05 | Sharpening the saw
Hey guys,
This week Iām writing you from the beautiful Scottish Highlands. Kristina and I arrived yesterday to Inverness. Weāre 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 didnāt 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 itās not trivial to implement it.
I created a system for myself to improve across those areas. One of my favourite ārulesā 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. Youāll notice changes straight away.
šø Issue's Cover
This is the luxury hotel where the prestigious Alain Ducasse is located
š 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. Letās explore why it has a three-Michelin-starred status.
Read more: Michelin 3-Star Dinner at Alain Ducasse in London
šø Financial Freedom
In the previous issue, we talked about alternative investments such as Luxury watches. Letās 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, itās a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation, tax efficient, relatively liquid and provides diversification for your portfolio. If youāre 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.
š ļø Work Smarter (Not Harder!)
Last week, we said that small changes turn into big wins. Some months ago I started using Notion and itās bringing my productivity to a new level. I created a workspace where Iāve 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.
š§³ 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. Iām now writing you from Inverness in the beautiful Scottish Highlands. I booked British Airways flights and booked the Marriott for the weekend as itās 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 (Ā£108 in total for 2 people, this is Ā£27 per leg!). For the hotel, I paid only Ā£33 per night. Why? Because Iām a member of Marriott Bonvoy, I have access to this type of deals when available (not always but thereās many āflash salesā). We talked about this 2 weeks ago. You donāt need to be a millionaire; you just need to open your eyes and understand how the system works.