TRIBEathlon Podcast

Episode 36: Beth Potter is a British long-distance runner and triathlete; she competed for Great Britain in athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but sadly that didn't go according to plan. However, in 2019 she won the gold medal at the European Triathlon Championships, cementing her position as a top triathlete.

In this conversation, I wanted to learn more about how she dealt with the disappointment of being ill at the Olympics, racing in the virtual world, lockdown training and the secrets to her success in transitioning from track to triathlon.

What I’ve Been Reading

Occasionally, you stumble across a story that is almost too good to be true; one that, if it were fiction, you brush over as being too unbelievable. ‘Redemption, From Iron Bars to Ironman’ is one such story.

Nephew of one of Britain’s notorious armed robbers, as featured in the movie Fools Gold, John McAvoy grew up surrounded by some of the most wanted criminals of the time. So, it wasn’t surprising that he was in jail before he was 20, and again with 2 life sentences for armed robbery by 24 - this time in our most secure prison with Abu Hamza and the 7/11 bombers. What is surprising is that he went on to set 3 world records and 8 British records for indoor rowing whilst inside and then become a professional Ironman on his release.

The story sounds farfetched, but the reformed John McAvoy now spends his time racing and helping young people avoid crime. One of the best books I’ve ever read, and I’m looking forward to interviewing him in a few weeks’ time.

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

In the very funny ‘What you don’t know about marriages’ talk from TEDx, writer Jenna McCarthy shares surprising research on how marriages (especially happy marriages) really work. One tip: do not try to win an Oscar for best actress!

App I’ve Found Useful

Since buying an Apple Pencil, I am loving the GoodNotes app. I’ve always preferred writing notes to typing, but hate the paper it wastes and the random notebooks it creates. I recently invested in an Apple Pencil and have switched to journaling on the iPad, as well as all other notes I take. I love having a multitude of notebooks at my fingertips, being able to create colourful mindmaps and charts, and also to be able to move them around retrospectively. It’s like normal notes on steroids!

Quote of the Week

“If you don’t make time for exercise, you’ll probably have to make time for illness.”

• Robin Sharma

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

As we sail towards the end of the tax year, don’t forget to make the most of the few allowances we are given to save tax. If you keep more of what you earn or the growth you achieve and give less to the taxman, you can reach your financial goals so much quicker. Make the most of things like your pensions, ISAs, Capital Gains Tax allowances and gift allowances and you will achieve financial freedom much more quickly. Don’t pay the ‘lazy tax’ by doing nothing, it is entirely optional!

There is no ‘I’ in ‘Team’, but there is a ‘me’ if you look really hard. Seriously though, by working as a team, we can all achieve so much more. So, this week’s Friday Footnotes has the theme of teamwork. After all, we all achieve a lot more when working well in a team.

TRIBEathlon Podcast

Episode 37: Crista Cullen won Gold and Bronze medals in three Olympic appearances, with a total of 197 international caps and 3 as a World All-Star.

Having grown up in rural Kenya, Crista spent her teenage years boarding at Oakham School and over the next decade she progressed through the ranks of elite hockey, that included the incredible London 2012 Olympics and scoring the crucial goal in the final of Rio 2016 to win gold. She now spends her time helping the corporate world and growing her own charity Tofauti, which helps support African wildlife and communities.

In this fascinating interview, Sid and I got the opportunity to chat to Crista about the power of the team, finding a sense of belonging through sport, and creating a purpose beyond sport.

What I’ve Been Watching

As a fanatical scuba diver, I love the sea and the life within it; I kept fish for most of my youth, and that progressed into diving as I travelled more. Nearly every dive has something special to offer (except, for me, the murky dark UK waters I have experienced), and coral is such a key part of it.

In 2016 29% of The Great Barrier Reef’s coral died. If this was a one-off event, it might be ok, but these bleaching events as a result of the sea warming are happening increasingly often. Chasing Coral is a brilliant documentary about this alarming pattern and how, if it continues, there could be barely any coral left in just 30 years’ time, as well as the importance of the coral to the rest of the ocean life. You can watch it on YouTube or here and I encourage as many people to do so as possible. It is only through awareness and working together will we see change.

