Last week, Dan and Ian shared some of their favorite moments from the interviews that they've conducted on this podcast in 2018. This week, we wanted to get a little more abstract. On today's podcast, we are looking back on some of our favorite conceptual ideas that we've covered in 2018. These are the business and lifestyle themes that have been echoing throughout the Tropical MBA airwaves this year. We'll be revisiting some of our most talked about episodes of the year, and you will hear our current thoughts on some of those topics including investment, remote work, and the long journey of entrepreneurship.

As we approach the end of 2018, Dan and Ian have been reflecting on some of their favorite conversations of the year, many of which happened on this podcast. They both feel incredibly fortunate to be able to speak to so many people that they admire and respect on this show. This year has been a landmark one for us here at the Tropical MBA, and on today's episode, we are revisiting some of our favorite moments from our very favorite episodes of 2018. We aren't just revisiting the highlights, though. Stick around after the credits to hear our 2018 blooper reel.

Dan and Ian have spent a lot of time in Chiang Mai. One of the traditions that Dan has every time he visits is to touch base with Kevin Graham. You may remember Kevin from a previous episode we released in early 2017. In that episode, Kevin joined us to talk about the first major business that he co-founded, which was a suite of Amazon Associates affiliate sites. These days, he has been focusing on a different project; a web hosting business called Bulk Buy Hosting. In particular, he has decided to take a different turn with that business and we invited him on the show to talk about it. Today you'll hear about Kevin's experience with Bulk Buy Hosting, and why he decided to move into a completely new direction with it. Kevin also shares why he believes a bus station in Helsinki is has a strong connection to a topic that we've talked about a lot on this show - The 1,000 Day Principle.

Today's episode is about a place that has played a very special part in Dan and Ian's entrepreneurial journey. China has become one of the most important countries in the world for entrepreneurs. Chinese supply chains and manufacturing are the lifeblood of many online businesses around the world. Things have changed over the last several years in China, though, and arguably no one understands that better than today's guest. Matt Kowalak of China Ecom Boost not only works with manufacturers in China, but with major product companies and celebrities as well, helping them break in and market themselves into this enormous country. In this episode, we talk about culture, commerce, and Matt's trajectory, including why he has had a major re-evaluation about the kind of business he wants to be doing in the future, focused on the vast potential opportunities that he sees in China.

Dan and Ian have said for years on this podcast that the most important thing your business should be doing is solving people's problems. Today's guest has taken that philosophy and ran with it. Kean Graham is the founder of Monetize More, a monetization agency that helps online brands optimize their ad revenue. Monetize More is 100 people strong, and it's safe to say that they lean into location independence. In fact, they consider it a key value in their company. On today's episode, we are going to explore the inside story of how Monetize More got started. You'll also hear the strategies Kean has used to grow that business, some of which could be considered pretty controversial.

Dan and Ian have encountered many entrepreneurs in their travels, from all walks of life. They first met today's guest back in April at our annual Dynamite Circle event in Austin, Texas. Sam Browne was the beneficiary of one of the scholarship tickets to that event. These scholarships have been donated by some of the more established entrepreneurs in the community as a sort of way to pay it forward. Sam is the founder of Find A Band, a New Zealand-based online booking agency for bands and musicians. He is also a talented musician himself, and you will hear some of his original music on today's show. Six months after attending our event, Sam wrote us to let us know that his experience at DC Austin had inspired him to dream bigger. His email was so exciting, that we just had to invite him on to this week's podcast to share his story.

Dan and Ian have been wanting to share the story of this week's episode for quite some time. Justin Cooke is one of the co-founders of Empire Flippers. Empire Flippers is an online marketplace where businesses are bought and sold.  Since their inception, they have grown their team to over 60 remote employees, and they have helped people buy and sell over $50 million worth of online businesses. It wasn't always like that, though. On today's podcast, Justin is joining us to share the story of Empire Flippers. On this podcast, you'll hear about Justin's background in the mortgage industry, how he joined forces with his business partner, how the market crash in 2008 left them with almost no money, and how they were eventually able to create one the largest marketplaces in the world for buying and selling online businesses.

It's no secret that Dan and Ian love hearing from the listeners of this show. This week, we received a question from Ben McAdam. Some of you might remember Ben from his earlier appearances on this podcast. Ben reached out to us to ask about our recent decision to hire a new apprentice. For those of you who are not aware, we brought someone new onto our team recently and we'd like to talk about it here today. On this week's episode, you'll hear all about why we decided to find a new apprentice, and what that process was like. We'll also be sharing a comprehensive list of "Dos and Don'ts" when it comes to hiring your own apprentice, as well as some quick tips on how you can find the apprenticeship of your dreams.

Dan and Ian are still resting up after hosting 350 entrepreneurs at their annual DC BKK event in Bangkok last week. While they were at that event, they had the opportunity to speak to so many entrepreneurs about their business struggles and successes throughout 2018. In light of those conversations, we've decided to address some of the common topics we've heard throughout that conference on today's episode. This week, we are discussing the five trends that internet businesses need to consider for the upcoming year. We'll be talking location freedom, hiring practices, conference strategies, and much, much more. 

We are fresh off the heels of DC BKK 2018, our annual conference that we host in Bangkok. It's safe to say that in the many years of running that conference, as well as attending other conferences around the globe, Dan and Ian have seen quite a few amazing presentations from speakers. Not every presentation can be a home run, though, and we have seen our fair share of bad ones too. This week, Dan is talking about the science behind a great presentation, and specifically the five reasons your presentation might suck. The ability to give a great presentation is an important skill set for entrepreneurs. Even if you aren't planning on giving a presentation any time soon, learning these principles can help make you a better communicator in your business.

