|
There is one thing you need to do to have unlimited ideas. Simple. Easy. But it requires discipline and open mind. Observe. That’s it. Look, Jane Goodall was a lady with no formal education. She just loved animals. In 1960, she went with Louis Leakey, an anthropologist to Tanzania, to give him a hand. They studied chimpanzees’ behaviour. Not much equipment, no laboratory, no guidance. Just a notebook and a pair of binoculars. For a long time, she couldn’t get close to them, but her perseverance paid off. Slowly, she noticed details no one had documented. She observed behaviours that shattered long-standing beliefs, such as chimpanzees using tools, previously thought to be an exclusively human trait. Patience and the power of observation simply revolutionized wildlife research and our understanding and views of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. Just by looking. Just by observing with the intention to learn. This is why I love to be surrounded by successful people making business. I take my popcorns and enjoy. I observe. I learn. Then, I even try the things that I learned. You can save years by doing that yourself. Observing with the intention to learn. Observing people’s behaviours, observing trends, observing investors, observing businesspeople. With open mind, without judging. Just observing. Then, geeks like me put those things into practice… If you want to observe something this weekend, you can take a look to what I’ve been doing in terms of Real Estate investing in this book. Real numbers, no bullsh*t. You can buy it below.
​
PD 1: If you liked this email, don't keep it in secret and forward it to a friend. They will thank you enormously one day. PD 2: If somebody has sent you this email and you want to receive emails like this yourself, visit vicentevalencia.com PD 3: If you want unsubscribe, click the link below. |
Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
Apparently, Poland has a PPP project with a CAPEX of €12,000. I haven’t forgotten any zeros. Twelve thousand euros. A colleague of mine in Poland told me the story. My first thought? Surely the lawyers cost ten times more. I haven’t seen their invoices. But, I would say… Please don’t send me a legal letter. It might double the project budget. But seriously. You know I work in PPPs. I like them. I’ve spent more than 20 years bidding, delivering and managing them. And sometimes, the most useful...
In 2009, French composer Maurice Jarre died. An Irish student called Shane Fitzgerald decided to give him something to say. Very generous. So… He invented a quote and added it to Jarre’s Wikipedia page. Newspapers picked it up for their obituaries. Lovely words. Right person. Perfect timing. Only one small problem. Jarre had never said them. The source was a student with an internet connection… unchecked. Apparently, that was enough to become an internationally published authority on what a...
Tony Robbins made a point that stayed with me. When you believe something won’t work, you barely try. Then the results disappoint. And you say: “See? I knew it.” Congratulations. You have successfully proved a theory you barely tested. We do this with businesses. Careers. Difficult projects. “I’m not ready for that role.” “They would never hire us.” “This team will never change.” Sometimes we call it experience. Sometimes it’s fear wearing a very respectable suit. And yes, in infrastructure,...