If I say ‘investment’, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Do you immediately think of bankers, traders, Wall Street and the Stock Exchange? How often do you think about investing in yourself? I don’t mean that in terms of making investments – status symbols like a flashy watch or a great car. I’m talking about investment in terms of your own development. Investing in yourself isn't just about the financial side of things—it's about building a better version of you. Most people focus...
4 months ago • 2 min read
One of the biggest rules in improvisation is that you must always say ‘Yes, and…’ to continue your scene. Anything else closes everything down and doesn’t allow for any creative play. This is a good lesson to take into the real world, I think. When I’m talking to someone, and especially if they’ve asked me for advice, my heart sinks when I hear them say ‘Yes, but…’. What generally follows is a collection of reasons why something won’t work, why they don’t want to try a particular thing, it...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Ireland goes to the polls today, in what’s looking to be a close race between the parties. Just like with the US and UK elections this year, some people might struggle with deciding who to vote for – a lot of the time it might feel like there’s no ‘ideal’ candidate, and instead you have to go with whoever is the ‘least bad’. ‘Least bad’ should never be your best option. But when you’re faced with difficult choices or decisions, where do you start? This is where having clear goals and values...
4 months ago • 2 min read
By this time of the year, it can be hard to stay productive. The days are shorter, meetings are starting to go in the diary for 2025 and the Christmas celebrations seem to happen earlier and earlier each year. Getting stuff done seems to be at the bottom of everyone’s list! It might feel tempting to just take your foot off the gas and slide into the Christmas holidays… but they’re still a month away, so what could you get done in that month? This can be a brilliant time of year to scope out...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Nick Hornby’s ‘About a Boy’ has a great line in it, where the main character is told ‘No man is an island’. He replies, ‘I am, I’m bloody Ibiza!’. Of course, he soon learns that at some point, you have to let other people in, that going it alone doesn’t get you very far. I’m a huge advocate for networks and mentors. When you’re up against a challenge, your first question should never be ‘How am I going to solve this?’, instead you should look at who you know who’ll be able to help you solve...
5 months ago • 2 min read
As we head into the weekend, there are a lot of confused, scared and angry people out there. You might be one of them, scratching your head about what happened in the US this week with the re-election of Trump. At times like this, as much as you might want to stay informed and up to date, consuming every piece of news and social media isn’t helpful. Instead, it can leave you feeling both helpless and powerless. I always advise people to focus on what they can control and influence, rather...
5 months ago • 2 min read
There are so many misconceptions out there when it comes to investing in property. I've seen people who have a little bit of knowledge quickly get themselves into trouble because they're just not aware of what they're doing wrong. It should go without saying, but I'm not sure people are aware of the scrutiny that you need to give a deal. Certainly, if you're presenting a deal to an investor or a lender, they're going to look under the bonnet, and if you haven't done your homework, your deal’s...
5 months ago • 2 min read
“I just need one more hour in the day!” I hear this from so many people and I bet you’ve said it yourself at some point recently too. Well, you’ll get that hour this weekend when the clocks go back in Ireland and the UK, so make sure you don’t waste it by procrastinating over what to do! Everyone procrastinates at one time or another. t’s a problem that I think probably everybody has to deal with at one point or another (including myself). Why do we do it? It’s because fundamentally,...
5 months ago • 2 min read
When you’re making decisions, do you let your heart or your head make the final decision? In an ideal world, we’d all be able to make rational decisions about everything, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen that way. Maybe you’ve fallen in love with a property and are so desperate to have it that you end up paying over the odds. Maybe you’re selling and you’ve got a bit hung up on a certain price, but all the offers are way under that. Perhaps you’re a bit of a gambler and you prefer make...
6 months ago • 2 min read