Your Actions Aren't Helping You Achieve Your Goals, Bankrupt Celebrities, Drug Dealers and More!

I realised this week how, even though aspects of my life may look glamorous, I haven't achieved what I really want.

That’s me!

Welcome to your Friday morning dose of everything that matters in the world of business, finance, entrepreneurship and my life! Every week over 5000 people receive this email with top tips, tried and tested strategies, 'agenda free’ news and a bit of my banter!

This week you’ll find:

🤔 MATT’S CHAT’S: Are your actions taking you closer to your true aspirations or further away from them?

🗞️ NEWS ROUND-UP: All the latest business news fresh from the Matt Haycox Daily website including the Latest News on the Zuckerberg vs Musk fight, Declining Retail Sales and a Fast-track Guide to Raising £1 Million.

📈 SCARY STAT: Money won’t solve your problems if you don’t know how to handle it!

🎙️PODCAST: This week on The Matt Haycox Show, I interview former New Scotland Yard Detective, Peter Berkley. We talk busting London gangs, doing drug deals, staring as ‘The Chief’ on Channel 4’s “Hunted”, and more. This is a BELTER! MUST LISTEN!

📸 BIG PICTURE: Don’t confuse a wise investment that saves you time and preserves your sanity with wasting money!

🔦 SPOTLIGHT: Shining a light on someone you need to know about. Influencers, mentors and inspiring individuals.

ASK ME ANYTHING: Go on, I dare you! You know I always tell it how it is!

🤝 SHARING IS CARING: Tell your friends and I will be your friend! Oh, and there are rewards in it too.

🧏‍♀️ THE LAST WORD: One last thing before I go…..

🤔MATT’S CHAT’S

I am still writing to you from Spain this week, where I have the full gang together again. Harlie is back, and it’s great to be spending time with her as, between her getting older and me moving to Dubai, we don’t spend nearly as much time together as I would like.

But it is very much quality over quantity with her, so I am making the most of our time here. She’s an avid reader and learner at the moment (hopefully it lasts for her life ahead), so we had a bit of time on our own together a few days ago, where we headed to the beach to chill out and read our books together.

For me, it was the only time in as long as I can remember where I almost switched off from work and connectivity. I told a few people that morning I would be out of contact for a bit, and when I got to the beach, I threw my phone in a bag and ignored it.

We also went to a different beach area than normal, as the place I normally like was full. I am a bit of a sunbed snob and normally gravitate towards big, comfy, expensive day beds! As we were only going for a few hours, I didn’t fancy paying £150 for the ones I usually like, and as it was late in the day, most places were full, and our options were limited.

So, we ended up at an area of the beach I had never been to before and got a couple of little, old, green beds for £15 that were slanting down to the sea, and I couldn’t even get my full body on them!

I lay there, closed my eyes, and thought, I feel so relaxed and happy here. This £15 bed is just what I needed. I don’t need or want anything more, so have I been going to the wrong places up until now?’

It really made me realise that we spend too much of our time chasing things we don’t really want, buying things we don’t really need, doing things to keep other people happy, and chasing a goal that, when you get there, doesn’t actually provide the life that you really want.

So, the thoughts and lesson of today are:

SET YOUR GOALS CAREFULLY AND BE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT YOU OPTIMISE FOR.

You need to think hard about what you really want and then reverse engineer it to make sure that actually happens.

Think about what you really want. Not what other people are doing, have done, or think you should be doing because other people (or social media) say so.

I know many people look at my life and wish they could change places. To swap with what looks like a life of glamorous locations, fancy restaurants, exciting business deals, and the toys of wealth & success.

But if I told you that I can’t ever remember doing less than 12 hours of work on a weekday, that I can’t watch a movie without having my laptop in front of me to do something, that if my phone is away from me for more than 5 minutes I get some kind of disconnection mental disorder, and that I lay in bed every night struggling to sleep thinking about deadlines, my responsibilities to investors, staff I want to kill, and a million and 1 other problems, would you really want to swap with me?

It doesn’t sound as much fun as you thought, does it?!

The truth is that I didn’t think it through, and I blindly followed a path in my early years that I have carried on unchecked. Maybe I had different aspirations back then. Maybe I just didn’t know any better because I was young and had no one to learn from.

I have followed a path that, instead of creating exactly what I really want, has actually just built a rod for my own back.

But the good news is that it isn’t too late for me to make changes and correct my actions and path.

If you asked me what I really want and what would really make me happy, the answer is actually very simple. I want to be able to go to bed each night without having to ever set an alarm clock. I want to be able to turn my phone off for 24 hours and it not make a difference to my life. And I want to play a shitload of padel tennis and backgammon while doing it all with only the people I really want to hang out with.

