flmsflmsflmdslfmlmlfmdlfmlfmlfdlfmdlmfdlfdlfdmfldmfldmfdlfdlfdlfmdlfmlfm
-
What a Tapas bar in Spain can teach you
-
Stop Worrying About Money: What a Tapas Bar in Spain Can Teach You
Now, you don’t have to be some sort of vagabond seeing the entire world. You don’t have to go to the hippest places, either. Heck, you don’t even need to go to another country—although it is definitely worth it! I think the best part of traveling is simply taking in the sights, smells, sounds, and culture of where you’re visiting.
For me, it’s always a good reminder that people everywhere live exciting and fulfilled lives, and they do it completely differently than I do. You see, we humans get caught up in our little bubble lives. Yes, that’s right! You live in a bubble, just like everyone else. Your friends, family, work, and where you live all contribute to your lifestyle and what you do on a daily basis. This isn’t a bad thing at all. Generally, it feels good to have a routine and know what’s going to happen next. For example, I love to have a cup of coffee, followed by a cup of bone broth in the morning, and then a workout. It’s my go-to routine.
At the same time, while routine is great, spicing it up every now and then makes a world of difference. When I travel and see other cultures and other ways of living, it opens my mind up to new possibilities and thoughts. For example, how important is investing to someone living their fullest life in Spain? As I sit at a tapas bar overflowing with life, or at a beautiful scenic coffee shop where people are enjoying an afternoon coffee, I wonder: Do the things that have meaning to me have meaning to them? Do they know what stocks or index funds are? Do they understand compounding interest? Is financial independence even a thing there?
It makes me ask myself if the things I value even matter as much. On a daily basis, I might be worrying about an underperforming stock or what asset I should invest in next. This artificial worry over my money can sometimes have negative consequences. What if I were surrounded by a culture that didn’t really think much about money like I do? Would I be more content and fulfilled as a human? Or do I have it all backward, and those people living their best lives at the tapas bar worry just as much, but in an entirely different way?
Perhaps the worry is how they’re going to sustain their lifestyles. Maybe it’s not as glamorous as an observer would think. There could be less opportunity in other countries to save and invest, so people have no choice but to have fun at the moment. Maybe that actually is a giant worry after the epic night is over and all your friends are gone. Perhaps it’s a coping mechanism because it’s harder to get ahead.
I honestly have no clue. I’d have to interview every single person to truly find out. What I can tell you is that getting out of my bubble and experiencing new people and new cultures makes me think about how I’m living my life. It’s a refresher course telling me to not think about my investments so much. Instead, I should be enjoying TODAY with the people I love. When I travel or do something different, I always get a reboot and examine my life and what I prioritize. Remember, routine is amazing, but every now and then, you’ve got to break the routine to get in touch with your mind and perform a systems check. Figure out what’s really important, and what’s just background noise!
-
Tomorrow is never guaranteed
Sep 21 2025
Tomorrow’s just another day, right? It can wait. How easily we take it all for granted. I’ve put off making a podcast, starting a new business, and making new friends. I’ve put off being a better partner, getting more fit, and becoming a better version of myself.
Why do we put things off? It’s incredibly easy to take time for granted, to think we have an endless supply. During my career as a firefighter and paramedic, I saw way too many things that made no sense. I saw young people die tragically, and I saw fellow friends and coworkers die in the line of duty. I saw cancer take a friend in less than a year. So, if anyone should know that tomorrow is never guaranteed, it’s me.
But it’s not that simple. As humans, we love to get complacent and fall into a routine. We tend to think that tomorrow will be just like today. I’ve fallen into this trap; I’m guilty of it. That’s why it’s important to take a moment to reflect on your life from time to time. Celebrate your achievements and never stop reaching for new goals. If tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, what would you do differently? Would you have the courage to do that one thing you’ve always wanted to do? Reminding yourself that tomorrow is not guaranteed can have a profound effect on your actions. Choosing to do things now, instead of at some imaginary date, will make you a stronger person.
Even though I sometimes forget, I know that tomorrow is not guaranteed. It’s the reason I’ve learned how to invest, bought a sailboat, and left a cushy career. I’m playing the long game in life, but I’m also hyper-aware that we humans can do some badass things if we just put our minds to it. One of my greatest motivators is always trying to be a better version of myself. If tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, I’m sure as hell not waiting for perfection to put something new out there. That also means it’s not worth worrying so much about what friends, family, and other people think of you. All that matters is that you’re getting after it! Profound change happens in tiny increments. Every day that passes is wasted potential. Don’t waste that beautiful potential bucket.
