Notes from My Journal:

I’m back in our pied-à-terre in Nicaragua. As always, I’m kicking myself for not coming down here more frequently and for longer stretches of time. Nicaragua is one of the most beautiful of the Central American countries, and the Pacific coastline towards the south, where Rancho Santana is located, is one of its prettiest parts.

For 30 years, since my first, exploratory trip in 1996, getting here from the airport in Managua has been a bit of a chore. In the early days, only the first 90 minutes of the drive was on pavement – a narrow, winding two-lane coastal road. After that, it took another two hours over dirt roads.

Gradually, some of those dirt roads were paved, and culverts were installed under the low areas that flooded during the rainy season (September through November). Two years ago, the trip was 80% paved. And this time, I went all the way from the airport in Managua to the resort on paved roads, cutting what was once three and a half hours of semi-rugged trekking into smooth cruising in less than two hours.

This is the end of the high season for tourism on “the Emerald Coast.” The temperature ranges from 80 to 90 in the daytime, and back down to the 70s at night. It rains occasionally, but not as hard as it does during the rainy season. Just enough to keep splashes of green on the hills and mountains in the distance.

I’ll be busy next week, taking part in a yearly get-together for our publishers and their key people from our global profit centers, including France, Germany, Ireland, the UK, Argentina, Australia, and Japan. (I think I’m leaving one out.)  I’m looking forward to the brainstorming sessions, the strategy discussions, and to seeing older versions of the young people I mentored decades ago.

The following article was written specifically for my Japanese Legacy Wealth Monthly subscribers who have young children or grandchildren. It’s about the “mentoring” K and I did with our own kids when they were young. I’m reproducing it here because, when I looked it over, I not only saw the connection to the mentoring I’ve done in business, I realized that it should be of interest to anyone who wants to have the best possible chance to succeed in whatever field they’ve chosen to go into.

Notes from My Journal:

K surprised me with a three-day visit to Key West, which is a favorite place of mine to spend a few days. I like San Francisco. I like New Orleans better. But Key West is my favorite place in the US that doesn’t feel like the US. It feels more like what the natives call it: the Conch Republic – a city that feels like it seceded from the US 100 years ago.

Everything that matters to me is different there. The look of the place – an accidental mix of stately Victorian mansions, wooden conch houses, and shotgun cottages – is unlike that of any other city in the world. Its literary history (having hosted the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, John Dos Passos, and Judy Blume) – second in the Americas only to New York City’s – is a treasure for fiction and poetry buffs like me. And its culture – distinctively contrarian and insistently anti-bourgeois – is just what my spiritual doctor ordered.

We hit all the regular sites – the Hemingway Home, the Audubon House, and Truman’s Little White House, as well as Sloppy Joe’s Bar, the lighthouse, the Custom House, the quirky cemetery, and Mallory Square. We spent a full afternoon enjoying my favorite Key West pastime – walking the old town. And we availed ourselves of mouthwatering meals at the many modest but delightful little cafés and restaurants that populate almost every city block: a delicious breakfast at the Harbour View Café, fresh snapper at the Red Shoe Island Bistro, a juicy New York strip at the Prime Steakhouse, and superb pasta dishes at Antonia’s.

I did my best to limit my “working” time while we were there to just a couple of hours a day, but that was more than enough to discover all sorts of unappealing things that were happening up north in the USA, such as the following…

Postscript: The World’s Most Annoying Road

Have you heard of the Darién Gap? I’ve heard it mentioned many times in relation to illegal immigration, smuggling, and other interesting pursuits. But where is it? What is it? And why is it the reason you can’t drive from North America to South America?

In this short video, comedians Jay Foreman and Mark Cooper-Jones of Map Men explain.

Rancho Santana got another good write-up last week. This time, it was from a publication called Coastal Living, which features residential and vacation spots around the world. Here is what they said:

Some vacations feel like the adventure is built right in. That’s certainly the case with Rancho Santana, a sprawling, 2,700-acre resort with five separate beaches on Nicaragua’s Emerald Coast, the country’s southwestern shore on the Pacific Ocean. First up is the ride to the property: about a two-hour drive from the capital city Managua’s airport. The Ranch (as it’s lovingly called) arranges door-to-door transportation for guests, so all that remains is taking in the scenery until the big reveal: enormous views of the Pacific with crashing waves, stunning cliffs, and rose-colored sand. Now it’s time for adventure of every kind, and a great mix for families, as well: world-class surf, hiking trails, a turtle sanctuary, and a treetop spa and yoga center, plus farm-to-table cuisine sourced from the property’s working farm. With those five beaches to choose from – each with its own personality of rugged waves and soft sand – even teens can’t claim they’re bored. Accommodations range from family-friendly casitas and ocean-view homes to standard rooms in the cozy inn with breakfast included (and an all-inclusive option). Adventurers seeking an off-the-radar gem: Here’s your next great vacation. Rates start at $320.

