What I’ve Been Reading

Given that his shortest seminar lasts 4 days, when Tony Robbins writes a book you can almost certainly guarantee it is going to be thick enough replace a brick. That said, you know it will be the most comprehensive approach to a subject you will find; not just packed full of the most important information but also with the mental tools to ensure you actually action the advice.

Life Force: How New Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine Can Transform the Quality of Your Life & Those You Love co-authored by Peter Diamandis, is no exception here. What if there were scientific solutions that could wipe out your deepest fears of falling ill, receiving a life-threatening diagnosis, or feeling the effects of ageing? What if you had access to the same cutting-edge tools and technology used by peak performers and the world’s greatest athletes? Well now you do. Life Force brings you more than 100 of the world’s top medical minds and the latest research, inspiring comeback stories, and amazing advancements in precision medicine that you can apply today to help extend the length and quality of your life, and most of it will blow your mind.

Be warned, it’s a long and detailed book; but it contains so much incredible work, research and advice. If you want to live a long life with a great quality of health, it is a must read.

What’s Been Making Me Laugh

Chat GPT has had a huge impact in its short life, and one of the biggest debates I hear is the impact of AI like Chat GPT on how schools educate and evaluate their students. Whilst I haven’t watched South Park in years, this 30 second clip on Chat GPT made me laugh about this very problem.

App I’ve Found Useful

Carrying business cards around bugs me. Nowadays I don’t even carry credit cards with me, so why would I want to carry business cards on the off chance I want to give my contact details to someone? - and for me as an owner of multiple businesses, there is the question of which business card! Blinq is the digital business card that uploads my contact details, photo and social media links straight into the recipient’s phone through a simple and quickly accessible QR code on your phone. Boom!

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

In her talk Your elusive creative genius, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the global best seller Eat, Pray Love, muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius.  It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk. She brilliantly differentiates between ‘being’ a genius and ‘having’ a genius - a distinction I am keen to explore in my work.

Quote of the Week

If you want to succeed at anything—whether it’s building a hugely profitable business, constructing a stormproof investment portfolio, or creating a healthy lifestyle that fills you with boundless energy—you need to study people who have already achieved the result you’re after.

• Tony Robbins, Life Force.

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

Andrew Bailey, the bank's governor, has warned that if prices keep being set at high levels and inflation continues to go up, interest rates will need to rise even further, which in the long term will not benefit anyone. For example, as interest rates rise, those with tracker mortgages will see an immediate increase in their monthly payments. The Bank of England has been steadily increasing interest rates as it tries to make borrowing money more expensive and encourage people to spend less, with the aim of stopping prices from rising so quickly. Despite all this they are still confident that inflation is likely to drop sharply this year and Bailey, has said that the risk of recession for the UK "has gone down quite a lot", adding that the prospects for economic growth are "now considerably better". He was also confident that the UK banking system is not under threat in light of the collapse of 2 US banks, and the rescue of one Swiss lender; although, he did confirm that they are being very vigilant and alert to the situation, which is certainly good to hear!

Business Matters

I recently watched a short talk by Geoff Ramm called Elliot’s Magic Ticket, and it got me thinking.

Referrals have always been a huge part of how we have grown Efficient Portfolio; you get warm trusting conversations with people that are likely to be your ideal client. In The Trusted Team we have helped business generate more referrals using the processes and principals we employed at Efficient Portfolio, and one of those was to always aim to exceed expectations. You don’t always succeed, but when you under promise and over deliver, it encourages people to talk about their experience. This is exactly what happened with Elliot’s Magic Ticket. Give it a watch and have a think about how you could achieve this level of conversation about your business.

If you want to find out more about The Trusted Team and how it could help you generate for leads through routes like more referrals, we have a taster workshop coming up that you can join for free. You can find out more and/or register here.

Sometimes a change is as good as a rest, and so this is the final Friday Footnotes that will be sent under the Efficient Portfolio branding. However, fear not, they will continue to deliver the same varied content just under a new look and branded as The Trusted Team. Out with the old and in with the new!

