This week we’ve watched a Halloween movie with my family, all of a sudden my son asked me: Why do you like to watch horror movies Papa? I had to think for quite some time, but then I replied: Fear — if done right — can be fun!

And of course he asked again: How?

The Upside of Fear

I explained to him that fear can be an exciting and healthy emotion to get exposed to, just think of how we enjoy going on roller coasters, how you can feel excitement when you can take a controlled risk in life and how we like the feeling when Haloween comes closer. …

Have you ever looked at a master perform a craft and thought to yourself: Wow, I wish I can do that too? Here is good news for you: Nobody was born a master, yes you can! It’s our aim to teach you how.

This is the first blog post of a monthly blog series “Distilling Skills” where we will “distill” different skills into their basic ingredients and show you how to learn them in a more efficient manner. Over time, we will show you how you can make yourself a master of all trades!

In this competitive world, your ability to learn new skills gives you an extra edge over your competition. If you can figure out how to learn any skill, you can do anything. …

Today I’m celebrating my birthday. I’m turning 41. Translated for you: It means I’m now closer to 50 than to 30 and closer to 60 than to 20. At least that’s what I’m thinking about right now. Also, 41 years means I’ve spent now more time living after the year 2000 than before. Hell, just think about it, 1990 is now further away than 2050.

Yes, birthdays get me thinking “about time” every single time.

And I like it.

Because time flies.

The speed of time is exactly 365.242189 days per year!

Is this fast? Is it slow? Well, that’s where it gets interesting, you…

How often did you hear these comments: You deserved it! Very, very well done! Awesome! Wonderful! They are part of our culture. You got to be nice with each other. But is it truthful? Does it help you? Do you believe it when said to you?

Here’s the problem: We’ve become so bloody careful about how to not trigger someone else’s feelings that truly truthful feedback has almost become a thing of impossibility or at least extremely hard to get.

Most likely you would agree with me here that sometimes a good slap in the face might be worth 10x all the bullshit people tell each other just for “staying nice”. …

Did you know happiness does not peaks with a maximum of options provided but with an optimum amount of choices instead? Yes, more and more is not better per se. From a certain point onwards an increase in more choices offered decreases your happiness!

Less is more.

Did you ever enter a supermarket and got flabbergasted by the sheer amount of different oils, yoghurts, breads or cereals offered? You got the cheap ones, the ones made from better or different ingredients, then you got the extra quality stuff, the super cheap ones and even more.

Which one will it be?

The modern supermarket: Nightmare or blessing? …

If you have ever travelled before, you most certainly noticed how price levels for the same thing can be hugely different depending on where you are. This may even happen within the same country.

Why is that?

[Income] earning potential, taxes, rent, everything is changing depending on where you are. It’s all about supply and demand. Some differences might also be linked to currencies, strength of economy, competition, or different methods of taxation.

Take away 1:

Things have different prices at different places.

Spend your money at the right place!

Done the right way, geoarbitrage can unlock tremendous potential.

It is a powerful tool to shorten your way to [an earlier] retirement and even without planning for the ultra long run, it can immediately boost your purchasing power to new heights, improve your quality of life and give you more bang for the buck. …

This is the first post of a series called “financial excursions” where we will explore how to understand the world better while learning about money and your life. In my view, “financial excursions” are the best way to teach your kids about money. This summer we took our kids for a trip to see one of the largest dams with hydroelectric plant in Switzerland.

We marveled at the large wall, enjoyed the views from its top, learned about its functions and of course I grabbed the opportunity to explain how building a dam is similar to capturing your income streams and save money and therefore time for later usage in life. …

The “Marshmallow-Test” was first conducted back in the late 1960’s by a Stanford professor named Walter Mischel. Over the years and due to its results, it became one of the most famous studies for the subject of delayed gratification.

What is it about? It’s about measuring how young kids can use their willpower to delay their gratification and what impact this has on their potential in many areas of life.

The test was simple: A kid was brought into a room and given a plate with one marshmallow on it. Then it got asked to make a simple choice: Eat this marshmallow in front of you now, or wait 15–25 minutes in order to receive a second marshmallow on top! …