We’ve been having weddings at Rancho Santana for many years.

We offer three venues for a “boda” (as they call it in Spanish).

One begins with a traditional ceremony in our beautiful, interdenominational chapel, followed by a formal dinner in a private room that can accommodate up to 150 people.

Another takes place at what we old-timers call the “Casa Club,” featuring an informal menu of scrumptious salads, tasty tapas, and oven-baked pizza, overlooking a tree-lined cove and a picture-postcard view of the sun setting on the horizon.

A third option takes advantage of the prime location of our small hotel and principal restaurant, with an elevated platform of grass and stone that stretches out into the ocean like the nose of a ship, giving amazing views of the beach and rugged coastline running north.

You can check out the details for all of them here.

I meant to ask Luke, the CEO, how many weddings his events team is booking these days. I’m guessing it’s about two dozen a year at the current rate. But word is spreading fast. I have little doubt that – barring some pan-Nicaragua tourism blunder – we’ll be booking at least one wedding a week before the end of this year.

Last week, Rancho Santana was the venue for a very special wedding for me. It was the first one I ever attended.

How I Got Invited 
 
How I know MA, the groom, is, to the best of my memory, a happy coincidence. 
 
About a year ago, Paulo, one of my trainers, introduced me to him as one of his clients that was somehow in the sports fitness and therapy business. I think the meeting was about stem-cell therapy for my shoulder. Either that or it was about setting up a program for getting monthly IV supplementation of various vitamins and other nutrients. Maybe it was for both.
 
Never mind. 
 
MA is a young guy. I think he’s 38. He’s smart. Successful. And likeable. We became fast friends because of the many things we have in common: We had both started businesses and were still very much interested in the art and science of growing a profitable business. We were both practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And we had a dozen mutual friends – either through mixed martial arts or through business.
 
Since that first meet-up, we trained a few times and spent a few evenings with friends, smoking cigars and talking about just about everything. One evening, we got on the subject of doing business overseas. I mentioned Nicaragua. He told me that he’d been there and was planning to have his wedding there.
 
Where? I asked.
 
“A place called Rancho Santana,” he said. “Have you ever heard of it?”
 
“Yeah,” I said. 
 
And that’s how I got invited. 
 
Here’s What Happened When I Got There 
 
I expected to feel a bit uncomfortable at the wedding since the only person I knew that would be there was MA. I’ve never been a big fan of weddings anyway, so I figured I’d show my face out of courtesy to him and then do an Irish exit as soon as it was possible.
 
But at the welcome party (which took place at La Taqueria, our tapas restaurant), I met his fiancé, who was sweet and beautiful, her family, who were warm and welcoming, and his friends, who were, without exception, smart, interesting, and friendly. 
 
So I stayed.

The guests were very complimentary of the resort, its restaurants and other amenities, and the friendliness of the staff. And, of course, they were blown away by the natural beauty of our seaside paradise. (I don’t know how many times I heard people say, “I can’t believe this place exists!”)

Our latest attempt to get people here to see what we have to offer was to invite a bunch of wedding planners down to give them an idea of what the experience would be like for their clients – and it went very well.

Here is a report from one of them.

This is beginning to sound like an advertisement for Rancho Santana. And I suppose it is. But it’s authentic and in no way hyperbolic.

If you or someone you know is looking for a unique and uniquely beautiful venue for a destination wedding, you should come down and check it out!

Just the Facts: 
Central American Countries Rated for Safety

From the Worldpackers website: “For some reason, Nicaragua seems to get an especially bad reputation in terms of safety, but it’s actually one of the safest Central American countries. And where else in the world can you go volcano boarding?”

Take a look…

* Guatemala: Experiences significant crime, with some cities ranking high on safety indices for danger, though tourist areas are generally safer. I have been to Guatemala several times in recent years and had no trouble, nor did I feel unsafe in the capital city.

* El Salvador: El Salvador has been considered the most dangerous of the Central American countries. But since the recent government crackdowns, including record-high incarcerations of gang members, the rates of homicides, other violent crimes, and burglaries have plummeted. When I was last in El Salvador, about a dozen years ago, my business partner and I had to hire an armed guard to accompany us to meetings and restaurants. Today, a colleague tells me the capital feels like Paris 100 years ago.