TRIBEathlon Podcast

Eoin Everard is a former international runner with impressive achievements, including being a sub 4-minute miler and a five-time national champion. He has also won the 3k European Indoor Masters Championship.

As a PhD holder in biomechanics and a chartered physio, he has a wealth of knowledge to share about injury prevention, including the most common causes of running injuries and key steps to avoid them. He also highlights the importance of preventing back pain when sitting and how it can affect training. Eoin provides insights into the nuances of training, such as why running too hard is the biggest mistake for distance runners and how to a simple 3-minute routine that can improve your running stride.

Claire and I wanted to chat to him about how to avoid injuries, the importance of your shoe choice for race and training plus the art of marketing your business as the expert.

What I’ve Been Reading

They say that economists have predicted 9 of the last 2 recessions, so you have to take their opinions and thoughts with a large pinch of salt; that said, you should still listen to them occasionally. One economist that I think is worth listening to is Peter Zehan, and whilst I definitely do not agree with everything he says, there is no doubt that he knows his stuff and you will learn a huge amount out about the world.

The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization is jam packed full or incredible facts, trends and predictions. In this book, Zeihan envisions a future where countries must independently produce goods, grow food, and secure energy with shrinking, aging populations. Few nations can manage this, leading to drastic changes in manufacturing, agriculture, energy, and trade. Zeihan's insightful, witty, and irreverent work explores this world's end and beginning. Personally, I think he needs to be more optimistic about how technology will make some of his doom and gloom better, but the issues of China, Europe and many other countries are without doubt a huge future challenge.

What I’ve Been Watching

My Octopus Teacher is one of the most unexpectedly beautiful and interesting documentaries that I have seen. Now granted I love the underwater world so I might be biased, but it is still bouncing around in my head for many reasons, one of which is further down this email. It started a little slow, and I nearly didn’t go back to it; but what unfolds in an incredible story of one man taking the time to see a little understood species in its natural habitat every day! What Craig Foster discovers is so much more than its eating habits or its defence mechanisms. I for one will never look at an octopus in the same light again, although I will be watching this again with the family.

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

Have you had your daily dose of fun? It's not just enjoyable, it's also essential for your health and happiness says science journalist, Catherine Price, in her brilliant TED talk Why having fun is the secret to a healthier life. She proposes a new definition of fun - what she calls "true fun" - and shares easy, evidence-backed ways to weave playfulness, flow and connection into your everyday life. There are loads of brilliant takeaways from this talk, and I’d really encourage everyone to spare 12 minutes to take it in.

Quote of the Week

“The real question is whether China can even hold itself together as a country.”

• Peter Zeihan

Business Matters

Watching My Octopus Teacher got me thinking about the power of delegation in business. One of the benefits of delegating more in business is it means you give up the things you dislike or aren’t very good at and get more time to focus on the activity that you both love and are really good at.

This is usually the activity in your business that actually generates the income, and thus delegating more and more of the other stuff allows the business to grow. When you delegate the other things away, it allows you to go deeper into that one thing that you love and excel at.

If you’ll excuse the pun, freeing up time to go diving to see the same octopus every day for a year was certainly going deeper into one single activity for Foster, but by the end of it he knew more about the octopus than probably anyone on the planet. Bill Gates did the same with programming and I think we can agree that he didn’t do too badly either. So, whilst making more money might be one of the benefits of delegating more, so is becoming the best at what you do. Dive deep!

TRIBEathlon Podcast

As we are still on a break between season 4 and 5, now is a good opportunity to go back and revisit some of the older episodes of the TRIBEathlon podcast; one of my favourite early episodes was with Sean Conway, who is currently halfway towards doing 102 Ironman races in 102 days…crazy!

