Most people live their lives in 5-10% increments:
They earn 10% annually on their investments
They get a 5% raise annually on their paycheck
They move from the city to suburbs or into a smaller/bigger place… for a 10% improvement in their quality of life.
But I think those are mostly a waste of time and effort. Plus, they’re not very fun.
That’s because they’re nice-to-haves, but don’t fundamentally 10X your trajectory on the path to wealth, freedom, or living life on your terms.
I believe there’s a better way: to pursue opportunities that 10X your returns in life, business, and investing, and ignore everything else.
I try to ignore what most people are doing and focus on what really moves the needle instead.
This newsletter exists to bring you these opportunities, broken down into easily manageable, step-by-step tutorials to help you fundamentally change your life.
Over 380,000 people are part of this crew.
Join us!
Just for good measure, in jeans on a beach in Rio de Janeiro (where I met my wife!)
👋 About Me
If you’re new here, here are some of the things I’ve done over the last 10 years:
Guest lectured at the most prestigious entrepreneurship program in the US
Angel invested in a number of startups around the world, including two that have gone public on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Been on national TV in China to an audience of 200 million
Built a TikTok following of 400,000 despite targeting only 25-year-olds and up and never doing a dance
Raised $17 M for startups exclusively through writing (that's how I became a writer)
Written a daily email to 150,000 international investors
Started an award-winning scholarship at my alma mater
Obtained multiple passports and residencies overseas, including in Panama, Canada, and Spain. Married a beautiful Mexican.
Lived in China, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Colombia and France.
Attended the OnDeck longevity program (despite having zero background in biology or science)
Spent a week with Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, and his network on a cruise around the Caribbean
Climbed Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro, raced down the Great Wall of China, and become a certified tequila master in Mexico
Completed a half-Ironman
Completed a 10-day silent meditation retreat while my income was on auto-pilot
Been published on one of the world's most-read blog (ZeroHedge), bitcoin.com, and published by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
How I got there was sometimes a little less glamourous:
When I'm 8 years old, I nearly get eaten by a crocodile that jumps over a fence while I'm looking at it. My dad pulls me back quickly. One of my sandals stays on the ground. The other one ends in the crocodile's mouth.
At 13, I get my first job as a valet in a 5-star hotel. I hate it but I realize Americans tip - and that making money in America and spending in overseas was one of the best arbitrages in the world. This idea will have a multi-decade influence on my life.
In high school, I'm mostly a loner with no friends, except for two other odd kids. My prom date goes home with someone else. At a basketball tournament in Vienna, I learn to make homemade sushi from the Japanese family I stay with. To this day, I make homemade sushi once a week.
I head to China immediately after graduating from high school to learn Mandarin. The host family I'm supposed to live with changes their mind when I'm there, and I get dumped in a random apartment with a stranger. I cry myself to sleep.
At my office in Papua New Guinea, one of our employees shows up in a body bag. In fact, 8 of them. I think hard about going home.
A few years after university, I see my friends get promotions, impressive job titles, and cushy salaries. I panic, convince my wife to move to Canada, and apply to EY as a consultant. I am not accepted to the job. I enter the deepest hole I've ever been in.
I am convinced to write a chapter in a book about purpose, passion, and profit. The chapter cost me $4,000 and no one ever reads it. It sucks.
My mentor convinces me to buy real estate in Colombia. The management company puts up a prostitute in one of them. They also steal from me. I manage to sell just before they turn the building into an official brothel.
After completing my half-Ironman, I get diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an incurable autoimmune disease. The doctor says I lost so much blood I raced with just 70% of my abilities. He calls me a true Iron-deficient-man.
If you want to connect with me, here’s how:
And I know you didn’t ask for this, but here are some of the rules I live my life by (I review them every morning at 9 am):
Identify the few critical tasks that contribute most to income (80/20) and schedule them with very clear and short deadlines (Parkinson)
When something challenging happens or I get angry, ask myself - How can I see this as a gift?
Focus on one thing - max two - that if I accomplish these in a day, will I be satisfied with my day?
Focus on one or two things over the next 18 months only.
Compile my list of priorities for the day the evening before. Write it on paper
Ask myself - "what if I can only subtract to solve problems?" Simplify.
Perform all critical tasks before 11am. No email before that.
Lifestyle design is based on increased action - output. Increased output necessitates decreased input.
Outsource everything that's time-consuming & well-defined. And have a bit of fun with it too.
Do a 7-day information fast every month. Every time I ask whether to consume content, ask myself - can I use this for something immediate and important? if not hell yes, then don't (just-in-time information)
Look at the calendar only on phone. Keeps it one day at a time.
Schedule with calendly. No back and forth.
Focus on what's exciting to me
Have fewer products.
Turn most calls into emails.
Seek short feedback loops
Do hard things to create meaning in life
The cure-all and commonality of all I want is action.
Most people overestimate the competition, and so they never show up
As a result, the collective insecurity of the world makes doing the unrealistic easier than doing the realistic
That’s it; you’ve got it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
It’s a pleasure to have you here :)
Much love from sunny France -
Alex
Picture 1: glacier bathing in Norway
Picture 2: where did it go?