* Honduras: Historically high homicide rates, particularly driven by gangs (MS-13 and Barrio 18). Of all the Central American countries, Honduras was the one where I felt the least safe.

* Panama: Generally safe for visitors, with caution needed in some city areas. The Darién Gap is a dangerous exception.

* Costa Rica: Often cited as the safest, with strong tourist infrastructure, though petty crime and some violent crime increase caution levels.

* Nicaragua: I’ve been to Costa Rica several times, and although I would agree that it is generally very safe for tourists, I feel safer in Nicaragua. Recorded crime rates are actually lower than in Costa Rica.

If You Go to Nicaragua 

This is what you’ll see…

Colonial Cities & Culture

* Granada: A beautifully preserved colonial city on Lake Nicaragua, known for its colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, cathedrals, and vibrant atmosphere.
* León: Rich in history and revolutionary spirit, famous for its stunning León Cathedral (Central America’s largest), lively student scene, and proximity to volcano activities.

Volcanoes & Nature

* Ometepe Island: A unique island in Lake Nicaragua formed by two volcanoes (Concepción and Maderas), offering hiking, kayaking, and rich biodiversity.
* Masaya Volcano National Park: See an active volcano crater with glowing lava at night.
* Laguna de Apoyo: A stunning, deep-blue volcanic crater lake perfect for swimming, kayaking, and relaxing.

Beaches & Surfing

* San Juan del Sur: A popular, bustling surf town with beautiful surrounding beaches and a lively party scene.
* Popoyo & Tola Area: Known for excellent, less-crowded surf breaks for all levels, quieter vibes, and stunning sunsets. This is where Rancho Santana is located.
* Las Peñitas: A nearby beach. Great for sunsets and turtle releases.
* Corn Islands: Remote, laid-back islands with turquoise waters, excellent diving/snorkeling, and a distinct Caribbean culture.

This is a documentary we made a few years ago about the history of Rancho Santana, which is now nearly 30 years old.

Hint: It’s in Rancho Santana – and, yes, you can rent it.

Answer: Villa Santana – our house!

Take a video tour of it here.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning after seven hours of sleep. I was determined to get some writing done – real writing – but I failed. I got plenty of business work done, though, and a bit of blog writing. And I read (skim-read) two good books.
 
One was Mail and Get Rich by Ted Ciuba, a name I vaguely remember. (Given my memory, we may have been best friends. If so, apologies!) He published Mail and Get Rich in 2000 – 25 years ago. It has been sitting on one of my bookshelves in my home in Nicaragua since… could it have been since 2000? 
 
I’ve glanced at it dozens of times over the years, noting the title’s nod to Napoleon Hill’s 1937 classic Think and Grow Rich, but this was the first time I pulled it out to read. I expected it to be a nostalgic stroll down marketing memory lane and was surprised at how much of it was still relevant. Ciuba even talks about internet marketing, which was in its infancy in the 2000s. So I’m thinking that I should… I don’t know what. Maybe send him a thumbs-up? But after all these years, I don’t even know if he’s still alive. 
 
The other book was What We Talk About When We Talk About Raymond Carver, a series of interviews with Carver’s literary peers. I hadn’t realized it, but the literary world back then (the 1980s) had returned to the States and existed in the faculties of universities that had writing programs. The writers that were interviewed seemed to be as close and as passionate as the Lost Generation, and it made me sad. I couldn’t help thinking that, had I been more aware of what was going on, I might have been closer to it all. But I was just beginning my career as a businessman and a wealth builder and had abandoned, at least for the time being, my aspirations to become a serious writer. 
 
Tonight, I have to begin reading our Mules book club selection for Thursday – a book by that South African writer J.M. Coetzee, which I suspect I won’t like. We’ll see.
 

 
K and I had sunset drinks and a small dinner at the Club House. TG, my friend since fourth grade, who’s been living here for 20 years, joined us. The conversation was good until the two of them started talking about sports – professional basketball or football or whatever is going on right now. I know nothing about sports and am proud of it. Not only that, I get huffy when I have to listen to it being discussed. The worst is that K is completely fluent in virtually every sport known to man. I don’t know why, but I find it irritating.
 

 
K mentioned that R’s bill for various recent medical procedures was over a million dollars, but he paid only $300 out of pocket. This is clear proof that health insurance is a scam – a rigged system benefitting both the insurance industry and Big Medical. Something that could not happen in a truly competitive free market. 
 
