcast about it.

It turns out we got through two of them before we realized we run the risk of being long-winded and wearing out our listeners.

I mean, there's only 3 of them, but even the most stalwart fans have their limits. So we must respect their time.

So in this episode, you'll hear us discuss Purpose and People. And in the next one, we'll discuss Process and Perform.

Give it a listen, and see if these 4 P's can bring some much-needed peace in your life and business.

Mentioned in this episode:

Outwitting the Devil Audiobook

Read and/or listen to Napoleon Hill's unknown book titled Outwitting the Devil. Edited and narrated by Energeia.LIVE founder James D. Newcomb. Go to https://energeia.live to access your free copy!

Outwitting the Devil Downloads

How free are we, really? We're taught that the United States is founded on freedom, but beyond a superficial understanding of the word, we really don't think that much about what real freedom is.

In today's episode, we'll explore this idea in detail. Our guest is Laura Davidson, an Oxford-trained scholar who recently published The Logic of Freedom: Free Will, Human Nature, and the Rational Argument for a Genuinely Free World.

The book is not bedtime story material for a 9 year old child. But it is both very well-written, and in such a way that it causes the reader to think twice about the most basic concept we're taught from the earliest age: Freedom.

Laura's book, and in a smaller way, this podcast will make you think about freedom, likely in ways you've never thought about before.

-What free will is - and isn't

-Thoughts on another dimension of consciousness that coexists alongside our "day to day" existence

-How dictators use the media and even peer pressure to maintain their ill-intended rule over others

-Why governments are antithetical to freedom, and why the founders of the U.S. wanted as little government as possible

There is of course more to it - and Laura and I only scratched the surface of her book in our short time together, but we made the most of what we had.

The Logic of Freedom by Laura Davidson

Welcome to another episode of Energeia.LIVE. In our last episode, we featured Orthodox Christian scholar Frederica Mathewes-Green, which I guess you would call a "primer" of sorts on the Orthodox lifestyle.

However, having embarked on this podcast specifically named Energeia, I wanted to have someone who could speak with authority on the word as it was used in Ancient Greek times, specifically in the Holy Scriptures.

So I reached out to Frederica to ask if she'd be game for another podcast, and it turns out she has written quite a bit on the topic; and even emailed me a document listing all the times Energeia is used in the New Testament, and even its synonyms such as synergeia.

The conversation was insightful and, well, full of energy. In it you'll hear some "academic" expounding on Energeia, but we had a lively discussion on Energeia as it pertains to how the Holy Spirit operates in our lives today.

We humanfolk refer to these divine interventions as "miracles."

So we ended up sharing a few personal miracle stories, and my wife Sana even got to share some really powerful stories.

Enjoy this one!

Episode highlights:

-How Western translations of the Bible into Latin have obfuscated somewhat the meanings of key words used by its authors...02:05

-How the Latin word operatio which has been in turn translated into English versions just doesn't have the same "umph" as its Greek counterpart Energeia...12:40

-Energeia refers to both positive and negative divine energy...18:10

-Why some Christians are so hesitant to believe in miracles in modern times...25:40

-Frederica shares a miracle involving a $50 bill...26:55

-A ground shift in how the Gospel is shared with the younger generations...31:35

-How Western views on "winning" affects our understanding of the Gospel...36:10

-Divine assistance on the freeway in Downtown St. Louis, circa 1996...38:15

-Bus driver's lead foot helps Sana avert major injury...42:15

-And many more miracle stories from James and Sana!...

Resources:

Frederica's personal website

12 Things I Wish I'd Known - a Primer on Orthodox Liturgy by Frederica

About Our Guest (in her own words):

I write and speak on a wide range of topics. In recent years I’ve concentrated on ancient Christian spirituality and the Eastern Orthodox faith, but the hundreds of Posts and Essays on this site include movie reviews, humor, marriage and family, cultural issues, and more. Essays can be browsed by date or category, or you can use the search box at the right.

The most recent posts are below. Here’s where you’ll find my published Books.

I travel to Speaking Engagements all year round; you can contact Cynthia Damaskos of the Orthodox Speakers Bureau if you’d like to bring me to an event. This Calendar will let you know when I’m in your neighborhood.

Audio: Here’s where you’ll find many of my commentaries for National Public Radio (NPR), though others have been filed away under many different creative misspellings of my name. I have recorded a podcast for Ancient Faith Radio since 2007.

Video: For Beliefnet.com, I recorded brief videos on...

Frederica Mathewes-Green is the author of the recently released Two Views of the Cross: Orthodoxy and the West.

The book centers on two separate paintings depicting the crucifixion of Christ. One shows him ultimately victorious; the other hopelessly defeated. From this springs a vibrant discussion on how the Orthodox view of the cross and of our responsibility toward God is quite different from commonly accepted views within modern Christianity.

