This simple trick makes billionairesThe Great Luis Monge said some time ago. The market rewards action. Well… I would add that… The market, your job, your project, your company, your relationships… reward action. Not reflection, not risk assessment, not being right, not staying home — action. Not quality, not intelligence, not features, not preparation. Just jodida action. That simple. But you know what’s worse? That you now know it. And that you’re competing against millions of people who don’t know this… and the ones who do,...Read more
Your brain is jodiendo youOur reptilian brain is deceiving you. “It’s just one day, it won’t matter” — justifying the break of positive habits or slipping into old behaviors. “I’m sure it won’t take that long” — the illusion of optimism that makes us underestimate the effort certain tasks will require. “I’m not good enough” — self-sabotage disguised as humility that’s actually fear of failure or of being judged. If you listen to it, you are living in the caves. The worst of all these tricks of your brain to assure...Read more
PPP Chronicles: The Nandipur Power Project DebacleEver seen a power plant that worked for just five days? Welcome to Nandipur. With all my respects and ingenuity… The Nandipur Power Project in Pakistan was a masterclass in how not to execute a PPP: No Business Plan, no roadmap. The destiny: chaos from the get-go. Unrealistic Risk Transfers: Risks were offloaded onto parties ill-equipped to handle them, setting the stage for failure. How could nobody think about this? Crazy. Land Not Available: Of course… Delays in land acquisition. How...Read more
They fart as you do. This is why they do bestI want you to dream big. I want you to build an empire. On your personal brand as professional or on your businesses owning multiple entities. That does not matter. Doing this is simple. First you have to believe it. You’re not less intelligent than billionaires out there or are more unlucky or are taller or shorter or whatever. Those guys poo, have pees and fart just like you. There is no reason why they can, while you can’t. Second, do, do and do. But here it’s the thing. Do things on the...Read more
The most powerful sentences of your dayIf one day you're tired, rest.If you're tired many days, change your life. I'm unsure of the origin of these sentences, but... it's wisdom at its highest. Read it again. And again. And again. And now... Apply this to anything you’re doing. Your job, your investments, your project, your company. You know what Einstein said about doing the same and the same and the same and still waiting or hoping for a different result. There is nothing valuable in your comfort zone other than a comfortable...Read more
Why doing more is stupidImagine spending time on a project… your project, your business… or working for others. It does not matter. You get momentum. Things are going relatively well. You’re working hard. Now imagine that you add a little bit more of work. Like answering to more than four or five Team messages a day… or doing another meeting… or another Power Point. The exact same action that takes you to the next level in one situation will sink you in another. And yet, people don’t get it. If someone else does...Read more
In case you're judging other peopleTo those people that try to explain the world through their views just put this on their faces: In the USA, 76 percent of people live paycheck to paycheck, some 50 percent of Americans have no money for retirement, and 47 percent of Americans don’t have $400 for an emergency. If these statistics were true in a poor country, it would be one thing, but America is considered a wealthy country, right? Judging is a waste of time. Trying to reason about extremely complex issues based on information...Read more
Once upon a time... disaster?Once upon a time, there was once a hospital PPP that had every reason to implode. The private partner was a joint venture between a French construction giant, an Aussie FM firm, and a Spanish bank that hadn’t read the contract. What could get wrong? The public sector? A government department that changed name three times during procurement. Even the Independent Certifier was late to its own appointment. All the right mindset, bricks, etc. seem to be there… and of course… the damn thing...Read more
It's up to you what to do with these wordsYour wealth adventure will be complicated by a new awareness that you are short on skills. Early on, I realized how little I knew about how to connect with people, network, communicate, build rapport, and how little confidence I had. I didn’t know how to sell, market, promote, build value, negotiate, close deals, or follow up customers. I couldn’t handle disappointment and rejection and I wasn’t even dealing with money yet. ------- Grant Cardone For those that want to start your house by the...Read more
Ego vs execution war storyDear project managers and executivesYou are not paid to referee ego wars.You are paid to protect outcomes. I have seen this many times. And doubts and concerns freeze you like a bunny looking at the two lights of the car moving to you. Look. If you're witnessing a standoff between two inflated egos, do everyone a favor:Remove them both—or at least the one you can control. Will it feel disruptive? Yes.Expensive? Maybe.Unfair? Possibly. But trust me... it’s a bargain compared to the cost of...Read more
