05 | Sharpening the saw

Oct 04, 2020

Hey guys,

This week I’m writing you from the beautiful Scottish Highlands. Kristina and I arrived yesterday to Inverness. We’re ready to hit the road for the next 7 days.

It was January 2009 when I read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. This was one year before moving to Europe and becoming a world citizen. Back in the days I didn’t even know I was moving. I was trying though. Failing over and over again while approaching my last year of University.

This book changed my mind. Particularly the last habit: sharpen the saw. In simple terms, preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have: you! Having a balance for self-renewal across 4 key areas: physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual. I know it sounds pretty obvious but it’s not trivial to implement it.

I created a system for myself to improve across those areas. One of my favourite “rules” is having mini-retirements. Why waiting for a 2-week-holiday and come back knackered when you can have plenty of mini breaks before with positive impact in those 4 areas?

This is not rocket science, you can start small by taking a day off every month and enjoying a long weekend with your partner away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. You’ll notice changes straight away.

📸 Issue's Cover

This is the luxury hotel where the prestigious Alain Ducasse is located

📝 This Week's Blog Post

Last Friday I had a mind-blowing gastronomic experience at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester in Mayfair, London. Imaginative modern French haute cuisine and unforgettable masterpieces. Let’s explore why it has a three-Michelin-starred status.

💸 Financial Freedom

In the previous issue, we talked about alternative investments such as Luxury watches. Let’s talk about Wine. Not the one you typically drink but Investment Grade Fine Wine. The one that can give you some profits if you do your homework. Bordeaux is still the most profitable region for the fine wine market. But there are opportunities in Burgundy, Rhone, Champagne, Tuscany and California too. It has low correlation to equity markets, it’s a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation, tax efficient, relatively liquid and provides diversification for your portfolio. If you’re curious, the Liv-ex is a global marketplace for the wine trade. No need to sign up but you can have a look at some of their reports to understand a bit more.

🛠️ Work Smarter (Not Harder!)

Last week, we said that small changes turn into big wins. Some months ago I started using Notion and it’s bringing my productivity to a new level. I created a workspace where I’ve been able to accelerate my content creation process for my Blog, Newsletter, Instagram posts/videos and doing a little test for YouTube. This is the ultimately all-in-one-workspace.

🧳 Lifestyle Design

If you remember last Sunday I talked about early retirement and before I shared some tricks about luxury hotels and business class flights. I want to insist on something. I’m now writing you from Inverness in the beautiful Scottish Highlands. I booked British Airways flights and booked the Marriott for the weekend as it’s near the airport and convenient to start driving to different places. Do you think I spent a fortune because I skipped low cost flights and cheaper hotels? Absolutely not. For the flights, I used points (5,600 avios) and cash (£108 in total for 2 people, this is £27 per leg!). For the hotel, I paid only £33 per night. Why? Because I’m a member of Marriott Bonvoy, I have access to this type of deals when available (not always but there’s many “flash sales”). We talked about this 2 weeks ago. You don’t need to be a millionaire; you just need to open your eyes and understand how the system works.