Another Excuse Newsletter

Welcome back to the Another Excuse Newsletter. It isn’t just another excuse, but a reason to start that thing you’ve been putting off.

What to expect this week:
👓Perspective - Does it really matter?
🔨 Tool - One Sec
🍿Consume - Buy Then Build
📖Concept - Investing in People

Latest Podcast Episode

Today’s guest is Jeremy Bentham.

Jeremy spent 40 years at Shell and ended his career there as Shell Scenarios Leader. In his retirement, he hasn't slowed down. He is currently the Co-Chair (scenarios) and Senior Advisor at World Energy Council, a Senior Fellow at Mission Possible Partnership, a President's Council Member at Pathfinder International, a Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a Contributor/Author at illuminem, a Board Member at World Business Council for Sustainable Development and a Senior Advisor at Nordic West Office.

I know, it's a lot, and with his vast expertise comes knowledge. We have a fantastic wide-ranging conversation about all things past and present.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Scenario thinking
• Strategic Character
• The Meyers Briggs test and how it helps you communicate better with your team
• Creating Frameworks to take action
• Energy Transitions
• How we can make an impact

You can check out the episode here.

Perspective

Does it really matter?

This is a question we should be constantly asking ourselves.

It’s part of the stoic philosophy and a constant reminder that things aren’t as important or catastrophic as we make them out to be.

We tend to react often, which can cause more harm than good to ourselves and others.

When something happens, take a step back and ask yourself, “Does this really matter in the grand scheme of things?”

Most of the time, the answer is No.

The Stoics practiced this regularly and reflected on it in their writing.

Realizing that most things work out and reacting doesn’t do you any good, can be amazing for your mental health.

It helps you feel more in control of your emotions and in control of your life.

If you’re interested in learning more about Stoicism and how you can apply it to your life, Ryan Holiday’s book Daily Stoic is a great place to start.

Tool

One Sec

We’re bombarded with notifications daily.

Sometimes we even become a bit of a slave to our phones and we find ourselves mindlessly scrolling when we know we shouldn’t.

One Sec is one of the apps that attempts to solve that.

I know there are many apps helping us prevent distraction, some are even built into our phones, but they don’t seem to do the trick.

One Sec’s approach is better than other apps I’ve tried.

It’s pretty straightforward.

It makes you wait longer for the apps to open.

You click on a social media app and it will force you to take a deep breath and ask whether you really want to use the app now.

You’ll then wait a little while longer and usually by the time you’ve waited, you realize, all you wanted was a quick dopamine hit and it’s not worth waiting for.

This has changed the game for me and now I open these apps a lot less.

Check it out if those algorithms are sucking you in.

Consume (Read / Watch / Listen)

Buy Then Build

The concept of buying a business seems out of reach.

It seems like something the wealthy do once they’ve made a lot of money from their own business or some other venture.

This actually isn’t the case, and acquiring a business and improving how it’s run, might be the best way to generate generational wealth.

Yes, I know there are other ways and some may push back with alternatives that they think are better, but hear me out.

The normal alternative is starting your own business. Start-ups are tough.

Around 90% of start-ups fail.

Yes, if successful they can lead to ridiculous amounts of money with very little of your own money down at times.

I’m talking about something completely different with odds in your favour.

Buying an existing cash-flowing business and scaling it successfully has a 98% success rate. That’s the complete opposite of a start-up.

And because the business is cash flowing you’re able to get a 90% loan from the bank on the value of the business.

With 11,000 boomers retiring per day in the US there are a lot more opportunities than you may have thought.

That is just a taste of what’s possible and where you should be looking.

If this did pique your interest check out Build Then Buy by Walker Deibel.

Concept

Investing in People

The economy has grown to its current size because of investment.

Insvestment in companies. Once this all became accessible to the normal person company valuations went through the roof.

But we seem to have reached a ceiling and the Liberman brothers believe that the next area of growth is investing in the individual and not the business.

They believe failure is part of the learning process and when you invest in the right individuals they’re destined to make a difference and make a considerable return on your investment.

It’s a fascinating concept that has been carefully thought out and backed up in data.

It’s a forward-facing model that wants to invest in people who deserve an opportunity.

It completely changes the way we view success and it becomes more about the human behind a protect rather than the project or business itself.

You can read more here, or sign up here.

I’m keen to hear what you think of their views and whether this may be the real future of how we invest.

Thanks for Reading

Now start something!

P.S. Feedback is welcome and needed! If you’d prefer to send me an email and not respond, you can do so here: [email protected]

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