You want to get fit or financially free? Don't do thisYou know that working 8 hours a day for over 40 years straight, just to retire and finally enjoy “the life of your dreams” in the last stage of your life has never been my cup of tea. My goal is not the Lambo. It’s not drinking overpriced wine… and obviously not New Zealand red wines. I just want to own my time. That’s it. Some people call this financial freedom. You know that I read about the subject. Forums, blogs, books, and… from time to time I did it on social media. Yes… it was a time...Read more
Projects and life have a lot in commonWhen I had no money, I spent my days around people who criticized others. Now that I have a little money, all I hear when someone talks about others is: “I love that guy,” “He’s brilliant,” “What a machine”, “Qué huevos tiene”, etc. Failures focus on hating. Successful people focus on admiring—and finding people worth admiring. Failures assume malice. Successful people assume kindness. Failures obsess over what they don’t like. Successful people are blind to what they don’t like. Failures...Read more
Blood in your veins“When you understand that every opinion is a vision loaded with personal history, you will begin to understand that all judgment is a confession.” – Nikola Tesla Note that sentence. Do it by hand. Yes, in a piece of paper. Have it next to your screen, desk, or whatever. Read it every day. and every time a stupid shows you his stupidity through his month. If that sentence does not make you jump out of your chair to do something productive... you simply have no blood in your veins. That's all...Read more
You know how it usually goesPPP = Prolonged, Painful, and Pointless. But not this time. Somehow, against all odds, cultures, and acronyms… The New Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia didn’t just avoid disaster — it delivered. Let me break it down for you: Australia’s most expensive hospital project at the time. $2.3 billion AUD. A maze of private, public, and clinical stakeholders. 800 beds. 40 operating theatres. 100% public access. The predictions? “Too complex.” “Healthcare PPPs always end in tears.” “Get...Read more
The reason behind my last emailsIt’s simple. I’ve shown you how smart people can make stupid mistakes. How costly they are. How amazingly common they are. The wrong team, the wrong assumptions, the wrong risks transferred. Simple. Foreseeable. Evitable. But… You see them over, and over again. You and I as taxpayers pay the price. And if you work in infrastructure… and you are in these “saraos” (projects), you can pay an even higher price. Endless nights without sleeping, hours and hours wasted in never-ending meetings,...Read more
The $1 Billion Lesson in Arrogance (that taxpayers paid for)Let me tell you a bedtime story. It’s about a classic PPP project. However, it’s a bedtime story for the nightmares. It starts in Australia. Sunshine. Kangaroos. And a bunch of brilliant bureaucrats who thought they could outsmart the laws of project finance. The name? Airport Link Tunnel in Brisbane.The year? 2010.The cost? $4.8 billion AUD.The outcome? A flaming, billion-dollar disaster. You see, they had a vision. A tunnel linking Brisbane Airport with the city. As I said… A classic PPP....Read more
Lawyers paradise - 7 years late, 3x the cost... and a city full of lawsuitsEdinburgh, Scotland. Mid-2000s. A shiny new tram network was promised. Fast, green, world-class transport across the city. Greta was not born yet… but she could be smiling for ours to a project like this. The vehicle? Of course… A complex PPP scheme led by Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE) with multiple contractors, including Bilfinger Berger and Siemens. Signed in 2006. Cost? £375 million. Opening date? 2011. What actually happened? Endless disputes between the public agency and the...Read more
How to turn a $680M project into a public disaster (in under 6 months)Sydney. Early 2000s. The government wanted less traffic in the CBD. Private investors wanted 30 years of fat toll revenues. Everyone thought they had a winner. The Cross City Tunnel PPP was signed in 2002. Cost? Around AUD 680 million. Forecast? 90,000 cars a day. Reality? Barely 20,000. And the toll? $4.50. Drivers said: I'd rather sit in a traffic jam for free, thanks. To make it worse, the government had promised to close surface roads to "push" traffic into the tunnel. As intelligent as...Read more
How to get a good investor badgeWith regards to Real Estate, it seems that here a series of mantras have been established that you must follow in order to be considered a "good investor." The habit of “handing out good investor badges” has become widespread. If you don’t buy a cheap apartment (no elevator, bad neighborhood, etc.), you’re not a good investor. If you don’t do a cheap renovation and turn (or build) something into a high-value asset, you’re not a good investor. If you buy an apartment that’s already renovated...Read more
If you had enough of Cookies policies, read thisYou don't win at life by posting cookie notices. If you live in the EU or any of those bureaucratic hells that our politicians fabricate to keep their asses on top of a chair, you know what I’m saying. Someone with a small business, and a few thousands euros in his account, but working like a beheaded chicken, commented after I explained how we capture the best real estate opportunities. “But is that legal?” Listen. Listen. Listen. When you are trying to make a living, to get your business up...Read more
The Antagonist