Podcast I’ve Been Listening To

I’ve been lucky enough to see Sir Clive Woodward talk a couple of times and both were absolutely inspiring and insightful. The impact he has made on British sport cannot be underestimated; not only did he win the Rugby World Cup with England, but that win acted as a springboard for many other sporting successes for a great but under achieving nation.

In his brilliant interview on Don’t Tell me the Score he talks about creating a strong team through TCUP (Thinking Correctly Under Pressure), 3D Thinking (Discover, Distil, Do) and identifying the “rocks” and the “sponges”. Really worth a listen, whether it is for sport or for business.

What I’ve Been Reading

CEO Tools 2.0 by Jim Canfield is a revamped updated version of the original CEO Tools book by Kraig Kramers. Whilst it isn’t woven around as impactful a story as some similar books, like my old favourite The E-Myth Revisited, I think it actually contains even more good advice. I have taken to doing several things differently in the business since reading it and seeing Jim speak.

A really useful weapon in any entrepreneur’s armoury, and something Jim talks about consistently, is the importance of the team in building any business. Another great book for a business owner to sharpen the axe and to build a better team!

Quotes on Teamwork I love

"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." – Isaac Newton

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." – Michael Jordan

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." – Andrew Carnegie

"None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful." – Mother Teresa

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

It is quite common for people to have an Accountant, a Solicitor and a Financial Planner, as they all perform very different roles. Whilst those roles are different, they do however overlap. Historically, the client gets stuck in the middle of these different advice fields and wouldn’t know quite which way to go when getting advice from different experts.

It’s much better that a client’s professional advisers pool their expertise and identify a solution that works best for the client in one cohesive approach. That is why we like to work with other professional firms in what we call ‘The Trusted Team Approach’. We work closely with many firms of accountants and solicitors, and by doing so we can provide a better service to the client.

If you have an accountant or solicitor that is helping you that we don’t know yet, you should always introduce us and allow us to communicate directly. That way we can save you a lot of time, effort and worry. So please do introduce us and help us build you your own Trusted Team.

If you want to see a video about The Trusted Team Approach, there is one here.

TRIBEathlon Podcast

Episode 38: John McAvoy is currently a professional Ironman and Nike sponsored athlete, however in his former life he was a high-profile armed robber who found redemption through the power of sport.

Having broken both British and World records whilst in prison, John is now forging a new life as an endurance athlete and speaker who is committed to using his story of rehabilitation to help and inspire others to change their lives for the better. His journey from iron bars to Ironman is quite astonishing, and one that is inspiring others to do the same. Sid and I wanted to learn more about his incredible story, the power of role models and creating a legacy.

What I’ve Been Watching

Following on from last weeks’ recommendation of Chasing Coral, this week I watched Seaspiracy, from the makers of another former Friday Footnotes recommendation, Cowspiracy. It is of course getting a mixed reception from those impacted by it, but I think you could best sum it up with what, marine conservationist at the University of Exeter, Professor Callum Roberts, said: “It’s not been made for its scientific rigour; it has used the techniques of film storytelling to make its case. My colleagues may rue the statistics, but the basic thrust of it is we are doing a huge amount of damage to the ocean and that’s true. At some point you run out. Whether it’s 2048 or 2079, the question is: ‘Is the trajectory in the wrong direction or the right direction?”.

It makes for incredibly scary and sad viewing. We need to protect our oceans, as they are a vital component for the earth’s stability and, at the moment, it is clear we are not. Please watch and form your own opinion.

What I’ve Been Reading

I love a good book about performance, whether that be in sport or in business, so this week I read The Talent Code: Greatness isn't born. It's grown by Daniel Coyle.

Coyle, an award-winning journalist, considers talent at work in venues as diverse as a music school in Dallas and a tennis academy near Moscow to demonstrate how the wiring of our brains can be transformed by the way we approach particular tasks. He explains what is really going on when apparently unremarkable people suddenly make a major leap forward. He reveals why some teaching methods are so much more effective than others. Above all, he shows how all of us can achieve our full potential if we set about training our brains in the right way. A great read.