I was very grateful that Frederica agreed to join me for an interview. And I don't think we even scratched the surface of all there is to discuss from her book, even in a nearly 90 minute interview, so it's all the more reason to purchase a copy for yourself!

In this discussion with Frederica, you'll discover:

-Frederica’s spiritual journey from idealistic hippy to knowing God…03:30

-Lying is the death of reality…07:15

-War is hell on earth…09:30

-How Frederica discovered and embraced Orthodox Christianity…10:40

-Why young men particularly are disenchanted with the “coddling” modern churches, and embrace Orthodoxy…15:15

-The problem of "the race to relevance” among churches in any given locale…19:50

-The forsaken man and the venerated "single mother"...24:00

-How a Greek word meaning "divine energy" validated James' formulation of the C.R.A.V.E. acronym...33:15

-Controversy behind translating the Hebrew Scripture into Greek, and then back into Hebrew...39:15

-Why aren't native English speakers forced to learn Greek to learn the Bible?...46:45

-Doctrinal problems with mainline Protestant thought...51:30

-Orthodox (and most likely obscure) perspectives on common Bible stories...56:00

-Ways in which the crucifixion is depicted visually throughout history (re: two views of the cross), and how this informs one's theology and understanding of atonement...01:00:30

-Is sin a disease that needs to be healed, or a debt that needs to be repaid?...01:08:00

-How our individual sin contributes to the sinful world at large in which we live...01:12:00

-Why are we so inclined to embrace an image of God that is prone to anger and judgment?...01:18:00

-And much more!

Resources mentioned:

Two Views of the Cross: Orthodoxy and the West by Frederica Mathewes-Green

Frederica's website

We welcome back to the program Judy Arnall, who we heard a few days ago talking on the topic of unschooling, a radical departure from the so-called "traditional" model of educating children.

Well, I ended up having a lot of questions for Judy regarding parenting. I'm a parent myself and am often beset with questions as to what is the "correct" course of action in childrearing.

It turns out Judy has written a number of books on the topic of what she calls "non-punitive parenting." A couple titles are:

• Discipline Without Distress: 135 tools for raising caring responsible children, without time-out, spanking, punishment or bribery
• Parenting With Patience: Turn Frustration Into Connection With 3 Easy Steps

So I asked Judy if she would be game for a "round 2" for the podcast, she readily agreed. And as I began reading her thoughts on punishing our children, a few questions came to my mind I would want to ask her. Such as:

-What's the difference between punishment and discipline?

-What are the most common objections to the non-punitive parenting concept?

-Are these objections made with good intentions albeit misguided?

-Why do you say it is unhealthy to praise a child?

-How much adjustment did you need to make in your parenting vs. how you were raised?

-What is the motivation for parents who punish their children? Is it rooted in pride? Shame? A desire to conform with the crowd?

-How do parents bribe their children? And what are healthier ways of giving them what they want?

-How can parents promote a healthy environment while laying down and enforcing house rules?

-Don't you see it as problematic to teach children that there are no consequences for their actions when they'll be living in such a punitive society?

-What are ways for parents to express frustration with their oftentimes belligerent children without allowing their anger to get the best of them?

Well I was able to ask all these questions of Judy in our second go around, and she didn't disappoint. If you're a parent and struggling with whether or not "punishing" your children with time-outs, grounding, spanking, etc. are going to have long-term effects on your relationship with them, this episode is for you!

In this discussion with Judy, you'll discover:

-The "aha" moment that led to Judy's philosophy on non-punitive parenting...02:15

-The need to model self-control in moments of anger...06:30

-Why we should be very careful with how much we praise our children for every little thing...12:30

-Psychological motivations for parents to punish their children, particularly in public...15:15

-The difference between discipline and punishment...18:35

-Why the parents should be the ones taking a timeout when the kids act up...21:40

-How to establish ground rules in the home without creating an overly permissive environment in the home...24:00

-How we bribe our children to get them what we want them to do...30:15

-The paradox of non-punitive parenting in a highly punitive and litigious world in which we live...35:00

-Long-term social effects of betraying the love relationship with our children by punishing them...38:00

-And much more!

Resources mentioned:

Discipline Without Distress: 135 tools for raising caring responsible children, without time-out, spanking, punishment or bribery

Ever look back on your school days and wonder if there was a way it could have been done better?

I sure do.

I was a chronic underachiever in school until I began to excel in music in the 9th grade. That gave me a bit of motivation to do well in the other subjects, but still, looking back I feel like those years, well, could have been put to better use.

So when I heard Judy Arnall talking about this thing called Unschooling on Ben Greenfield's podcast while I was Ben's podcast editor a few years ago, it piqued my curiosity.

