Welcome!

This is an email I send to keep in touch with people and share a bit about what I'm doing and thinking about.

This month, I'm:

• Reflecting on Finland
• Inviting you to join my gang
• Going for the self-improvement triple-up

You're receiving this monthly email because you signed up for it at robdix.com, or you opted in after reading my book The Price Of Money, or I added you manually because we've spoken one-to-one.

If you don't enjoy it, feel free to unsubscribe at the bottom – I won't be notified and I'll never even know!

🇫🇮 6 things I learned about Helsinki

I spent a week in Helsinki last month. Here’s my feedback form…

1️⃣ Let’s get this out of the way: Finland is EXPENSIVE. At one point my son asked for dessert and I briefly contemplated selling one of my kidneys.

2️⃣ It’s also QUIET. My wife and I were having a normal conversation on a tram, and suddenly realised that by Finnish standards we were being “loud Americans” and everyone was staring disapprovingly at us.

3️⃣ Speaking of trams: Helsinki has the best public transport ever. You’re expected to buy a ticket (which covers all modes of transport) using the city-wide app, then there are no entry/exit barriers and no need to touch in/out. It gives the impression of a high-trust society, and feels great.

4️⃣ There’s an unbelievable amount to do with kids. The big stuff like the Oodi library and children’s museum are fantastic, and when you start digging deeper there’s loads more. Even our local shopping centre randomly had a free soft play area.

5️⃣ It’s far more beautiful than I expected. Neoclassical architecture all over the shop, plus incredible beaches, parks and forests.

6️⃣ And finally: best airport ever too. We were seriously considering moving there just so we could experience the delight of flying from there every time.

Overall: 10/10, would recommend as the perfect post-lottery-win destination.

Prices may be high, but fair enough if it funds quality branding like this

🙌 Join my launch team!

Now my next book is finished, I'm putting together the marketing plan.

Part of that plan is to get my biggest supporters involved early – offering bonuses and behind-the-scenes updates in return for early pre-orders that build important momentum.

So... would you like to join my launch team?

On your side, you’ll need to pre-order the book (hardback, audio or digital) and pinky-promise to leave an honest review once you’ve read it.

In return, I'll:

• Send you a sneak preview chapter immediately
• Post you a personally autographed bookplate which you can proudly add to your copy when it arrives
• Send you regular behind-the-scenes updates (see what writing and promoting a book with a major publisher is really like!)

AND you can come to an online launch party I’m putting together, ONLY for my launch team (there will be a live DJ. There may or may not be party poppers.)

If that sounds good, follow this link and pop in your details

(Or just reply to this email if you prefer)

I'll then follow up with you personally inviting you to join the team.

We had a photo shoot this month – and this is the one that best suits a caption competition

🤖 Why read a book when you've got AI?

(Err, except mine – mine is totally different.)

I was recently recommended "The Alter-Ego Effect" by Todd Herman – a book about creating a persona to help you achieve peak performance (like Beyoncé and Sasha Fierce).

From a quick skim it was clearly well-written – but like most self-help books, there are a lot of stories and anecdotes to wade through before you come to the main points.

So I tried something different. I put down the book and turned to AI:

"I want to develop a new alter ego to [my goal]. Guide me through this process as described in the book 'The Alter Ego Effect' by Todd Herman."

The AI listed the process from the book, then took me through each step. When I needed more context or inspiration, I asked for it:

"Give me a specific example from the book of an alter-ego that someone developed, and the characteristics they chose."

(Pro tip: Different AI models have different knowledge bases. Claude didn't have access to the full text, but ChatGPT seemed to.)

To round things off, I asked the AI to critique my work:

"In light of the information in the book, act as the author and critique the character I came up with. Note where it could be improved to be more effective, based on the author's experience of creating alter-egos with others."

The result? In under 30 minutes, I didn't just understand the book – I'd taken action based on it, which is the part most people skip.

My friend Kyle pointed out that this would be an incredible pivot for services like Blinkist: rather than give you a summary (which in my experience you just read then forget about), using AI they could help you interact with the book to more quickly get the result – which for self-help, is what you want.

🔗 Odds and ends

• I ran a half-marathon. Do you want to hear about my splits? Let me tell you about my splits. Running purely by feel, my fastest and slowest mile times were no more than 12 seconds apart. Given that I usually tend to go out way too fast and blow up towards the end, I'm ludicrously proud of this and may have told everyone I know multiple times.

• My wife and I have started getting into chess – which I had in my mental "boring" bucket for years, but the focus and absorption is pretty addictive. So far I've resisted, but I'm tempted to go for the personal development triple-up by watching chess videos in Spanish while running on the treadmill.

• Next trip: Vienna, with a day trip by train to Bratislava to tick off a new country. If you have any "must do" activities or tips for either (especially with kids), do let me know!

That’s it for now! Feel free to write back and let me know what you've been up to.

Cheers!

Rob

p.s. You can also follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.