Sean was the ‘First’ person to swim from Lands’ End to John O’Groats (a story told in Hell and High Water), the person to complete the ‘Furthest’ triathlon (around the UK as seen in the film ‘The Edge’) and the ‘Fastest’ to cycle across Europe (Europe or Bust) – and these are just a few of his exploits. What is interesting about chatting to Sean is how little he enjoys his adventures, but how he has turned them into a career that he loves.  You can listen to Sean talk about being First, Fastest, Furthest here.

What I’ve Been Reading

I’ve recently read the best book on diet or food I’ve read for years, possibly ever. After listening to the interview of Jessie Inchauspe on Diary of a CEO, reading Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar became a must for me and was complete less than a week later. This book is a guide to improving health and well-being through managing blood sugar levels.

Inchauspe emphasizes that glucose, which enters our bloodstream through the starchy or sweet foods we eat, impacts everyone, not just people with diabetes. When glucose levels are high, people may experience weight gain, fatigue, hunger, skin breakouts, wrinkles, and hormonal imbalance, and over time these conditions can lead to chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, cancer, dementia, and heart disease​. Inchauspe provides easy to implement strategies to lower glucose levels without dieting, including eating foods in a specific order to aid weight loss, choosing dessert over a sweet snack to curb cravings and balance hormones, and using a secret ingredient to enjoy starchy foods guilt-free​​. The book presents a new perspective on health, filled with tips that can make immediate improvements in the reader's life, regardless of their dietary preferences​​.

What I’ve Been Watching

These days it is rare I find American comedies very funny -  too cliched or teen focused for my liking; so I was beyond surprised when as a family we all fell in love with Young Sheldon. It is a series revolving around Sheldon Cooper, a precocious 9-year-old boy who starts attending high school in East Texas, where he stands out due to his brilliant intellect and social cluelessness​. He is supported by his strong-willed mother, football coach father, and his older brother and twin sister, all of whom form the core of the show's humour and heart​. Whilst it might be considered to have predictable jokes and plot twists, the quirky nature of Sheldon and the family around him never cease to make us laugh - me especially!

If you’re looking for a light-hearted, short episode series to keep the family in the same room of an evening, I’ve not found better than this. If you have, please let me know, as we’ll no doubt be through the 4^th season soon!

App I’ve Found Useful

Ever got to the end of a meeting and thought, I wish I could reference back to something that was mentioned, share part of that conversation with a colleague or have a transcript of the conversation to use elsewhere?

I have used Otter.ai on and off for a few years, but more recently have integrated with Zoom. It now dials in as a separate user and creates a live transcription of the conversation along with a recording. Just today I was able to go back into the transcript, search for a specific section of the conversation through words mentioned, and relisten to that section, and then share it with a colleague. Another amazing way AI can help us become more productive.

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

Ever wonder how we poop? I was recently watching a TED talked entitled The surprisingly charming science of your gut by Dr. Giulia Enders in which you can learn about the gut - the system where digestion (and a whole lot more) happens. In this brilliant TED talk, doctor and author, Enders, takes us inside the complex, fascinating science behind our gut, including its connection to mental health.

It turns out, looking closer at something we might shy away from can leave us feeling more fearless and appreciative of ourselves.

Quote of the Week

“I’m only nine years old. Most evil doesn’t start till puberty.”

― Sheldon Cooper

Business Matters

There is so much talk about the impact of AI in business at the moment; in our most recent Trusted Team workshop I did a section on the tools we can use immediately to improve our productivity and reach within our business in a fraction of the time, using Generative AI. You probably won’t lose your job to AI that soon, but you might well lose it to someone who knows how to harness the impact of AI.

If you’d like to step inside a Trusted Team workshop, I’d like to give you an idea of what goes on, at the same time as exploring how you could boost your business using AI. If you’d like to watch The AI Advance, you can here. If you’d like to attend one of our workshops as a taster for free, just drop us a line and we’d love to let you experience it first-hand.

TRIBEathlon Podcast

We’re taking a break on creating new podcasts while we build up to Season 5, so sit tight. In the meantime, why not catch up on one of my older favourite episodes?