Judy hasn't written THE book on unschooling, but she has written A book on unschooling - and that will suit our purposes just fine for this podcast. The book is titled, Unschooling to University and will give you a broad overview of what unschooling is, as well as many real-life examples of its efficacy in educating children outside the "traditional" school model.

What's funny is that what we consider the "traditional" model is a fairly new concept, at least here in the West. It wasn't that long ago that children learned the ways of the world at home, or apprenticing with their fathers or others in the community. Then the Industrial Revolution occurred, which created a lot of job. Good thing, right? Sure, but what to do with all those kids who can't be left home alone?

I'll leave it at that, and let Judy fill in the gaps with how all that unfolded - as well as a lot of terrific information about unschooling, and how you can get involved with it yourself if you think it might suit your children!

In this discussion with Judy, you'll learn:

-Judy's background with unschooling...02:00

-How to contrast punishment with discipline, and how schools "bribe" children to learn...04:00

-A basic history of home education, and how modern schools came into being around the time of the Industrial Revolution...05:30

-Why the modern school systems are failing our children...07:00

-Common objections from parents when hearing about unschooling...09:30

-Public schools can't possibly keep up with how technology is changing society...12:00

-Why public schools will never recommend anything other than what they're able to provide when their methods prove to be futile...14:15

-The value of video games in educating unschooled (and schooled) children...15:30

-"Deschooling": What to expect when a family makes the decision to unschool...18:45

-How public schools (and even homeschooling) sucks the joy of learning out of children...22:20

-Do families ever go back to public schools after giving unschooling a try?...25:00

-When to engage in more formal education in preparation for university...29:45

-Tension between unschooling families and government-funded schools...33:30

-And much more...

Resources mentioned:

Judy's personal website

Unschooling to University by Judy Arnall

Parenting Courses Website

Khan Academy

Social Media Links

Facebook Page

Facebook Group

We're honored to welcome to the show James' cousin, Haans Erlandson!

Haans and I spent a lot of time together growing up. Our families were very close as children and lived just a few miles apart in the suburbs of Minneapolis, MN. And though we haven't been as close in adulthood because we're both busy "adulting" the bond is clearly strong and evident in the conversation you'll hear in this episode.

We didn't really have a strict agenda for the conversation. Sometimes you just like to begin talking and see where the Great Winds of Dialogue will take you.

And this interview did not disappoint.

We ended up going through what you might call Salvation 101; i.e. what it means to really know God in a personal way via a connection with His Son Jesus.

What sin is, and how it affects that divine connection, and much more.

And Sana was able to ask some very honest questions - as she is wont to do - which led to some really deep dialogue and conversation that you'll find fascinating whether you consider yourself a Christian or not.

In this conversation with Haans, you'll discover:

-How Haans merges his painting business with "marketplace ministry"...01:30

-What do you mean when you refer to "the Kingdom" and "the Word"?...06:15

-Who is our true enemy?...15:45

-How do you balance the "loving" God and the "destructive" God?...18:45

-Will God judge (punish) children and those who don't know "the way" to salvation?...26:25

-What sets Christianity apart from other religions that encourage good works and harmony in the world?...35:06

-Love defined from a scriptural perspective...44:22

-Haans describes his ministry activities...53:14

-And much more!

Resources mentioned:

Check out Haans' books

And check out his website

**BTW, if you enjoy this episode topic, you might also like this interview I did with Robert Borelli, former mafioso turned Christian minister. Click here to listen: https://energeia.live/borelli

About our guest (in his own words):

"I am called to teach, coach, and encourage identity in the unconditional love and grace of Jesus Christ through the joyful ministry of the Holy Spirit. Shortly after finishing College at Colorado State University in 1999, Sarah and I were married. Sarah and I graduated from Northern Colorado Bible College in 2003 (2 year degree), a Charis extension school at the time.

Since 2000, Sarah and I have been actively involved in the creative direction of US and International youth camps and conferences. For over two decades we have seen the supernatural power of the Word of God being demonstrated through a confidence in Jesus as our identity. 

We have seen thousands of people receive salvation in its many expressions, from the goodness of a loving Father God. With contagious joy and enthusiasm, I share on how to hear the voice of God and finding and operating in your gifts from the Holy Spirit. I love ministering the baptism in the Holy Spirit, introducing people to the power of God and how to flow in the anointing! 

People experience peace with God and freedom in their hearts to be themselves. I currently have a successful painting business that supports my family and ministry. I started Haans Erlandson Ministries in 2010 in response to the call on my life. 

We minister the gospel through speaking engagements at businesses, conferences, camps, churches, discipling individuals and groups, home groups, bible studies, missions trips, coaching athletics, youth groups, and through my books God Tone & Flowing in Grace.

We have helped to plant 3 churches over the past 20...