Every knowledge worker I know is totally mesmerized by the idea of writing content with AI. I’ve tried it for a while now and it can be helpful.  But if you use AI without a good strategy, you will simply waste your time. For example, look at what Jasper AI wrote as an intro paragraph for this article: “AI is rapidly changing the way we live, work and communicate. From self-driving cars to virtual assistants, it seems like there’s no limit to what this technology can achieve. And when it comes to writing, AI is already making a significant impact. Whether you’re a blogger, journalist, o ..read more

I’ve always tried to look at money as a tool, not an end. Since late 2021, I’ve probably spent more on travel than in the 5 years before 2020.  Part of it is because I didn’t travel due to covid. But I also was not traveling much before that anyway. I’ve been really focused on writing and creating courses since 2016.  So I traveled just once a year for a vacation. But in the past 18 months, I’ve probably spent six months abroad. The other day I was calculating how much money I spent and thought, “Wow, I could’ve invested all that money and have more wealth later.” This is the mind o ..read more

Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. I send this every Monday. Note: My best-selling course, Effective Writing, opens for registration this Sunday. If you want to make your writing more clear, credible, and persuasive, consider joining. #62 – March 20, 2023 Was this shared with you? Sign up here: Wise: Using AI to write better Every knowledge worker I know is totally mesmerized by the idea of writing content with AI. I’ve tried it for a while now and it can be helpful.  But if you use AI without a good strategy, you ..read more

If you sell your stocks now, you’re likely doing so at a loss. In 2022, the S&P 500 closed down nearly 20%, its worst performance in 14 years. The technology index, Nasdaq 100, performed even worse at minus 28% on the year.  By the end of 2022, I started seeing more reports in the media about how individual investors stopped investing. Trading activity and net inflows started to go down.  In a WSJ article, one of those individual traders said:1 “It was fun for a while, things were going up and down pretty fast.” The latter part is when people start to lose interest. Here ..read more

Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. I send this every Monday. #61 – March 13, 2023 Was this shared with you? Sign up here: Wise: Journaling prompts “What time did you go to sleep and wake up?” I usually start answering that question when I open my journal. It’s my “gateway” question. After asking myself that question, I tend to go on about other things that are on my mind.  The reason I use prompts is that writing doesn’t always happen by itself. But I want to journal every day because I love to track my progress. B ..read more

Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. I send this every Monday. #60 – March 6, 2023 Was this shared with you? Sign up here: Wise: Working hard without burning out Since 2015, I’ve been working 6 or 7 days a week consistently. I only did nothing when I was sick. And I generally take one vacation a year. I work because I truly enjoy being immersed in something I love. But I also managed to stay sane (most of the time) during the past 8 years. My strategy revolves around 8 things I live by. The most important things are (1) l ..read more

Investing in the stock market is dangerous. How do you invest wisely when there are so many investing and market pitfalls that take away investors’ money? It’s like the Brothers Grimm fairytale about the seven poor little goats. In case you forgot or never heard it, here it goes. Once upon a time, there was a family of seven little goats who lived in the forest. One day, their mother left to go shopping and when she was gone, a wolf appeared at the door looking for dinner.  He tricked the seven little goats into letting him inside, which they of course did because he disguised himself an ..read more

Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. I send this every Monday. #59 – February 27, 2023 Was this shared with you? Sign up here: Wise: Unproductive habits The reason I study productivity is that I’m naturally an unproductive person.  I sleep too much. I talk too much. I read too much. I listen to music all day. I watch movies. I love buying gadgets. I think we all have unproductive habits. You only run into problems when you give into the habits that make you unproductive. As always, if you want to improve something ab ..read more

When it comes to spending money, I’ve made so many mistakes. When I think about the amount of money I’ve wasted in the past, I feel bad in my stomach. I didn’t have the best mental model for my financial life back then. As someone who practices Stoicism and Mindfulness, I don’t get attached to those feelings. But still, it does hurt a little bit. For instance, I think I bought a new winter jacket almost every year until four or five years ago when I finally decided to spend a grand on a high-quality jacket. I spent probably twice as much in the ten prior years. But now that I have a great (an ..read more

Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. I send this every Monday. #58 – February 20, 2023 Was this shared with you? Sign up here: Wise: Getting excited When you go to bed at night, are you excited to wake up the next morning? Is there something you can’t wait for? If your answer is no, find something that excites you. It’s so important to have a feeling of, “I can’t wait for tomorrow,” when you go to bed.  When you’re genuinely excited, you wake up the next day and make the best of it.  It could be anything. Maybe ..read more