Occasionally you meet someone that changes your perspective forever. Sam Perkins was as passionate about triathlon as he is about Nottingham Forest, then he received the earth-shattering diagnosis that he had Motor Neurone Disease (MND), an incurable and terminal disease. I got the opportunity to chat Sam, who is nothing short of inspiring, about how his love of triathlon is helping him cope, and how the sport is allowing him to raise money to raise awareness and help fund research to fight this awful disease. Since the interview, he has completed the Outlaw half, The London Marathon and much more too. Simply inspiring!

What I’ve Been Reading

Lately I have been rereading a few of my favourite books from years gone by. The One Minute Manager is a concise and impactful management guide written by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. The book presents a management philosophy focused on achieving exceptional results in a short amount of time. It emphasises three key practices: setting clear goals, providing immediate feedback, and offering timely and specific praise, all in just one minute. It offers so many great management insights, and one that every manager must read.

What I’ve Been Watching

At Uni I was a closet Bob Marley fan, and whilst it isn’t something I listen to often now, it still holds a special place in my heart. Who Shot the Sheriff is a thought-provoking documentary that investigates the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976 and delves into the political and social tensions surrounding the event. The film explores the complex web of Jamaican politics, international espionage, and the influence of reggae music as it unravels the mystery of who was behind the attack. Through interviews with key figures and archival footage, the documentary sheds light on the interconnected forces that shaped this pivotal moment in Marley's life and in Jamaica's history. Worth watching if that resonates with you too!

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

Dave McGillivray has served as the race director of the Boston Marathon since 1988. He is also a philanthropist, author, accomplished athlete, and motivational speaker. Dave’s accomplishments include running across the United States in 1978 and completing 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents at the age of 62.

In Defining Moments Dave discusses lessons learned over his long career and the defining moments which have led him to where he is today. What I loved about this TED talk was hearing how he’s overcome his own challenges, and helped others do the same.

Quote of the Week

"Innovation is the lifeblood of any business. In today's fast-paced world, those who fail to innovate risk becoming obsolete. Embrace change, foster a culture of creativity, and constantly challenge the status quo. Remember, it's innovate or die."

• Elon Musk

Business Matters

If we think about Elon Musk’s quote above and apply it to the impact Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have on businesses of all sectors, it is easy to see that we either need to embrace it or be outdone by our competitors. The AI advance is happening at astonishing pace, and anyone in business needs to be looking at how it can improve and enhance their proposition now, or risk extinction.

That is why, at our next Trusted Team workshop, we will be helping entrepreneurs and professionals identify the specific threats and opportunities created by AI to their business and sector. If you would like to join us for one of our events, you can sign up to one of our free taster workshops by clicking here or you can enquire about the upcoming opportunities by emailing us at [email protected].

Podcasts I’ve Been Listening To

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the top ultra-runners in the world, Beth Pascall, for a new podcast I will soon be launching (more on that soon). Beth’s typical races are 100+ mile runs across mountainous terrain - something that seems a world away for most of us.

During my research I found 2 new podcasts that featured her, both of which I will listen to again. One being Talk Ultra and the other is from one of my favourite authors, Adharanand Finn (his book, Rise of the Ultra-Runners, was featured in last week’s Friday Footnotes). His podcast ‘The Way of the Runner’ has some great interviews, including the one with Beth.

The ultra-running scene is blossoming, so if you want to find out more, I suggest giving both a try.

What I’ve Been Reading

I have recently finished reading (listening to) ‘Money - A Users Guide’ by Laura Whateley. While many of the concepts are relatively basic, I have yet to find a better foundational book about money.

In my eyes, all school leavers and young adults (perhaps old ones too!) should be forced to read it; which is why it has been featured in my Life Library. Perhaps this book can go some way to offsetting the lack of financial education in our school system.