What I’ll Be Making My Children Watch:

In ‘The Talent Code’ (mentioned above), they investigated the impact on children’s learning by understanding how we learn. They did this by showing a 50 minute video on how our brain changes when we learn, and the impact of this one video was phenomenal.

Carol Dweck’s brilliant book ‘Mindset’ is the most quoted book I see in the other books I read; it’s referenced in so many of them, I have lost count. So, on our next long car journey, I will be bribing my children with the promise of Cornish ice-cream to watch this Carol Dweck talk. I know that they are more likely to take the information onboard learning from her than they are from me!

App I’ve Found Useful

Having played golf for over 30 years, I had just grasped the old handicap system only for them to make it even more complicated. You handicap now varies depending on the course you’re playing on and the tee on the course that you are using. Relying on technology to cut through the noise is even more relevant than it was before; fortunately, the England Golf app does exactly that and when you are next on the first tee of an unfamiliar course, you’ll be armed and ready with your handicap.

Quote of the Week

“Becoming is better than being”

- Carol Dweck

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

They say that the light at the end of the tunnel is the taxman holding a torch, and that torch continues to get brighter and brighter given that more and more people are paying Inheritance Tax each year. With allowances frozen for over 10 years and property and investment market rises, more and more people are caught by a tax that was described by former Chancellor, Roy Jenkins, as "a voluntary levy paid by those who distrust their heirs more than they dislike the Inland Revenue".

If you want to plan better, we have teamed up with Buckles solicitors and are doing a free IHT and Estate Planning Webinar on 12^th May at 3pm. If you’d like to attend, you can register by clicking here.

TRIBEathlon Podcast

Episode 39: Claire Cashmore has competed in 4 Paralympic games as a swimmer and, after switching sports, became ITU Triathlon World and British Champion in 2019, with Tokyo 2021 to look forward to.

Claire is also the author of the book ‘Splash’ and has achieved a huge amount in her time in sport, so Sid and I wanted to explore with her how perceptions towards the Paralympics have changed over time, how she herself overcame the physical and mental challenges of being born with a disability and also the reasons and strategies behind switching from swimming to triathlon.

Future Tech I’m Curious About

A friend of mine, Peter Hamilton, is a sci-fi author that writes about times several hundred years from now. As he is someone that has to write about tech way beyond our current capabilities, I once asked him over a pint what the coolest tech he’d written about that he would like to come true. His answer was inserting a microchip into the brain to upload new skills and download memories. Elon Musk’s Neuralink is not far away from making that a reality. Not only has he got chimps playing computer games with their mind, but he will soon have us controlling our phones with our mind, and also enabling, paraplegics to walk again using in body motor/sensory neuron clusters. Welcome to The Matrix!

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

Continuing with an unintentional trend of posting about the climate, I recently watched Greta Thunberg’s TED talk The disarming case to act right now on climate change.  In this passionate call to action, the 16-year-old climate activist explains why, in August 2018, she walked out of school and organized a strike to raise awareness of global warming, protesting outside the Swedish parliament and grabbing the world's attention. "The climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions," Thunberg says. "All we have to do is to wake up and change." Regardless of your thoughts on Greta, you cannot help but be compelled by her message, determination and ability to communicate.

What I’ve Been Reading

Lately whilst running I’ve been listening to the audiobook version of What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. I’m not sure I’ve learned much from it, other than perhaps a better understanding of the way my brain meanders while I move, but it is certainly a compelling reflection on the power of running and a fascinating insight into the life of this internationally bestselling writer that has only enhanced my enjoyment of running with its company.

Quote of the Week

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

• Haruki Murakami

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

In recent weeks I have felt more compelled than ever to talk about the climate. It is our responsibility to look after this planet that we inhabit and share, and I’m not convinced we are doing a job our children will be proud of. Stopping the use of plastic straws and turning the lights off will only help a tiny amount, but one way we can have a greater impact if through our investments and pensions.

