The tools, books and kit I actually use to stay well, think clearly and build wealth. Some of them changed my life, so rather than leave them in a journal, I’ve put them here, with why each one earned its place.
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a [wo]man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
English proverb, recorded in 1639 and made famous by Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1735
or browse by type
The three assessments I’d take first, in this order, and what each one changed for me.
Read the Start Here guideA UK supplement brand, batch-tested and sold direct from their site. What I buy: Life & Soul omega-3 fish oil capsules, High Flyer creatine monohydrate and Ready & Rested magnesium bisglycinate.
How I use it. Creatine in the morning, the omega-3 with breakfast or dinner, and magnesium at dinner.
An audio meditation programme from Centerpointe Research Institute. Headphones, a soundtrack with binaural beats under it, and levels that progress over years.
How I use it. I’m on Flowering 4, the last of the programme’s 13 levels. Usually five to six in the morning, though I’m less disciplined about it than I used to be. Whenever I have an hour free, I put it on. It’s often where my best solutions turn up.
Guided breathing rounds, a cold-exposure log and mobility sessions, built around Wim Hof’s method of breathing, cold and commitment.
How I use it. Breathing early most mornings, then a three-minute cold plunge when I’m brave. On long-run mornings I usually skip it.
Brings all my bank accounts and cards into one app, sorts the spending into categories and spots the subscriptions I’d forgotten about.
How I use it. Once a month I export the previous month’s transactions and go through them line by line. An accountant’s habit, and the reason I know where the money goes.
I own shares in Emma.
Measures how you instinctively take action, across four modes, rather than what you prefer or what you are good at.
How I use it. My result: 7-7-1-7. The 1 in Quick Start changed how I plan my week.
Energy bars, chews and gels made from real food. What I buy: Avanti bars, Nero chews and Rosso gels.
How I use it. Long-run and race fuel, Saturday mornings and race days.
Each one with the idea I took from it. I usually listen first, on long runs, and keep the print or Kindle edition for reading too.
A short note each Sunday on what I’ve been learning. I’m still shaping it, and sign-up opens here once it starts.
Coming soon. Until then, the best place to start is the Start Here guide.
Nothing is collected on this page.
South African, in London for over a decade, and a chartered accountant by training. Whenever things have felt uncertain I have gone back to sport: triathlon, open water swimming, and these days ultra trail running, which strips everything back. This site holds the resources a younger me would have appreciated, and I hope they’re helpful to you too: the tools, books and habits that stuck.
Next up: the Lakes Traverse in April 2027 and the Ultra X South Africa stage race in 2027.
By day I’m a fractional CFO for UK health brands at Phoenix Advisory.
It started as a way to keep track of what has genuinely helped me. Too much of it sat in a journal, or came up once in passing conversation and was gone. Some of these tools have changed my life. Putting them somewhere public might change someone else’s.
It is also something I believe in: make the most of your time, and build an asset that earns while you sleep. This site is one of mine, and maybe an idea for you too. Where a link earns the site a commission, it is marked Ad. You get a shortcut to what has worked for me, and the site pays its way. I hope that’s a win-win.
I built it with my AI team, in the open. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.