What I’ve Been Watching

As part of my research for the interview with Beth Pascall I also watched the film Wrath, where Beth and another ultra-runner, Damian Hall, attempt to break the fastest known time on the Cape Wrath Trail (the notoriously tough 230-mile trail in north-west Scotland) which stands at 7 days, 9 hours and 31 minutes and was set in April 2018. More of a trek across wild, mountainous terrain than running, but this film shows you how stunning the North Scotland landscape really is. It took me back to my Duke of Edinburgh expeditions up around Lochinver, whilst showing what the human body really is capable of. A great watch if you can spare 40 minutes and £2.99!

Quote of the Week

“The quality of what human beings do, is based on the quality of the thinking we do first.”

• Unknown

What I’ve Been Building

A few weeks ago, I talked about building a ‘Life Library’; a series of books that we should read to get a good foundation of knowledge in life’s most important subjects.

The first attempt is now ready, and you can take a look here.

Although not all recommendations will make it into the library, they are all greatly appreciated, so please do get in touch and let me know some of yours!

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

Saving for the future is one thing and investing your capital wisely is another, but how do you protect that money? There are so many aspects of life that can erode our hard earned cash; whether it be tax, divorce, illness, death or care fees. Most of them are seriously inconvenient at the time, death particularly, but they can have a monumental impact on our finances. So how can we protect our money better?

We have put together another free online tool called The 1 Minute Wealth Protector that will give you an immediate assessment as to how well you have protected your money. Feel free to give it a try to see how well you score!

What I’ve Been Reading

In ‘Tribe of Mentors’ Tim Ferriss, the best-selling author of ‘The 4-Hour Workweek’, shares the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure book―a compilation of tools, tactics, and habits from 130+ of the world's top performers. From iconic entrepreneurs to elite athletes, from artists to billionaire investors, their short profiles can help you answer life's most challenging questions, achieve extraordinary results, and transform your life. It is a great book to pick up and read in short bursts, and each short chapter rarely fails to give me a new idea.

What I’ve Been Watching

I was aware of a little of the history of the Suffragettes, but until watching ‘Suffragette’ the film, I hadn’t ever considered the multitude of sacrifices they made to gain the vote.

Inspired by their campaign, this captivating film’s story centres around a working wife and mother who comes to realise that she must fight for her rights at home and in the workplace.  You can watch it on Amazon here.

Passion Into Profit

Andy Harrington has been instrumental in helping me in my business in recent years. Initially he helped me improve the art of public speaking with his Public Speakers University, and more recently by developing the webinars within our business to generate clients. He has very kindly offered our clients a free copy of his audiobook ‘Passion into Profit’. You can download it by clicking here.

Quote of the Week

‘Why are you trying to fit in, when you were born to stand out.’

• Andy Harrington

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

Making sure our loved ones are ok when we’re gone may not be the most fun you can have with your money, but it is some of the most important money you will spend. When thinking about life cover, you hope you’ll never need it, but you also want to ensure those you care about would be ok if you weren’t here. As it isn’t a fun way of spending your money, and money you hope you are wasting, it is important to keep the cost to an absolute minimum. Three ways you can reduce the costs are:

• As a business owner, switch your personal cover to Relevant Life cover to get tax relief on your premiums
• Switch Term Assurance to Family Income Benefit, which pays out an income instead of capital, and thus is a cheaper way to cover things like school fees
• Review your mortgage protection every few years; as the sum assured declines with your mortgage, you can often get the same cover for a lower premium.

If you want our help with this, just ask!

Friday Footnotes

What I’ve Been Reading

A couple of weeks ago I shared our Life Library; a series of books in a wide variety of areas that we should probably all read. Wanting to practice what I preach I recently read ‘What You Need to Know About Economics’ by George Buckley. I’ve spent my career working around economic principals, and reading economics books, but never actually read one that went back to the basis. This book is a brilliant summary of the key economic principles, and one I wish I’d read years ago. Definitely a good addition to the Life Library.