You will all have your own versions of this goal, but I think the simple translation of it is that my goal is total FREEDOM, and therefore to create it I need to optimise for maximum INCOME.

And while I am not telling anyone else what they should want or do, I think creating a blueprint for income solves most problems and allows for most goals.

Don’t worry, I am not getting all woke and airy on you! I still love business, and I always will. I love doing deals and making money, but I want to do it all on my terms. (Or as much as is realistically possible.) I have to ask myself why I am doing everything I do, suffering the headaches and the stress, if the end result isn’t what I truly want.

Laying on my shitty, green sunbed really made this hit home. I don’t need the expensive sunbed because it adds no value; what is making me happy is reading my book, laid next to someone I love, with my phone turned off and no problems on my mind.

I NEED TO OPTIMISE FOR INCOME.

And most importantly, it needs to be income produced with the minimum of stress and the maximum of organisation. Organisation that can make me almost redundant. So, if I want to turn my phone off, or go ‘dark’ on an excursion or holiday somewhere for a couple of weeks, nothing will change, and I won’t be missed.

Having businesses and owning assets may be ‘wealth', but if those assets consume my time, cause me stress, and don’t generate income, then they aren’t helping me achieve my goals.

Let me give you an example.

I have 3 main residences and a boat that collectively have circa £5 million of equity in them. As great as that may sound from a ‘wealth’ perspective, when you consider the servicing costs of any mortgages and running expenses, it probably costs me over £500k a year to keep them all ticking over.

That’s £10k a week I have to find, no matter what else I have going on, to keep and maintain those assets. A huge commitment, plus no flexibility as I have the properties sitting there even if I don’t want to use them when my plans or geography change.

So, owning fancy properties and assets in glamorous locations may sound good. It may tick boxes to flex on Instagram or perpetuate the myth about home ownership, but it isn’t contributing towards my goal of freedom and flexibility.

In fact, it is actually working completely against it.

If I am wanting to set myself up for less stress and pressure, and more flexibility and freedom, then I should be:

  • Not tying up large amounts of capital and tying myself to large outgoings and expenses

  • Renting, not buying

  • Generating income without looking at potential capital gains

If I sold the properties and got rid of the boat, it would free up the £5 million I have tied up in them and immediately put an end to the £500k of outgoings.

I could then invest the £5m at circa 15% a year and be producing myself an income of £750k from it.

I can get 15% with my eyes closed! There is almost no risk and certainly little to no stress.

£750k rents a lot of houses! And it comes with the total flexibility of being able to hand the keys back to each one at the end of the month when I fancy something else instead.

A simple change in methodology and a completely different outcome.

FREEDOM. FLEXIBILITY. NO STRESS.

I am not sure how Elena would feel about me selling our homes, but the logic is clear!

To be clear, I am not here preaching to you to tell you to sell your cars and your houses, never buy Starbucks, and join a monastery! I don’t care what you do. Do what makes you happy.

But if your actions and behaviours don’t create outcomes and results that help you achieve your goals, then something must be wrong, right?

We tend to build lives based on other people's rules, ideals, and opinions of what is ‘normal’. People who, by the way, are rarely happy and are full of their own problems. We consume media without thinking. Take advice from people who have no right to be giving it. Take direction from people who are lost themselves. And then we wake up 1 day and wonder how the fuck we got to where we got to, and where the last 30 years went!

I know I am doing some things wrong, and if I make some changes, I can get a lot closer to the outcome I want.

And I know you are too.

So go away this weekend and think hard on this. Be honest with yourself. And think about what changes you could or should make.

And if you are feeling brave, then reply to this email and tell me about some of the things you are doing wrong and how you could make changes for the better. I would love to hear that this has resonated with some of you and that just 1 of you has made positive steps towards the life you actually want.

Until next week, enjoy the rest of this newsletter.

🗞️ NEWS ROUND-UP:

📈 SCARY STAT:

Lottery winners aren’t the only people subject to this statistic, celebrities and sports stars fall foul to this regularly too. People who get £50 million, £100 million, or even more in contracts to play American Football, basketball, etc, end up bankrupt within a few years of retiring from sport.

‘How can this be?’ I hear you asking!

Because money doesn’t solve problems without the right foundations and education. 

It’s no different from companies that raise hundreds of millions of pounds on investment and then go out of business. The money is nothing without the right idea, the right controls, the right team, etc.