At Efficient Portfolio we often talk about ethical investing; by doing so you can diversify your investments more and potentially get better returns if the trend towards investing ethically continues, all whilst making the world a better place by supporting business that are leading the change. If you want to know more about ethical investing, we are happy to explain how to do it without putting your financial future at risk.

TRIBEathlon Podcast

Episode 40: Andy Blow is a Sports Scientist and founder of Precision Hydration, the electrolyte specialists. An expert in sweat, dehydration and cramping, Andy previously worked as the Team Sports Scientist for the Benetton and Renault Formula 1 teams and remains an adviser to the Porsche Human Performance Centre.

An elite level triathlete in his younger days, Andy has finished in the top 10 of Ironman and 70.3 races, as well as winning an Xterra World title, and it was his own struggles with cramping and hydration that led to him specialising in electrolyte replenishment and founding Precision Hydration.

We often talk about training and fuelling, but in this episode Sid and I wanted to explore the area of hydration including the common mistakes people make and the strategies to get it right for your optimum performance.

What I’ve Been Reading

Possibly the most important book you’ll read this decade is Bill Gates’ How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need. It is far and away the best book I have read on the subject of climate change. It takes a smart person to make something complex sound simple, and Gates is certainly a smart guy. The book is easily digestible, insightful and is as much about the solutions we are working on and need as it is about the problem. I would encourage everyone to read this, and to make their own decisions based on it; if nothing else, you’ll be the best educated person on the subject at almost any dinner party!

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

I have mentioned The Social Dilemma as a great documentary that explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, but the TED talk How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day is also really worth a watch for a brief insight into the topic. A handful of people working at a handful of tech companies steer the thoughts of billions of people every day, says design thinker, Tristan Harris. From Facebook notifications to Snapstreaks to YouTube autoplays, they're all competing for one thing: your attention. Harris shares how these companies prey on our psychology for their own profit and calls for a design renaissance in which our tech instead encourages us to live out the timeline we want.

Quote of the Week

“The cruel injustice is that even though the world’s poor are doing essentially nothing to cause climate change, they’re going to suffer the most from it.”

• Bill Gates

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

Climate Change is probably the investment world’s greatest threat, but also its greatest opportunity. If we continue to see temperature rises, we’ll see mass migrations from areas of the world that are no longer habitable, we’ll see devastation in cities as a result of rising sea levels, and we will see continual increases in natural disasters like wildfires and storms. This would be devastating for businesses, and Bill Gates predicts that it would be the economic equivalent of the COVID pandemic every 10 years - not a pretty picture. That said, it is also the investment world’s greatest opportunity.

Companies forming part of the solution, helping us get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, will receive more government support, more private investment and also attract more of the limelight; they are typically trading at double the value of traditional companies. When you read How to avoid a climate disaster (and I hope you do) you will realise that, whilst this is a massive problem to solve, there are key strategies that can make net zero possible. When I read it, I immediately wanted to focus more of my investments on helping the solutions, but I soon realised that by finding specific companies to target, I could barely scratch the surface of the problem; however, by investing my pensions and investments in a well-constructed ethical portfolio, I can actually make a much greater impact. I am no expert in renewables or carbon capture, so who am I to be picking individual companies to back? But by funding the solutions through the guidance of investment analysts, I can very much be a part of the solution. A solution that couldn’t be more important for our children or our planet.

Friday Footnotes

Welcome back to another Friday Footnotes. Having frozen ourselves to the core with outdoor eating, who’d have thought we could become so grateful to be able to eat inside a pub or clubhouse. Enjoy these happy days sensibly!

TRIBEathlon Podcast

Episode 43: Emma Pallant-Browne already has a hugely impressive sporting CV, being European U23 cross-country champion, a world-class middle-distance runner, world titles in aquathlon and duathlon, runner-up at the 70.3 World Championship in 2017 and a stack of 70.3 wins; all pretty impressive for someone whose running career was ended by a recurring knee injury.

In this interview, Sid and I wanted to chat to her about the benefits of cross training, cracking the nutrition and hydration challenges of the long course, being mentored by Dame Kelly Holmes and giving back to the community through sport.

