My Personal Story
In the late 1990s, I was high-flying director at Texas Instruments, selling multi-million dollar billing systems to telecom companies around the world. The telecom sector was booming, deregulating rapidly, and I was riding the wave – travelling constantly, closing major deals, and earning more money – “dates” often happened in the departure lounges at Heathrow. It was exciting, fast-paced, and on paper, I was living the dream.
But beneath the surface, I had a blind spot: my finances. I was an ambitious employee, yet financially illiterate in many respects. Raised by parents who didn’t model wealth-building (my father distrusted money and my mother budgeted with jam jars) I never learned how to grow or protect the wealth I was earning. I outsourced it entirely to a professional wealth manager, who dumped everything into the booming NASDAQ during the dot-com frenzy. I was too busy to question it.
Then came the crash.
In June 2000, my portfolio was down 10%. I asked if we should change course. The wealth manages scoffed – “just a minor correction in a raging bull market.” I deferred to their “expertise” and flew off again. A year later, I walked into the office to learn that my portfolio had dropped by £182,000. Worse, they told me I no longer met the minimum wealth threshold to be their client. I was being sacked – not by an employer, but by the very people who had lost me the money.
The day hit me like a freight train. I was angry. Embarrassed. Betrayed. But ultimately, I realised it was my fault. I hadn’t just delegated responsibility – I had abdicated it. That gut-wrenching experience was the moment I knew I had to take ownership of my financial future.
From that day, I made a commitment: to never again outsource my financial destiny. I shifted from being a corporate climber to a sovereign wealth-builder. I questioned everything, especially the so-called experts. I read every book I could find, attended investor events, and started experimenting. And yes – I made plenty of new mistakes, chasing “alternate investments” that promised high returns and delivered nothing but losses.
Eventually, through this hard-won journey, patterns began to emerge. I realised how governments and financial systems quietly destroy wealth through inflation and taxation. I discovered gold, silver, and real estate as protection assets. I embraced Bitcoin when most thought it was too late. And most importantly, I evolved again – from investor to entrepreneur.
I now see my businesses as engines for cash flow, which fund my Barbell Portfolio TM: solid, wealth-preserving assets on one end, and high-upside, asymmetric bets on the other – including Bitcoin, private equity, and my own ventures.
Today, I live in Portugal with my wife Daphne, where we enjoy the lifestyle and tax structure that aligns with our values. Our mission is to plant churches across the country, using our wealth for Kingdom impact. We’re already looking ahead, exploring where next to preserve both lifestyle and legacy.
The Three Step Process to a Fulfilled Life
1
Buy and/or Building Businesses
- It’s far easier, faster, and more effective to buy a profitable business than to build one from scratch.
- Baby Boomer-owned businesses offer a once-in-a-generation buying opportunity.
- Buy a business with customers, products, and cashflow – then grow it through smart marketing and siphon profits into investments.
Myth Debunked: You don’t need millions to buy a business. Creative deal structures like deferred consideration can make such businesses accessible.
2
Use Cashflow to Build a Focused BarbellTM Portfolio
- Traditional investment vehicles aren’t enough to build real wealth – the Barbell Portfolio offers a superior model.
- Combine protective assets (gold, silver, real estate) with high-upside ones (Bitcoin, private equity, entrepreneurship).
- Drip-feed cash monthly into durable assets; invest larger sums periodically in capital-intensive, asymmetric opportunities.
Myth Debunked: The idea that stocks and bonds are “safe” and alternatives are “risky” ignores deeper truths about volatility and systemic risk.
3
Plan Your Legacy with a Trusted Advisory Team
- A meaningful life includes creating a legacy that outlasts you – and that requires strategy, planning, and values alignment.
- Legacy is as much about mission and faith as it is about money – and it must be built intentionally.
- Partner with a world-class advisory team to optimise tax, succession, and philanthropic goals.
Myth Debunked: Legacy planning isn’t only for billionaires. In today’s economy, aiming for an 8-figure net worth is essential for real independence and impact.
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