My name is Alex Joshi. I’m 33 years old and of Spanish and Indian heritage.

I am happiest in the sun, preferably on a beach. The hotter it is, the better.

My favourite hobby is travel. It’s when I feel most alive, and I think there is no greater return on your time and money than travelling the world. In the past year, I’ve taken more flights than I can remember for business and pleasure and gained so much from each.

In my corporate life, I head up Behavioural Finance globally within a Private Bank's investments business. I’ve been able to say I have my dream job because I created it, one I’d set my sights on long ago. While undertaking my MPhil at the University of Cambridge, approximately ten years ago, I had a note pinned to a corkboard in my room; it said ‘Alexander Joshi, Global Head of Behavioural Finance’.

My role is to support ultra-high-net-worth investors in overcoming the behavioural challenges of the investment journey. I help them make good decisions about getting and staying invested to maximise their chance of reaching their long-term goals of protecting and growing their wealth for themselves and future generations. This role regularly takes me to stages worldwide, where I come alive. The last three have been on the African continent: South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt.

I’m passionate about behavioural science because it is immensely valuable in helping us gain greater awareness and understanding of our behaviours. This, in turn, supports better decision-making and outcomes across all aspects of our lives.

I enjoy writing, and for the last few years, I have done some of my best thinking and writing—for I believe that writing helps clarify thinking—while on planes. Much of this writing has been reflections and subsequent implementation plans to improve myself across the different domains of life.

So, I started Plane Thoughts to share simple and actionable ideas rooted in behavioural science. I want to help people have a more productive week in the short term and, more importantly, unlock their full potential in the long term.

My biggest personal takeaway is that the key to a successful and happy life is simply to figure out what you really want, distil it down into a few key goals, guiding principles and habits, and focus your full attention on those, trying to ignore everything else.