A terror story insideIf you believe that “serious” countries are exempt of terror stories in the infrastructure space, think twice. Even in the UK, the had the case of the Ghost Toll Booths. The M6, a big PPP project in the middle of the country opened in 2003. Cost, around 900 million pounds. The project was financed through a mix of equity and debt, relying heavily on toll revenues to repay lenders and provide returns to investors. And as it happens with many projects, the financing model for the M6 Toll...Read more
You didn't know this about the ChunnelThe Channel Tunnel, or "Chunnel," connecting the UK and France, was one of the most ambitious engineering feats of the 20th century. Over £9 billion or about $21 billion today. 50.5 kilometers (31.4 miles) of tunnel under the English Channel. Politicians smelling the blood of taxpayers… Paradise for corruption and things that can go wrong. During the project, some lonely managers noticed something strange. The daily records for soil removal from the British side of the tunnel didn’t add up....Read more
Toilet relocation teamImagine this. The Big Dig in the 90s. A massive highway infrastructure project in Boston, Massachusetts, that aimed to reroute Interstate 93 into a 3.5-mile tunnel beneath the city. One of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects in U.S. history. Total cost, over $14.6 billion. Initial estimation, $2.8 bn. So typical. Well… as you can imagine, this required many workers… thousands and thousands of them. And workers, from time to time, need to do first and second… especially, after...Read more
Gold out of the weedsDoing things different to the rest of people around you will send you to different places. I’m not saying Cook Island, Vanuatu, Fiji… some of my last trips, but “other places”. You’ll get sued. You’ll sue someone. You’ll get robbed. You’ll make amazing friends. You’ll meet incredible people and partners. You’ll grow… faster than “the rest”. You’ll become smarter, calmer, more focused… faster than the rest, by the way. Be around people that you admire will push you closer to that people…...Read more
The end in your mindHolidays in Spain are great. Workout, breakfast, work, lunch, work, diner, work. Making progress. Selling one project. Finishing another. Getting finance for another one. Life is good. Work is good. Because of focus and passion. When you get clarify about what you want to achieve… things start to flow. I see many people I mentor with lack of clarity. They jump from one shiny object to the next. From one project to the next. From one position to the next. From one company to the next. Never...Read more
You'll think of it during the weekendMultitasking kills more dreams than a nearby disco with reggaeton. Focus is everything. This is why there are so many people, companies and politicians competing for yours. Distracting you. Keeping you down… unfocused. News, sales, offers, “favours”. They arrive from everywhere with the only objective of grabbing your attention. When you are managing a project, for example, having many open fronts is a terrible distraction. You end unable to differentiate the urgent from the important, the...Read more
It's been a miracleThe world is a hard place. Not only if you live now in Canada, Panama or Greenland. It’s a hard place. Period. People that say that money is not important have no idea of the power of money. It’s freedom. It’s choices. I just saw today the picture of a newborn among other 60 immigrants in a patera, a ship that you won’t use to fish in a lake with a couple of friends, used to travel with other 60 people, hundreds of miles in the Atlantic, from Africa to Spain. The newborn was born in that...Read more
This thinking can change your lifeThis is probably the most valuable lesson I've ever learned in life. It might seem stupid, insignificant, or even crude to you. And… even though, it works. In simple terms: If you want something, ask for it. Read it again and take it to heart: If you want something, ask for it. If you want something, anything, ask for it. You want a friend to go to the movies with you? Ask them. You want your partner to cook dinner? Ask them. You want your dad to pick up the kids? Ask him. Always. You want...Read more
And now... what?You arrived from holidays. You spent more than expected. You ate more than expected. You put more weight than expected. You did fewer things than expected. As usual. The question then is… What are you going to do right now? What is the action that you’re going to take immediately to be closer to your dreams? Not today. Not this week. Not this month. Now. In the next 5 minutes. What is that thing that you can do and that will put you in track of your dreams. Sure, it’s not checking the news....Read more
You'll ignore the signsIt’s one of those images that were hidden. They remained unnoticed to me until two and a half years ago… when my child was born. Cigarette butts. You see them on the floor on every street, on every public square, on every children playground, in Spain. Despite signals. Despite campaigns by the government. Despite science. Despite basic education. Despite the ability to read the “smoking kills” of every package. People are attached to old habits despite they know they are bad. No matter what...Read more
