The Beginning in Florence
My name is Joe. I am a 20-y/o International Business student at the University Maastricht (can only recommend it). Originally, I am from Hamburg (Germany), which is about 15-times bigger than Maastricht, but I nevertheless love both cities. In my free time I like to play basketball, hit the gym, go for a run and as you might have guessed: read. It all started in Florence in September 2019 where I read Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. Which to this day is one of the best books I have ever read and can only recommend, especially if you are new to Personal Finance and Investment.
The Continuation in Maastricht
After finishing Highschool, I went on to study Economics and Business Economics in Maastricht. I am now in my second year and doing the International Business specialization. The university is highly international and the city is magnificent (convince yourself).
You will quickly realize that many books on this blog will cover areas of my studies. Investing, Finance and Economics is what I study and what interests me the most. If you enjoy those topics great, if not don’t worry. There is something in stall for everyone. Trust me! (My head would explode if those were the only topics I read about)
Food and Sports in Indiana
My English skills mostly come from my foreign exchange year after tenth grade in Indiana (US), where my love for basketball, football (the non soccer-type) and even baseball come from. I had the height for basketball: 203cm (6’3”, if you don’t know the metric system). But that could only make up for so much (still, I can dunk). Of a little less glory were my football and baseball days. Though keeping in mind that I was competing against boys who were playing these sports since they were basically babies, I was quite decent.
Playing all these sports and going to practice 6-times a week came with a major advantage: I was able to eat what I want (and how much I wanted). My 2 meter body needed all the carbs and protein it could get, so I loaded up! This often resulted in a Sunday breakfasts that looked like this:
How Bill Gates Motivated Me to Read
Reading “Rich Dad Poor Dad” didn’t just happen randomly. I bought the book when a couple of friends starting talking about in our lunch break, this was maybe two years before I even read it though. What ultimately lead me to read it was Bill Gates.
There is a three-part documentary about him on Netflix called “Inside Bill’s Brain – Decoding Bill Gates”. It is tremendous and will be one of the few instances where I recommend spending some time in front of the TV. Gates discusses his efforts on eradicating polio, turning human fesis into energy and drinkable water, but most importantly: his reading habits. Every year he takes a handful of books, puts them in his book bag (beach bag) and shuts himself off from everything to read and think. His reading speed and ability to comprehend new knowledge and connect it with existing knowledge is mesmerizing. He, just like his good friend Warren Buffet, credits much of his success to the constant seeking of new knowledge by reading books.
Highly motivated I dug through my shelf to find “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, which was essentially the only book I owned that was not a novel. During the one-week vacation in Florence, I sucked in every page of it and was hooked. Other books followed regularly and ultimately led to the creation of this blog.
Enjoy,
Joe