Most people don’t get it because they can’t see the forest from the trees. They are happy to put some significant percentage of their earnings into health insurance and taxes that subsidize health costs because they fear what will happen to them if they are not “covered.”
 

 
We are looking forward to having the kids and grandkids here next week. I will try to get a good amount of work done before they get here, but, given the number of business meetings Gio has already scheduled for me, I’m not terribly optimistic about that.

I’m a Lucky Bastard. A Lucky, Grateful Bastard. 

I’m writing this on Sunday, in our room on the 11th floor of the Prince Sakura Tower, which looks down on central Tokyo, a landscape of haphazardly arranged modern, glass-and-steel skyscrapers, mid-century office buildings, and aging wood-framed houses, small restaurants, bars, and retail shops – with the occasional colonial era mansion standing in the middle of it all.

The city is quiet now. But in less than an hour it will come to life, thrumming with the movement of millions starting their day. Like New York or London or Beijing, Tokyo is electric with the dense energy of its people, which makes the infrequent visitor feel humbled and happy in equal measure.

K and I have been here now for 12 days. Our time together, which comprises roughly half of my time here, has been given to touring museums, visiting gardens, and exploring local neighborhoods that K read about in the very considerable research she does before every trip abroad. As I mentioned in my last post, we’ve spent the majority of our time in Tokyo, but we also spent two days in Matsumoto and a day and an evening in Nagano.

For me, the touring part of this trip has been a great success. I’m especially excited about the ideas I’ve stolen from two botanical gardens we visited that I’ll use to make my botanical garden in Florida more fun and picturesque for visitors.

The other half (for me) has been business – one day of preparation and five days of speeches, panel sessions, hot-seat counseling, TV and YouTube interviews, and a half-dozen promotions for my books and next year’s conference events.

I almost can’t believe the success Sean and I have had with this little publishing partnership I started in Japan. In the last 24 to 30 months, the investment newsletter we write together has gone to the top of our publishers’ charts. (Sean does the hard work – running our stock portfolio. I do the easy part – writing opinion pieces about getting rich.) And we’ve sold more of my books to Japanese readers than John Wiley and my other US publishers sold to Americans in the last 10 years.

And get this: The company that sells my ideas on business and marketing launched a new campaign that sold, in its first month, more than 1,000 copies of one of my books for $300 a book!

What lights me up is not the experiences themselves. I’ve had similar experiences throughout my career. What makes me feel so good is that I’m having all this fun at the ripe old age of 75 – a time of life when I should be retired.

I’ve tried retirement. I tried it first when I was 39 and then at 49 and at 59. I didn’t try again at 69 because by then I knew that there was nothing in the retirement picture that was attractive to me.

I feel lucky to be able to continue working at this level – waking up each morning insanely motivated to attempt to cram 12 hours of work into 6, and then waking up the next morning with the same beautifully unreasonable ambition.

I feel lucky to be able to spend the better part of my working time with men and women who are, for the most part, 20 to 30 years younger than I am. I love the challenge of keeping up with them in terms of sheer output. And although I can feel that this is a race I will one day have to cede, I am happy to know that I can – at my age (and because of my age) – stimulate their thinking and inspire them to meet or exceed my output when they reach my age.

I feel lucky to be able to spend most of a week once a year in Japan speaking to several thousand conference and digital attendees – sober, intelligent, middle-aged and older Japanese men and women who, notwithstanding the language barrier, have spent thousands of dollars and come hundreds of miles to hear what I have to say about the economy, investing, and my particular philosophy of building wealth and living a rich life.

I felt lucky the night before last, after my interview with Professor Fuji on his popular podcast, to be invited by him to spend an evening with our mutual teams at a geisha house, one of only two or three authentic geisha houses in Tokyo. I went to a geisha house in Kyoto the last time I was in Japan, but it was nothing like what I experienced here. Some of the rituals – the personal service, the music, the conversations, and the dancing – were similar. But the total geisha experience, thanks to Professor Fuji, was on an entirely different, entirely more exotic, and thoroughly more exciting level.

I remember sitting there between two ethereal beauties, being catered to like I had never been catered to before and thinking, “This is what being a sheik feels like. Better yet – this is how 007 would be treated if he were in Tokyo on a mission!”

So not a bad work week for a man who, had I accepted my culture’s view of my expiration date, would have been back in the States, puttering around the golf course or sitting home watching TV.

Here I am in the recording studio of Professor Fuji…

And here I am trying to flip him, but he knows his Jiu Jitsu and has already lowered his center of gravity (which is why he’s smiling!)…