What I’ve Been Listening To

A few weeks ago I also recommended the podcast by Michael Lewis called ‘Against the Rules’. If you like Michael, or his books (Liars Poker, The Big Short, Moneyball etc) which I have to say I do, then it is well worth listening to Tim Ferris’ podcast interview of him here. He is a fascinating guy, with some contrarian views, but the talk provides many opportunities to learn.

What I’ve Been Watching

A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to interview Luke Tyburski, who, among other things, attempted to complete ‘The Ultimate Triathlon’. A monumental attempt to swim from Morocco to Spain, cycle from Spain to France, and then run from France to Monaco; a whopping 2000km in 12 days!  The journey is certainly not without its hiccups, and it certainly doesn’t all go according to plan, but it is a brilliant demonstration of how far you can push the human body, and how to cope when things don’t go according to plan. Check it out on Amazon here.

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

How do creative people come up with great ideas? In ‘The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers’, organisational psychologist Adam Grant studies "originals": thinkers who dream up new ideas and take action to put them into the world. In this talk, learn three unexpected habits of originals -- including embracing failure. "The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they're the ones who try the most," Grant says. "You need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones."

Quote of the Week

“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”

• Jim Rohn

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

Earlier this week I was chatting to a client of mine that runs a business with 2 other founders. We got chatting about what would happen to the business if something serious happened to one of them. With no prior planning, they concluded that if one of them died, the surviving widow would suddenly become 1/3 owner of the business. We explored how that would work; never being actively involved in the business, the widow would need income to support the family. The surviving directors on the other hand would want full control of the business as it might well be suffering financially as a result of the loss, and neither the widow nor directors wanted the widow sat at the boardroom table thereafter.

Even if they agreed the terms to buy the shares, would there be the capital available to do so. Being sensible, they had put Key Person cover in place the make sure the company had capital to recruit a replacement and deal with the loss, but they hadn’t given consideration as to how the company ownership would be affected.

Friday Footnotes

What a difference a holiday makes. If you haven’t taken any time off since lockdown started, and I know lots of people haven’t, I highly recommend it. Clearly foreign travel is difficult, but a holiday in the UK, or a ‘staycation’ can do you the world of good.

Here are a few things I’ve found brilliant lately.

What I’ve Been Watching

When I was at our global conference last year in Miami… boy, that seems like a lifetime ago… I saw a talk by The Minimalists. Intrigued to learn more, I recently watched the documentary ‘Minimalism: A Documentary About the important Things’ that features them. Especially in this current environment, it is good for us to evaluate our life to think about how much ‘stuff’ we really need in it. You can watch it here.

What I’ve Been Reading

Sticking with the theme of evaluating our lives for the better, I recently finished the book ‘The Monk who Sold his Ferrari’ by Robin Sharma. Whilst this doesn’t compete with his latest book, ‘The 5AM Club’, in my eyes, it is still a brilliant book to help you rethink your life; something that seems to be happening for a lot of people at the moment. So much so that Jonny Wilkinson said “[Its] principles have been fascinating and there were shared principles from writers such as Robin Sharma and Deepak Chopra. How does all that impact on a game of rugby? I can’t answer that. All I know is it’s enough to help me to proceed in a way that makes me happy enough to go out there and be proud of who I am and what I hope I can bring to this team.”

Travel

I’ve never owned a Ferrari, but I cannot tell you how much I love my Tesla. Switching to an electric car nearly 3 years ago is one of the best decisions I have made.

People constantly question me as to whether the hassle of charging on a long journey is a problem, and I have concluded that it is actually a benefit. It forces us to stop for relatively short breaks that allow us to arrive at our destination feeling much fresher; although this is also helped by autopilot taking on most of the responsibility of the motorways.

On a 5 ½ hour drive to Cornwall, we need around 40 minutes of charging, which is usually 2 toilet stops (10 minutes) and one meal stop (20 minutes). Not only that, all that charging on route has been free! If you are thinking about buying one, you will get a discount if you use this link.

Website I find Useful

Since ‘going electric’ I have regularly used and recommended https://abetterrouteplanner.com/.