App I’ve Found Useful

Once upon a time, before making a purchase online I would try and find a discount code that would work. More often than not I failed on the multiple discount codes sites, but occasionally they would work, and I’d get money off my new purchase, free shipping, or something else.

PayPal have recently launched an app called Honey that works in your web browser and does the leg work for you. I was recently buying a new pair of work trousers from Spoke and Honey found a discount code that saved me 20% without me having to do anything. I suggest you give it a try - it won’t work every time you shop online but every little helps.

Whilst I am mentioning Spoke, I can’t help but recommend them too - whether it is jeans or smart trousers, their sizing, flexibility and quality is amazing!

Podcast I’ve Been Listening To

I recommend a lot of sport podcasts, but a brand-new business one I suggest you check out is Honey I Blew up the Business. Hosted by Dan Kirby (a friend from Strategic Coach), his first guest is the founder of The Strategic Coach Program, Dan Sullivan. It explores how failures in life and business can often lead to our greatest successes. I encourage you to give it a listen if business podcasts are your thing; it has flown up the charts already.

Property Matters

Finding a property in Rutland has never been more difficult than today. Living in such a beautiful county that is still in close proximity to London, it is understandably attracting a lot of new people in a flexible working world. Many of the properties sold never even get the photographs taken, and those that do list on Rightmove can have 16 bids within days.

I was recently chatting to property search agent Charlie Rearden at Stacks. If you are trying to find that perfect property and struggling in this ever more competitive market, I’d suggest giving him a call. He may just be able to track down the home of your dreams.

Quote of the Week

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.”

• William James

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

A client recently introduced me to a short video called The 100-Year Life, about how living to 100 will affect our finances and our lives. Take a look - it makes some great points in just 2 minutes.

TRIBEathlon Podcast

Episode 44: Matt Pritchard is a Welsh professional skateboarder, stunt performer, endurance athlete and celebrity chef. First heading into notoriety on MTV with his show Dirty Sanchez, and more recently featuring in the BBC's Dirty Vegan TV show, he has struggled with alcohol and drugs and used endurance sport as his path to a better life, completing 30 half Iron Mans in 30 days and a decker (10 x Iron Man distance as one continuous race).

Sid and I got the chance to chat to him about his incredibly unusual path to success, how endurance sport has helped him through his own personal battles and how turning vegan has improved his performance. As a word of warning, there are a few more swear words flying around in this episode than normal, so avoid if you're easily offended!

What I’ve Been Reading

I’ve just finished reading a book that was interesting enough to give me some fantastic insights about life in business, and life in general, but also funny enough to have me laughing out loud. How to fail at almost everything and still win big by Scott Adams is the story of his own life. As the creator of Dilbert, one of the world’s most famous syndicated comic strips, he describes himself as only being better than average at a few key traits, but it is the combination of those traits that has been the key to his success.

In the book he looks at so many winning traits, but the innovation stack really got me thinking about how we are all unique and can bring a different slant to the world of business. A great read for entrepreneurs, wannabe entrepreneurs and young people starting out on their career path. A book I will certainly come back to again.

Improving My Swimming

As we get back to swimming in pools, and even in the sea, I took the opportunity to try and improve my technique. No point in building up swim fitness with the wrong technique, and there is no better place I have found to improve it than Inspire2Tri at Manton. Mary has a fantastic set up there so you can see your technique from multiple camera angles, and this really helps you understand what you need to do differently. Here is a video that shows my before and after, to give you an idea of what to expect. Look for the improved catch (the angle of my arms) in the after video.

App I’ve Found Useful

Finding a date and time for a meeting that suits multiple busy people is always a challenge; for example, I need to find a date that my TRIBEathlon co-host, 2 podcast guests and I can all make for an interview, when all of us have ridiculously busy diaries. Enter Doodle, a site that allows you to find the optimum meeting time for you all. There are paid versions that give you some extra options, but the free one is fine for most things. So, when you are arranging your big bash to celebrate a return to normality, give it a try - it can save you a load of time and hassle.

Quote of the Week

“Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, I'm possible!"