A few years ago, Dan and Ian published an episode of this podcast called The Tao of the Hustle. In the years since we still receive frequent questions and comments about our opinions on hustle and entrepreneurship that we shared in that episode. One of those questions recently came from a listener named Rob Sanchez. Rob loves creating products, but over the course of his career, he has failed to establish proper distribution channels as he's built those products. His insecurities about hustling have frequently led to less than stellar results when his products launch. On today's episode, we are addressing Rob's troubles, and revisiting The Tao of the Hustle. We'll be sharing six new elements to the Tao of the Hustle, as well as exploring the ways that our philosophies about hustle have evolved in 2018.

Dan and Ian are always looking for new ways to gain insight into entrepreneurship, and sometimes that insight can come from some unexpected places. Michael Lombardi is an American Football executive and analyst. He also served as an assistant to the coaching staff of the New England Patriots, one of the most successful franchises in the history of the National Football League. While Dan was reading Michael's new book "Gridiron Genius", he realized it wasn't just a book about sports. In many ways, Dan found "Gridiron Genius" to be as much a business book as a football one. On today's episode, we are talking with Michael about the similarities between American Football and entrepreneurship, and some leadership strategies in sports that entrepreneurs everywhere can learn from.

If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you would know that one of the major motivations for Dan and Ian in life is creating the freedom to live life on your own terms. That freedom can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. On recent episodes, we have spoken about how entrepreneurship shares a lot in common with the FIRE (Financially Independent, Retire Early) community. One of the tenents of FIRE philosophy is The 4% Rule, which is the practice of saving and investing enough money that it will allow you to withdraw 4% of that income every year to live off of. In order for that rule to work, though, you would need to save 1 million dollars to live on a modest income of $40,000 annually. That can be a tall order for people who are on a small salary. Enter Jase Rodley. On today's episode, Jase discusses The 40% Rule, the business that he is currently building, and how his experience with that business has informed his investment strategies.

On today's episode, Justin Jacson shares his thoughts on those hidden costs. He also challenges some of the narratives that legendary figures in the movement have built around themselves and opens up about his own struggles with mental health as an entrepreneur.

Dan and Ian have spoken about cryptocurrencies before, and they have certainly been a divisive topic among the listeners of this show. The fact is that cryptocurrencies aren't going away. If you're interested in your financial future and really want to understand the nature of these markets and how to manipulate them, this episode is for you. We've invited our friend Taylor Pearson back to the show this week to talk about a recent article he wrote called The State of Bitcoin. On today's podcast, Taylor shares his thoughts on how cryptocurrencies essentially differ from other forms of investment, how to distinguish hype from opportunity, and why the "Bitcoin backlash" is happening.

This week's episode is a list of the five common reasons that entrepreneurs will give up on their journey. If you identify with any of the reasons we mention on today's podcast, fear not. You can use the knowledge and information we share on this show to help you get over your obstacles and further sustain your journey as an entrepreneur.

A few weeks ago, Dan and Ian published an episode of this podcast about The Peter Principle, which is the idea that everyone will more or less rise to the level of their own incompetence. Today, we are talking about a different principle. This one comes from a great 19th century book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. This episode begins with an excerpt from the book, where Tom is forced to paint a fence and convinces others to help him, eventually tricking them into painting the fence themselves. On today's show, we're sharing our thoughts on how entrepreneurs can use this same philosophy to lead a great team without working in their business day-to-day. We'll also be talking about the progress we've made with our new business venture - Dynamite Jobs, and why many entrepreneurs spend so much time focusing on top-line revenue rather than profits.

One of Dan and Ian's favorite topics to discuss on this show is business ideas.In particular, they love brainstorming new business ideas with the listeners of this podcast. Coming up with a great business idea doesn't come naturally for all of us, though we believe it really is a skill that you can learn and get better at. Today, we are talking about the science behind a great business idea. In particular, we are sharing five techniques that you can use to develop your own business idea. We'll also be revisiting some of the business ideas that we came up with on an earlier episode of this show from 2015.

Every week, for over 450 episodes, Dan and Ian talk on this podcast about business, entrepreneurship, and location independence. They do so because they love creating and consuming audio content. It's no wonder then that when Dan finally wrote his first book, Before the Exit, he was naturally very passionate about creating a narrated audiobook version. On today's podcast, we are talking about audiobooks. In particular, we'll be talking about how we recorded our first audiobook, as well as sharing some of the most popular highlighted passages in that book. You'll also hear how audiobooks have made an impression on us, and why we think audiobooks are becoming so popular in 2018. As a special bonus, listen in to find out how you could be the recipient of a very unique gift. 

Dan and Ian have spent many hours on this show talking about location and in particular the cities that location-independent entrepreneurs choose to live in. A little while ago, Dan read an article called Cities and Ambition by Paul Graham which theorizes that the cities we visit actually send signals to us in a variety of unspoken ways. Afterward, he felt compelled to write a blog post about the ways that certain cities "whisper" to us. On today's episode, you will hear that blog post, as well as some thoughts and reflections on some of our favorite cities. We'll be sharing what we love about those cities, why we can't stop visiting them, and what each of those cities has been "whispering" to us.