When I went bankrupt in my late 20s, I was back earning money within days. And within a few short years, I had more money than I had at my pre-bankruptcy peak. And when I take risks nowadays, huge losses don’t scare me because I know I have the skillset to be able to make money again quickly and easily.

🎙️PODCAST:

The Matt Haycox Show

“I could build you a joint like a babies arm!”
Peter Bleksley

Every week I sit down on my podcast The Matt Haycox Show to chat with inspirational and exciting guests who have a story to tell. And this week certainly doesn’t disappoint with the stories!

With an impressive background in law enforcement, Peter's gripping stories of taking down gangs in the heart of London and his iconic role as 'The Chief' on Channel 4's "Hunted". From facing down gangsters in the gritty world of drugs, weapons, and even experiencing witness protection, Peter brings us into his thrilling experiences that have shaped his unique perspective. In this episode, you'll gain unprecedented insights into the criminal underworld and the strategies that have led to his successes.

So, what’s to expect from this podcast?

💊 Discover his time undercover doing drug deals to daring gang busts.

👮 Explore the shady world of police corruption through Peter's first-hand encounters with its realities.

👁️‍🗨️ Step into the shoes of witness protection with Peter as he shares his intense, personal experiences.

📺 Re-live the excitement of Peter's time as 'The Chief' on Channel 4's Hunted, a rollercoaster of strategy and suspense.

And much more!

If you haven’t subscribed yet then please do and leave a 5* review. The better your reviews the better the future guests. Win : Win!

 📸BIG PICTURE:

Entrepreneurs always talk about their ‘Return On Investment’, but something that is far too often overlooked is 'Return On Hassle’.

I always remember when I was a kid, my dad used to say to people, ‘You can’t put a price on connivence’.

It has always stuck with me for different reasons, and I have used variations of its meaning in my businesses and life over the years.

Entrepreneurs and business owners never like to waste money (or at least they shouldn’t), but there is a big difference between wasting and spending on something to make your life easier or free up time.

When business owners say things like they ‘can’t afford to hire a cleaner or assistant’, or they refuse to pay for a fast-track version of something they aren’t saving money on, they are not valuing their time and headspace.

This week’s big picture is a great image that shows a simple equation to calculate your RETURN ON HASSLE.

Divide the money you have saved by the time it has taken you or the aggravation it has caused you, and it equals your ‘Return On Hassle’.

Go test it out now on some of the things you have been holding back on paying for!

🔦 SPOTLIGHT

I like to use my Newsletter to showcase talented individuals, and who better to highlight than some of the talented and creative individuals on my team? This week, Jeremy Baker, part of my SEO team, tells us about his side hustle, a men’s hair and grooming digital publication.

If you know someone who I should be featuring in a future issue, then drop me a line.

ASK ME ANYTHING:

I love answering questions, solving problems, and interacting with my subscribers and followers - so this is a Win:Win:Win for me! And for you guys too.

Every week now I will be including a section where I answer a question or solve a problem that you have. Hopefully about business, but I will try with whatever you throw at me!

Here is a video I made recently when asked about the best business to make money in! (P.s. If you don’t already follow me on Instagram then make sure you add me when you watch this video!)

So ask away, and hopefully I will feature you in a coming newsletter. (It will be anonymous if you prefer so don’t be afraid to ask what is really on your mind.)

 🤝SHARING IS CARING:

TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND GET REWARDED! 💰 🛥

When I love something I always share it with my friends! And if you do too then this newsletter has got you covered! Share it with your mates and wider connections and get access to exciting rewards. Even though our full reward programme is still in the works, any referrals you make now count towards it. Plus, one of the rewards is a weekend in Dubai with me for an incredible business immersion experience and yacht dinner. Spread the word and join me in Dubai!

(PS my current biggest refer is Elena, can you beat her?! She does have 108 cousins though so plenty of people to go at!)

 🧏‍♀️THE LAST WORD:

Thanks for making it to the end again! I love writing this as it helps me get my thoughts in order and learn more too when I am thinking about the concepts I share with you. I have been stopped in the street a few times lately in both Dubai and Spain by people who tell me they follow me online and get benefit from my content - I am always very flattered and humbled.

Every day is a school day for me, and I just hope that I get to impart that mentality in to more and more people. So thanks for following, and thanks for sharing.

The more positive feedback, the more effort I put in to everything so I am now more committed than ever to making a daily podcast a reality. So please subscribe to the Matt Haycox Daily podcast and I will share an audio version of my thoughts and ramblings as many times a week as I can.

Next Monday I will tell you a great tool that I have started using to transcribe all of my Zoom meetings. I love it! And I know you will benefit too.

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