03 | Mind the gap! Back to London
Hey guys,
This week I went to the city after a while. I met some of my colleagues in person and had an amazing lunch at Arabica Borough Market.
I also started a new book called Disrupt Yourself. Apparently, it’s great for those who still want to be relevant in the technological era. This is my 10th book of 2020. As mentioned earlier this year, one of my goals was to read one book per month.
If you haven’t done so, please check out my latest blog article: Was This The Most Boring Apple Event Ever?
Today, I share 3 thoughts about Financial Freedom, Work Smarter (Not Harder!) and Lifestyle Design.
📸 Issue's Cover
💸 Financial Freedom
It looks like these days it’s all about gold. Why? For ages, gold has been used as a currency and value indicator. A way of building wealth. Nowadays it’s not a currency but it’s a way of diversifying wealth (your portfolio!) offering insurance and protection during crisis. Gold price spiked in every major crisis in history. Like now. Are you too late to jump on the shiny train? I don’t think so given the current forecasts. You don’t need to be an expert to make some profits but you need to pay attention to few things.
🛠️ Work Smarter (Not Harder!)
I’m a massive fan of calendars. Most of the things I do, they are on my Mac calendar. When it comes to work, I keep everyday my Outlook calendar up to date. Fridays are very important days as I spend at least 30 minutes to plan my next week. This means, scheduling new meetings, accepting/cancelling existing ones, drafting content for each of these meetings when possible and ensuring I have some time blocked to work on the most important thing of the day. Benjamin Franklin once said “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”.
🧳 Lifestyle Design
Do you know how I travel in business class many times or I get executive suites in most of the hotels I go? You need to open your eyes and use every perk. Don’t just look, see!
Let’s talk about flights. What is your credit card? I’m asking because American Express has a British Airways Premium Plus Card that can give you 25,000 points if you spend X amount of money within 3 months. You’re probably spending the money anyway but you’re not getting any benefit. These 25,000 points are enough for a return business seat from London to Amsterdam, Berlin or Paris for example. You’ll also collect 1.5 point for every pound you spend. You don’t need British Airways, pick any other airline you typically fly, sign up for their loyalty program and surely it will have some similar benefits.
OK now hotels. I’ve been part of Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program for 7 years and counting. Again, you can get points from credit cards, transfer to your Marriott account, progress on your status and eventually get complimentary upgrades all the time. I’m now an Ambassador Elite and travelling for work gave me a little boost to get there faster… but I can promise you that even the most basic status will give you benefits. You don’t need Marriott, pick any other membership you want. But don’t miss this chance.