Whilst the Tesla will plan a journey for you, if you want to plan a journey before you leave, this website makes it really easy to do. It is also a good way of assessing different electric cars. For example, if I did my trip to Cornwall in any other electric car other than a Tesla, it would double the charging time, as the supercharger network is pretty much limited to Tesla’s at the moment.

Quote of the Week

“The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young”

• Henry Ford

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

Today we were brainstorming with a new marketing company about the biggest ‘pain points’ for our clients. Once we have done that it occurred to me that the majority of people really come to us with the same concern.

Whilst there are many different variations on the theme, the greatest concern we see is driven by the question ‘will we have enough for our future?’ As the tool that we use to answer that question is the lifetime cashflow forecast, it still amazes me that the majority of advice firms do not embrace them. After all, you can sleep better at night if you know you have enough financially, or are at least on track to. One quick way to check is by using our free 2 Minute Retirement Plan.

If you aren’t into running, cycling or swimming, I apologise in advance as there does seem to be a large bias towards these this week. That said, there is always the finance piece to bring you back down to earth…and a discount code for some delicious nut butter too!

TRIBEathlon Podcast

This week we have released the TRIBEathlon podcast episode featuring adventure athlete, Sean Conway. A few of his exploits include being the ‘First’ person to swim from Lands’ End to John O’Groats (a story told in Hell and High Water), the person to complete the ‘Furthest’ triathlon around the UK (as seen in the film ‘The Edge’) and the ‘Fastest’ to cycle across Europe (Europe or Bust).

What I found interesting when chatting to Sean is how little he enjoys his adventures, but how he has turned them into a career that he loves.  You can listen to ‘First, Fastest, Furthest’ with Sean Conway here.

What I’ve Been Watching

Years ago, I read Lance Armstrong’s books, and I gave many as gifts as I found them to be truly inspirational. He then went from hero to zero with the confession of taking performance enhancing drugs. If he lied about the drugs, should the entire book be moved to the fiction section?

I feel, since watching ‘Lance’ on BBC iPlayer, I have finally got to the last chapter. It demonstrates quite clearly that Lance was a nasty, self-centred cheat. However, it also reminds us of the incredible things he achieved in sport, recovering from a near terminal cancer and in helping others with cancer.

Steve Jobs & Elon Musk are/were both brilliant in business, but also often not very nice people, and perhaps to get to the top, sometimes that’s what it takes. I am not sure I like Lance anymore, but this documentary has certainly been a fascinating watch.

What I’ve Been Reading

I have listed a few running books here over the months, but I can genuinely say the best running book on technique that I have found is Shane Benzie’s book ‘The lost art of running’. A coach of some of the world’s top runners, it is crammed full of brilliant stories alongside tips on how to improve your running technique. A must for anyone even vaguely interested in running.

What I’ve Been Eating

As a kid I never really got the weirdly dry textured paste that was called peanut butter. As I have become more focused on my health and the quality of the nut butters have improved, I have come to love them; but not just any. One of the best I have found is Pip and Nut, initially created by Pip in her kitchen. I love all of their products, love the fact that they are palm oil free, and I particularly love their flavoured nut butters like coconut almond butter and their maple peanut butter. If you want to give them a try, use the discount code TRIBEATHLON15 and you’ll get 15% off your first order.

Quote of the Week

“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.”

• Lance Armstrong

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

What I loved about chatting to Sean Conway in my TRIBEathlon podcast was the clear focus he has toward his goals. To set clear goals to be the first, fastest and go the furthest was a significant reason for him achieving such incredible results.

The same applies to our financial future. If we set clear goals, we know where we are aiming, and thus much more likely to get there. As they say, if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. Knowing exactly where you are going allows you to make better financial decisions with an eye to the future. That is the power of having a clear financial plan, and then revisiting those goals regularly.

At Efficient Portfolio we give our clients The Efficient Goal Planner to help them keep a clear focus on their goals. Please feel free to use this template too and let us know if it helps you!