• Audrey Hepburn

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

I always refer to the TRIBEathlon podcasts in this email, but rarely our finance one The Fit Finance Sessions; a short weekly chat from the Efficient Portfolio advisers about anything finance related.

Last week’s episode caught my attention as it was entitled Pubs and inflation; two words that aren’t usually mentioned in the same sentence but, in the episode, they discuss the cautious approach a lot of pubs are taking to reopening and the current situation regarding inflation unsettling the markets. Give it a listen if you have 10 minutes, after all, any update on the pubs has got to be worth listening to!

TRIBEathlon Podcast

Episode 47: After competing for Great Britain in the pool for nearly 10 years; a career that saw him rise to being Double Commonwealth Champion, British Record holder, Commonwealth Record holder, World Medallist, European Medallist and Olympic Finalist, Chris Cook hung up the trunks and retired from international swimming and now works with businesses, performance teams, schools and organisations to assist them in pursuit of their goals, inspiring a world class mind-set and encouraging people to follow their passion.

Chris has built an impressive reputation as a motivational speaker and is also the director and owner of Swim Buddies Swimming Academy. In this interview with Chris, Sid and I wanted to learn about what it takes to have a Double Olympian mindset, and how he's transitioned from both the pool to business, and the pool to stage.

What I’ve Been Reading for Fun

Whilst on holiday at half term I listened to the witty and insightful The World of Cycling According to G by Geraint Thomas. Not so much an autobiography, but more a story woven around the practicalities of a life on a bike. Tour de France 2018 winner, double Olympic gold medallist and multiple world champion, Thomas provides a hilarious synopsis of what a love of cycling and a life on tour can be like. For light-hearted cycling stories and advice, I’d definitely give it a go.

What I’ve Been Reading for Work

One of the books that I listened to on my think week was The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time by Jim McKelvey as it really makes you think about what makes a business unique. It gives a wonderful insight into the success behind the business he founded, Square, but also into the story and success behind IKEA, Southwest American Airlines and The Bank of Italy, which later became the Bank of America. There are some great business lessons from this book, whether you are thinking of founding or growing a business.

Quote of the week

Chris Cook talked about the amazing Jim Rohn in the TRIBEathlon podcast, so it only seemed right to include a quote from the man himself.

“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.”

• Jim Rohn

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

At Efficient Portfolio we say we want to create a better future through inspirational financial planning but that isn’t just about the money; it’s also about improving people’s health and wellbeing too.

A few years ago I wrote a blog article How to Beat Hayfever Without Drugs and since adopting this approach, I have pretty much eliminated the need for the homeopathic remedies too. So, it is worth trialling yourself if you are suffering at this time of the year, because I know it can be miserable. Just like investing, the compound effect you can have on your health can lead to incredible benefits.

TRIBEathlon Podcast

Episode 50: Born in 1972, Ian Rose contracted eye cancer as a baby and subsequently lost his left eye and most of the sight in his right.

Going on to compete at five Paralympic Games in Judo, winning 2 medals, as well as medals in the World and European Championships, Ian was on course to represent ParalympicsGB at his sixth Games in London when he sustained an injury during training and decided to call it a day, ending an international career spanning 22 years at the top.

Now a well-respected speaker, I wanted to understand from Ian more about controlling the controllable, defining your purpose and unleashing the power of resilience.

Raising Money

Efficient Portfolio’s chosen charity to support for this year is CALM. The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against suicide, and with the 18 months we have all endured, our team couldn’t think of a more important topic to help support. Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives, and early indications suggest that the pandemic has caused a significant rise in this figure.

I lost my brother-in-law to suicide a few years ago, so I’m keen to do as much as possible to raise money for this amazing cause. As a result, I will attempt Ironman Tallinn (Estonia) on Saturday 7th of August to raise money for CALM.

For those that aren’t aware of what an Ironman involves, it is a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bike ride followed immediately by a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run. I am sure you will agree, this will be a tough day at the office, however the more sponsorship and support I have, the easier it will be from a mental perspective, even if the physical challenges remain.

If you would be willing to sponsor me on this epic journey and help us raise money for a charity supporting the single biggest killer of men under 45, you can do so here.

