TRIBEathlon Podcast
Episode 41: Kat Matthews is serving in the British Army as a Physiotherapist Officer whilst she’s supported to pursue performance as an elite long-distance triathlete. Having only started triathlon in 2015, it wasn’t long before she was winning races, including Ironman Florida in 2020, only her second attempt at full distance.
Clearly there is a lot to come from Kat, so I wanted to chat to her about being a full-time athlete in the Army, myths around heavy training weeks and the mental tactics she uses to achieve these incredible results.
What I’ve Been Eating
It’s not often I find a food product that not only tastes amazing, but also makes a noticeable difference to my health, however Bio&Me is one such product.
I’ve had digestive issues for several years; I’ve seen GP’s, specialist consultants and nutritionists, none of which have been able to make a noticeable difference. I recently started adding Bio&Me to my breakfast of choice (a mixture of gluten free cornflakes, homemade muesli and coconut milk), and I can honestly say I have seen a genuine improvement in both the taste of my breakfast and in my digestive health. I am working my way through the flavours but have yet to find one I don’t like. If you want to try it for yourself, you can use discount code Bio&25 for 25% off.
Podcast I’ve Been Listening To
Recently, I have been listening to a number of episodes of The High Performance podcast. In some ways it is similar to the TRIBEathlon podcast, however they have wider mix of guests, ranging from sports people to business owners. I particularly enjoyed the interview with Jo Malone CBE, for her honesty, insights and story. By coincidence, Kat Matthews also recommended it in the TRIBEathlon podcast this week. The subject is Finding your Superpower, and if you are interested in business, or perfume, I suggest you give it a listen.
Health Matters I’ve Been Thinking About
I was lucky enough to get the first dose of my vaccine this week. From what I have been told, the younger and stronger your immune system, the worse the reaction seems to be. My triathlon coach made sure to mention this to his other athletes and I had 3 days of feeling tired, aching and having brain fog.
All of this is, of course, more than worthwhile if it can help us all get back to a more normal life; not only so we don’t get the virus, but also so that we don’t spread it. Just be aware of the side effects and be aware you may need to take it easy for a few days afterwards. Probably best not to go for a long run the morning after the jab!
Quote of the Week
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”
- Zig Ziglar.
Finance Theme I’ve Been Considering
I spoke to a potential a new client earlier on this week. By his own admission, he is not interested in his finances but is currently getting advice from a financial advisory firm and was starting to question their independence.
When you are car shopping, if you go see and BMW salesman, guess what he sells you, a BMW not an Audi. As a result, you are left trawling the web for reviews of different cars to try and make the right decision for you. Buying a car is a significant purchase, but your financial future and your children’s inheritance, well that is a different game altogether.
In the same way a BMW salesman sells you a BMW, from a non-independent adviser you only get their solutions. What this means is that, unless you are going to spend time every year trawling the web to determine whether that firm is right for you, you are leaving them to mark their own homework – unsurprisingly, they are unlikely to tell you their only option is not for you!
Our job, as truly independent financial planners, is to find the best solution on the market for our clients, and continually revisit those solutions. If at some point in the future we find a better or cheaper option, it’s our job to bring that to the client’s attention. So, unless you either want to be researching the finance market every year or want an adviser marking their own homework, independent advice is always best in my opinion, as it’s the only one you can genuinely trust.