Too much of a burdenLot of time spent with family, friends and people I used to know these days. Looking at what people do and say every 12 months is mind blowing. How close and how far away you can be 12 months, and 20.000 km away. You hear conversations. About 20 or 80 euros more or less per month that people receive in their pensions or in their social security payments. Complaints. Hopes. But not much action. Not much anything. I suppose that spending 1 or 2 hours to make a claim to the government is too...Read more
13 years already... Steve Jobs passed away 13 years ago.Hard to believe, right? After Steve Jobs passed away, the person who took his place was Tim Cook, Apple’s then Chief Operating Officer (COO).A guy who, while maybe not as brilliant as Jobs, seems to be doing things reasonably well—and who, of course, has his own share of intelligence and expertise. Tim Cook highlighted above all others in his boss and mentor, Steve Jobs. It’s a quality that might seem simple on the surface but is incredibly complex in...Read more
You choose... Codie Sanchez, an amazing lady, building millions in boring businesses says it clearly. Your salary will never set you free. Your financial freedom can only come through ownership. More specifically, through equity done the right way She believes in boring businesses. I may try one day. I believe in making real estate a business. I propose you a very simple offer. That you take a look to my philosophy about real estate. It’s easier than you think. It just takes some work. Hard work I would...Read more
Or... You will work until you die“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” – Warren Buffet. OK, I see that some people got mixed up with the time zones… This is what happens when you travel around the world! Extension of one day more. One single day more. Not two, not five... just one. Buy it now, or miss it forever. I repeat. Forever. Invest better than 99% of people... including fund managers PD 1: If you liked this email, don't keep it in secret and forward it to a friend. They...Read more
The sentence that kills dreams"I’m doing well enough" or "I’m OK as I’m now" or… you know those words. Those sounds spited by some mouths touch my b*lls more than listening to a politician for 1 minute. Those sentences never come from people who have all their needs and desires met. No. You won’t hear that from Elon Musk or Warren Buffet. Not way. Those sentences come from people who check supermarket receipts, scrutinize bills, and choose dishes at restaurants based on price. Those sentences don’t come from people who...Read more
A suggestion for this new yearLive poor, die rich. This is the mindset that many people have these days “in order to be rich” or get financial freedom. You know the old piece of advice: study hard, get good grades, a good job, live below your means, save and retire. Terrible advice in these days where governments keep printing fake money, inflation is “moderated” by printing a lot or printing less, and the gap between the producers and the consumers is bigger by the day. I don’t know what plans you have for next year. I...Read more
Competition is survivalWe learn to compete early in life. We compete in school for grades. We compete in sports. We compete for attention. We compete for the person we love. We compete for jobs. We compete promotions. We compete for bonuses. We compete for recognition. And much more. Competition is survival. Learning a few tricks means the difference between depending on the government at retirement and retiring earlier. All start by mindset and investing properly. Knowing a few rules. Knowing the there is no free...Read more
Last days... take it or lose it foreverOnce upon a time there was a guy call Arnold. To this guy, whose surname was Schwarzenegger or something like that, a reporter asked: why are you still going to the gym every day? “What for”? Arnold was more than 70 years old at the time. What do you mean what for? I also eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom having first and second every day. I go to the gym because it’s part of what needs to get done in the day!! Great guy Arnold. To a billionaire, people in the audience asked once why he keep...Read more
You will only need mediocre ones Solopreneurship is a sickness. It’s hard to be create a business. Much harder creating it alone. You need a team as an entrepreneur. You need a team is you want to go up in your corporate ladder. It’s the same. Alone you can go faster, but with a great team, you go further. And if you want to have the best team around you, you need to be the best at something as well. If you are only mediocre at communications, then you will never need the best attorneys, engineers, designers, or accountants....Read more
Please, don’t. When I talk to people I’ve not seen in almost a year and I explain what I do… It’s always the same. Please, don’t. Don’t come to me with how your life is different, how your case is unique. Don’t tell me the “work to live or live to work” cliché. Don’t tell me you’re not an engineer, a CEO, an entrepreneur or that money doesn’t matter that much. Ask the chef, who cooks out of passion, if they enjoy eating more than cooking.Ask the artisan if they prefer sitting on the chair or building it.Ask...Read more
The Antagonist