Podcast I’ve Been Listening To

If you like rugby, triathlon or both, then I’d suggest you listen to the interview of Gareth Thomas on Don’t Tell me the Score. Gareth is one of Wales’s greatest ever rugby players; he's their second highest try scorer ever and was the first man to reach 100 Wales caps.  A genuinely lovely and inspiring guy, this interview gives an amazing insight into the battles Thomas faced as the first high profile player to come out as gay. Really worth a listen.

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

In his serene talk 5 hindrances to self-mastery, Shaolin Master, Shi Heng Yi, delves into the topic of self-discovery. Learn why rainfall is an essential part of each flowering and every small step, part of the journey to the highest peak. The hindrances along the way to self-discovery and personal growth are easy to overcome. Learn how from his talk. For more than 30 years, Master Shi Heng Yi has been studying and practicing the interaction between mind and body. His strength is the ability to smoothly combine this knowledge with physical exercises and to practice Martial art –Kung Fu and Qi Gong. He has an academic background, but he prefers to live at the Shaolin Temple Europe, Monastery located in Otterberg, Germany. Since 2010 he has been taking care of the settlement and he personifies sustainable development and spreading the Shaolin culture and philosophy.

Quote of the Week

”Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.”

• Helen Keller

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

Most weeks, the other Efficient Portfolio advisers get together for a chat about what is going on, and this includes recording a short 10-minute podcast about something financial. We call it The Fit Finance Sessions. In last week’s episode they discussed what an ISA is, the types of ISAs available and the benefits and misconceptions associated with them. With LISAs, JISAs, Cash ISAs, Equity ISAs, what could be simple actually isn’t, so if you want to find out the differences, and how each can save you tax and help you make your money work harder for you, I suggest you give it a listen here.

I’m don’t know about you, but I’ve spent much of the last couple of weeks absorbed in brilliant Olympics. Here are a few other things along that theme that I’ve found this week that you might want to take a look at if you can squeeze it in amongst the stream of GB medals and amazing performances.

What I’ve Been Reading

From last to first, by Charlie Spedding, was recommended to me Olympic marathon runner Aly Dixon. Spedding won an unexpected Olympic bronze in LA competing in the marathon. His story is wonderfully written and is a great insight into the life of a runner. By his own admission, he was not one of the best runners in the world, but he developed an approach that allowed him to perform at his very best when it really counted, and that is what helped him deliver success after success. I particularly like the chapter ‘Beer drinkers guide to sports psychology’. If you like running, or are wanting to continue your Olympic consumption, I’d suggest giving it a read.

What I’ve been Laughing at

There is a little choice language, but this TikTok triathlon song has been making me laugh out loud!

Raising Money

I have arrived in Tallinn for my Ironman, and am trying raise as much money as I can for The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), a leading movement against suicide. If you’d like to follow my progress over the is a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bike ride and then a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run, you can using the web or App athlete tracker. I start at 5 am BST and am race number 721. It will be a tough day at the office, but I know that the more sponsorship support there is, the easier it will be from a mental perspective, even if the physical challenge remains. If you would be willing to sponsor me on this epic journey and help us raise money for a charity supporting the single biggest killer of men under 45, you can do so here.

TED Talk I’ve Found Interesting

"Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they're finished." In his talk The psychology of your future self, Dan Gilbert shares recent research on a phenomenon he calls the "end of history illusion," where we somehow imagine that the person we are right now is the person we'll be for the rest of time. Hint: that's not the case.

Quote of the Week

“Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you're doing better than you've ever done before.”

- Bonnie Blair, American speed skater and five-time gold medallist.

Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering

If you saw Sky Brown become the youngest person to ever win an Olympic medal for Team GB at the astonishing age of 13, or the delightful Gadirova twins win bronze at the age of 16, you’ll realise that to start early is one of the best recipes for success, as there is no telling what they will deliver at future events. The same applies to financial planning, because the sooner you start, the better financial future you will create. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Andrew Hoy has become Australia’s oldest Olympic medallist at 62 after equestrian silver, so it’s also never too late to achieve your goals, and guess what…it’s never too late to do it from a financial perspective either.