TRIBEathlon Podcasts

I first heard of Mitch Phillips, sports editor at Reuters, on the Marathon Talks podcast, where he explained how he achieved a sub 3 hour marathon using the run/walk/run method (aka the Galloway method).  Until this time, I had assumed this would be a tactic used for times around the 5 or 6 hour mark, but not for Mitch. In this podcast I wanted to drill down into how he refined the Galloway method and how he finally achieved his goal of a sub 3 marathon using it.

Sports scientist, organiser of Rutland's Dambuster and Vitruvian triathlons and the founder of Les Stables, a purpose built triathlon training camp, Mark Shaw certainly knows the world of triathlon well. In this podcast I wanted to get into the detail of what it takes to organise an event, and how you can best coach athletes to improve their running, swimming or cycling.

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

After reading incredible books like ‘Outliers’, Malcolm Gladwell has become one of my favourite authors and his TED talk doesn’t disappoint either. In ‘Choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce’ Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce - and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.

What I’ve Been Drinking

Lockdown has been a great opportunity to drink more… good things and bad! Maybe I’ll feature some bad things in future episodes, but a great thing I have been drinking is more coconut water.

High in electrolytes and antioxidants as well as reportedly being good for your heart, kidneys and blood pressure, the coconut really is the fruit that keeps on giving. I’ve particularly enjoyed Vita Cocos new ‘pressed’ coconut water, as it even tastes great too. If you buy it here, you can use the discount code ‘VITA-TRIBE-15’ for a 15% discount too!

Quote of the Week

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

• Malcolm Gladwell.

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

Sorry to hit you with another podcast, but I felt it was worth it. In this month's Fit Finance Sessions, I was  joined by partner in Roythornes Solicitors, Mike Matthews. If you are thinking of selling, or buying a business, this podcast is most definitely for you. Mike offers his expert insight into the best ways to achieve the highest price and most lucrative deal for your business, and offers some clear guidance on the best (and worst) ways to achieve a sale that works for you.

TRIBEathlon Podcasts

I first heard of Mitch Phillips, sports editor at Reuters, on the Marathon Talks podcast, where he explained how he achieved a sub 3 hour marathon using the run/walk/run method (aka the Galloway method).  Until this time, I had assumed this would be a tactic used for times around the 5 or 6 hour mark, but not for Mitch. In this podcast I wanted to drill down into how he refined the Galloway method and how he finally achieved his goal of a sub 3 marathon using it.

Sports scientist, organiser of Rutland's Dambuster and Vitruvian triathlons and the founder of Les Stables, a purpose built triathlon training camp, Mark Shaw certainly knows the world of triathlon well. In this podcast I wanted to get into the detail of what it takes to organise an event, and how you can best coach athletes to improve their running, swimming or cycling.

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

After reading incredible books like ‘Outliers’, Malcolm Gladwell has become one of my favourite authors and his TED talk doesn’t disappoint either. In ‘Choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce’ Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce - and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.

What I’ve Been Drinking

Lockdown has been a great opportunity to drink more… good things and bad! Maybe I’ll feature some bad things in future episodes, but a great thing I have been drinking is more coconut water.

High in electrolytes and antioxidants as well as reportedly being good for your heart, kidneys and blood pressure, the coconut really is the fruit that keeps on giving. I’ve particularly enjoyed Vita Cocos new ‘pressed’ coconut water, as it even tastes great too. If you buy it here, you can use the discount code ‘VITA-TRIBE-15’ for a 15% discount too!

Quote of the Week

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

• Malcolm Gladwell.

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

Sorry to hit you with another podcast, but I felt it was worth it. In this month's Fit Finance Sessions, I was  joined by partner in Roythornes Solicitors, Mike Matthews. If you are thinking of selling, or buying a business, this podcast is most definitely for you. Mike offers his expert insight into the best ways to achieve the highest price and most lucrative deal for your business, and offers some clear guidance on the best (and worst) ways to achieve a sale that works for you.