There’s a world full of potential filled people. There’s only a handful that actually reach that potential.
Which one will you be?
Until next time
Jorge
-
When Patience Runs Out in the Stock Market
September 9th 2025
There are two reasons why your patience would run out while investing in the stock market.
The first reason is that you aren’t emotionally ready to handle long-term investing. That’s right—you heard me! You aren’t emotionally able to handle the ups and downs of the market. And I don’t blame you. In your pocket, you have a device that connects you to the entire world in real time. Imagine getting constant updates on the stock market and nonstop clickbait articles of doom. Everyday there’s fear in the air—talks of recessions, war, stock market crashes, and an endless amount of negativity. It’s a finger-pointing nightmare, let me tell you. And you get body-slammed with all this stuff before breakfast.
If you aren’t emotionally ready for long-term investing, enough days of scrolling and seeing financial demise will lead you to panic and hit the sell button. Do yourself a favor: keep your mind right, learn to detach, and know that this process takes time. Imagine what the end goal looks like 5, 10, or 20 years from now. Use that vision and focus on it.
The second reason is that you’ve invested too much money and are overleveraged. Investing your entire life savings can be stressful because you’re at the constant mercy of the market. If the market goes down, you’re trapped. It’s a feeling of impending doom, like you’re on house arrest and can’t enjoy life. Eventually, you’ll be forced to sell at the worst possible time because you have no other money to draw from.
Speaking from experience, being overleveraged is not a good feeling when shit hits the fan. Do yourself a favor and avoid this by investing an amount you’re comfortable with just setting and forgetting. Have some savings in case there’s a downturn in the market or an unexpected need for cash. Peace of mind is worth far more than making a few more thousand dollars!
Until next time,
Jorge
-
Fit for life
September 9th 2025
Back in my twenties, all I wanted was to be gym strong. What do I mean by that? Being gym strong is being able to lift weights in a certain motion or structured movement without deviation, like deadlifts, back squats, and bench presses. Now, I’m not hating on these movements—in fact, I still incorporate versions of them today.
When I was trying to lift my max reps every week, I forgot a crucial lesson: real-world strength isn’t structured like a gym routine. In the real world, there’s a lot of unexpected movement and a hell of a lot of deviation. As a firefighter paramedic, I’ve had to remove unconscious patients wedged between a bed and a wall or extricate a trapped person from an upside-down vehicle. My back was bending in all kinds of crazy, contortionist ways.
Of course, this led to injuries. Why? I neglected real-world mobility, back flexion, and flexibility. Being strong is awesome, but if you can’t translate that strength into real-world movements, you’re in for a rude awakening dude!
What’s the cure? Along with being strong, train for a full range of mobility. Learn that it’s okay to round your back in flexion. Diagnose your hip mobility and improve it. Build strength and flexibility so you can do anything. Our bodies were meant to bend and play. Move, twist, get upside down, sprint, do handstands. Build up to this slowly, but in time, you’ll be stronger and more limber. Take time throughout your day to move your body in unconventional ways. A little bit every day makes a huge difference!
Until next time,
Jorge
-
Index Funds Duh!
Investor fella here, saying hi from San Diego
August 25th 2025
This week’s newsletter is taking us back to the basics of stock investing: index funds. So, you want to get rich quick with stocks? Chances are, by the time you hear a tip about a “hot stock,” the time to buy was long before you decided to press that buy button.
How do I know? I’ve done it throughout my investing journey, and let me tell you, it mostly ends with me in the red! Fear not, there is another way to succeed in the stock market. Not only can you succeed, but you can also surpass Wall Street’s “pumpers” and fee-heavy, actively managed hedge funds! So what’s the secret sauce for building a strong foundation in stock investing? It’s pretty darn simple: just buy an index fund and hold it forever—or until you need to use the money to purchase another asset.
Instead of trying to pick individual stocks, you can buy them all through an index fund. Index funds aren’t actively managed, which means they have lower fees and low expense ratios. There’s no guesswork here; you just own a portion of every company in the index.
Over the last ten years, if you had owned an S&P 500 index fund, you would have made an average of 11.3% annually, for a cumulative rate of return of 245%. Holy crap! 🤑
The index fund I recommend is Vanguard’s VTSAX or its ETF version, VTI. Purchase shares every month forever and let dollar-cost averaging do all the heavy lifting.
Until next time,
Jorge
