Attention, men worried about their prostate Most of the financial advice people read and hear out there consists of boring (and mediocre) recommendations from second-rate influencers whose only goal is to sell you their book. Or their affiliate commission. Or both. I know it very well… I’ve been an avid consumer. I'm talking about those people who flood the internet with ideas like: "Pay yourself first"… but they don’t say what that means "If you avoid small daily expenses, you can save an extra 15 euros a week." "Use comparison...Read more
An absurd way to look more professionalMany people tell me that sending emails from an address called “theantagonist”, writing Spanish, using casual language, etc. is unprofessional. And that if they were to hire someone to provide advice on transactions of millions of dollars, they wouldn’t trust someone using that name. Let me tell you something. You can apply this learning to any aspect of your life. People are completely lost. Yes. That’s it. They confuse being professional with being dull. And by “professional,” they refer to...Read more
Message to real estate active investorsThis week I’ve been quite busy. Just launching into the market two new short-term rentals. Looking at the dishwasher, some furniture, attending the internet technical guy… things like that. I could probably delegate all this, but sometimes, you want to be on top of everything. Why do I do this? Why, would you ask. Because I like it… and because I do believe that money is important. Very important. You may like it more or less, but 99% of the decisions you will make in the future will be...Read more
There is a big shortage of this out thereWhen I hear this, there is a shake in my spine. I’ll try. Or worse. We’ll try. That’s a total lack of commitments. I’m not talking about common sense in the White House. No. But about commitment. Commitment is one of those things there is total shortage. Too many individuals, companies, organizations… too many fail to commit fully to their activities, duties, obligations and responsibilities. They are not on board. They don’t feel real pain if something is not achieved. To acquire success is...Read more
Don't allow this happening to youYour network is your net worth, and it’s shrinking… You wake up, check your phone. Get work done, on your laptop. Buy your groceries, with a click. Order lunch and dinner, from an app. Watch a movie, on a screen. Go to bed, after one last scroll. A day of life, and you seldom have to talk mouth hole to mouth hole. If this feels normal, that’s because it is. But normal doesn’t mean good, and the data shows we’re choosing this path more than ever. • In-person socializing dropped by over 20%...Read more
Know the limits of what you can doIf your only plan to improve your finances is cutting expenses, you’ve got a big problem. Not because it’s a bad plan—it’s not... If you’re wasting money on unnecessary crap, the first thing you should fix is exactly that. But… The problem is purely mathematical, and I love maths. Cutting expenses has a limit. If you make 3.000 euros or dollars or whatever per month and save 500… You may be able to save 200 more. If you turn off Netflix, maybe 215… If you cut Amazon Prime, maybe 300 And if...Read more
The system is robbing you... for your protectionI don’t know if you’ve ever stopped to think about it, but the system isn’t designed for you to thrive. It’s designed for you to depend on it. On a salary someone else pays you. On the promise of a pension. On kleptocratic politicians squeezing you “for your own good.” Basically, you’re the main character in a joke that isn’t funny. Because if you depend, you don’t decide. Yes… you don’t decide even if you vote… And, if you don’t decide, you don’t disrupt. And if you don’t disrupt, you’re the...Read more
This is becoming harderEvery business has moved online in recent years. Even the fishmonger in your hometown has joined TikTok and does live streams while serving customers. The same has happened in real estate. Agencies have shifted from offices to Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, and YouTube. From attracting clients with window signs to delivering properties straight to your phone. We’re more prepared than ever, with more information at our fingertips. An investor in the year 2000 had less competition. They only...Read more
In case your parents decided to torture youLook at what I learned today from the great Isra Bravo. Imagine you are born today. Yes… today. Imagine now that your parents want to torture you. And they decide to make you watch all the videos uploaded to YouTube today. Just the day of your birth… As a welcoming gift to you to introduce you to the world you’re going to live on. I repeat. Every single video uploaded to YouTube. And only the videos from that day. Exclusively those. Not a single more. Well… Do you know when you would finish...Read more
A new toyComing back from holidays always brings me great things. Lots of work. Interesting work. Jet lag. An amazing inside force that pushes me to achieve more. In life, you do, you do mistakes, you learn, adjust and repeat. That’s the only path for greatness… in any field. No mistakes, no learning, no freedom. Take the time to reflect in your mistakes. But do it as an external observer. As a reader of the situation. As an avid student looking for an A. Check what I learned from a project that went...Read more
