My favorite thing about the new decade is that it offers an opportunity to practice long-term thinking. I’m aware that the effect is purely psychological. What matters is, that it works! So let’s put the weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly rhythms aside, and focus on decades for a change. Review of the 2010s Tech is…
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If you're not in charge of your own time, you are a slave
For a long time, I felt like a slave. I’ve enslaved myself with my own startup. I’ve enslaved myself by being funded by outside investors, not customers. I’ve enslaved myself by saying yes to things I should have said no to. I’ve enslaved myself by not valuing my time. I don’t want to feel enslaved….
The Best Habits I Started in 2019
I love building new habits. Also, breaking them. Here are the best ones I started in 2019: Guided journalingEvery morning, I do guided journaling, using the Stoic Routine App. It helps me to reflect, letting off steam and re-focus on what is truly important. I’m practicing this for a full year now, and the benefits…
Real Estate Investing Framework
[This is a talk I recently gave at The Frankfurt Conversation 2019 by MOI Global.] I’d like to summarize some of the lessons I learned from helping to run a buy and hold real estate portfolio: Lesson 1: Find a framework Before my involvement, I had no prior experience in the real estate industry. So…
Investing Lessons from Running a Startup
[This is an edited version of a talk I recently gave at a MOI Global event.] I’d like to share some of the lessons I learned from being a startup founder, and how these can be applied to investing: Lesson 1: I’m a better investor because I was a founder As Warren Buffett famously said:…
Hell Yeah or No
Four words. This is the simplest and most useful decision making concept I have come across. I reflect on it regularly and it helps me to say “no” with more conviction. If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, say “no”. When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than “Wow! That…
Cleaning up my Mac
My hard disc was almost full, so I was faced with a choice: buy more space or clean up. I chose to do a cleaning session and now have 40% free space. Here’s how I did it. Clean up iTunesHere I found the most potential. I stopped the syncing of podcasts with my iPhone and…
Why I Stopped Drinking Alcohol
This thread reminded me that it is now 10 years since I stopped drinking alcohol. I haven’t had one drop since. Sometimes people ask me: Why not just one glass? Why stop completely? Why not enjoy life? The simple answer is: It simplified my life. It’s easier to quit something 100% than 98%. It eliminates…
How to choose a money manager?
You’ve inherited some money, or sold a business. What now? Most people don’t have the skill, time, or willingness to manage their own investments. One option is to entrust your funds to a professional money manager. But how to choose one? I would recommend the following checklist: 1. Skin in the gameThe first question I…
How to Identify Great Capital Allocators?
This was the topic at the recent MOI Global Zurich chapter dinner I attended. Here I summarize my notes and thoughts on this topic. I understand capital allocation as follows: How do companies spend their limited resources, be it capital, time, or mental resources, so that they create the maximum amount of value per invested…