It's becoming tabuIt’s a constant. When you talk freely about money you’re critized. And not just from Spain, the country that is a fiscal hell but the paradise of criticism and the prosecution of the rich, no… It’s everywhere. It’s becoming a kind of tabu. Look. The world is full of people who say, "money isn’t important". Good for them. But I think they don’t know what they’re saying. They just say it for the sake of saying it. It’s a cliché. If they stopped for a moment to think, they would realize that...Read more
You won’t see the money even if put in front of your eyesWhen Bill Gates crossed the border from the United States to Canada some years ago, the customs agent asked him if he had anything of value to declare. He pulled out a stack of floppy disks wrapped in rubber bands. “This is worth at least $50 billion,” he said. The customs agent shrugged, thinking he was talking to a nut and let the richest man in the world pass through the border without paying anything in taxes. That bundle of floppy disks was the prototype of Microsoft’s Windows 95, and...Read more
You've met them for sureThe brain is an extraordinary organ when looking for causes to say no. In fact, unfortunately for your pocket and mine, many people are just empowered to say no. Politicians, public servants, flight attendants, utility workers, and so on. They see risks everywhere instead of solutions and ways out. Terrible sickness. With only a cure… Not depending on the no-sayers. That’s called freedom and a I-don’t-give-a-f*uck mindset where your brain works around solutions and to achieve your objectives....Read more
Which of these two options would you choose?Daniel Kahneman, the author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, did an experiment. He gave two options: Would you accept a gamble that offers a 10% chance to win $95 and a 90% chance to lose $5? Or. Would you pay $5 to participate in a lottery that offers a 10% chance to win $100 and a 90% chance to win nothing? Well… if you studied engineering, you have convinced yourself that the two problems are identical. In both, you are either richer by $95 or poorer by $5. But that’s engineering mindset… No...Read more
How to own an islandMonge Malo, the best seller in Spanish language told this story a few days ago. In 1978, Richard Branson (founder of Virgin), to impress his then-girlfriend, pretended to be buying a deserted island. Yeah… just like that. Some vacuum the car, others pretend to buy an island… The island’s price was $6 million. Richard offered $100,000. Just for the laughs and with the intention to have good company under the sheet. The owner counter-offered at $180,000, and Richard ended up acquiring Necker...Read more
Believe it or not, you're aloneHaving conversation with people in their sixties and over gives you a different perspective to what’s the world today. Those people are my parents. Probably your parents too. Those people still shape our minds and thinking. And we perpetuate that mindset, at least, partially, in our children. Our parents lived a very different world. They could expect their companies to take care of them, or the states. Today companies can’t do that. The states are broke. The average life of a company in the...Read more
Only today: how to become a professionalI read a few days ago that Robert Kiyosaki once said: Professionals have coaches. Amateurs do not. I didn’t know about this, but it cannot be closer to the truth. Successful people look for mentors and coaches. No matter if you are a business owner or someone trying to go up through the corporate ladder. Think of the most successful people you can imagine and they always try to improve themselves with the help of people that were a few steps ahead. If you don’t do it, don’t complain. You’re...Read more
If you can, don't diversifyDiversification is the price of ignorance – Warren Buffet. Well… many recommend diversification, it is simply a protection against their ignorance… but it gives results. Only a fraction of investment funds performs better than the reference index in a year. Only a handful during a constant period of 10 years. Buffett has a different financial strategy. He doesn’t diversify. He is not an average investor. He focuses. He looks for a great business at a great price. He doesn’t buy a lot of...Read more
A guru at my age?Apparently, some subscribers liked my view or tips for hiring someone that I sent a few days ago. OK. Great. Instead of just talking about how managing PPP projects, infrastructure projects and real estate investments, I’m management guru now… Not my cup of tea. Managing staff is too complex. I’d prefer have no employees… but look, you can reach what you can reach by your own, and if you look at the sky, you many need people sustaining the stairs, right? There is another tip I can give you...Read more
Welcome to the Tinder eraEvery week I receive one or two investment opportunities. Some are good, some are not that great, a few are run-away-as-fast-as-you-can opportunities. Only a few pass the basic filter. I’m not a passive investor, but quiet active. So, if I don’t have control and it’s not in my area of expertise, the answer is a simple No. The opportunity could be great, but without focus, you won’t arrive too far away. As a beheaded chicken, you’ll heat many walls without a clear direction. There is so much...Read more
The Antagonist