Category: musings

1. What kind of life do I want to wake up to every day? Not just what job or title—what rhythm, what kind of work, what freedom? 2. Who do I want to help, and how? Success is tied to service. Who are you showing up for? What kind of contribution lights you up? 3.…

I finally got it! I used to watch videos of successful entrepreneurs to see how they made it. I also reached out to few successful people I know and sought advice on what I should do next.  Most advice that I got is generic and honestly vague, which makes sense because they are giving advice…

If you’re doing something just to get external validation, you’re setting yourself up for failure—and misery. You’ll end up chasing approval, even if it means losing money or doing things that don’t make sense just to impress others. Do something where your why isn’t fame or recognition. Do it because you genuinely care. Not because…

If I’m being completely honest, I wish I had the brain for programming. I’ve tried multiple times to go deep into code—first with Ruby, then with the Ruby on Rails framework. Later, I gave JavaScript a shot. I had the willpower and curiosity to learn, but I’ve come to accept that I’ll never be a…

Get out there and live life! Don’t stay at home glued to your phone.

I am always fascinated by the brain. I learned from sports that the brain can learn and become good at something once you put your mind into it.  One thing I have to overcome is the scarcity mindset. Writing my previous post on Positive-sum thinking made me realize that I actually have this fear of…

In sports, the game is often seen as zero-sum. One team wins, the other loses. +1 for the winner, -1 for the loser — total net gain: zero. But if you look deeper, sports can actually be a positive-sum game. The “loser” may have lost on paper, but they gained experience. They learned. They got…

I trained Muay Thai this morning. Tonight, I sparred with my boxing coach. After sparring, I felt something I haven’t felt before. Peace, contentment, joy. I always had this nagging sense of trying to prove to myself that I am tough. That I can handle my own.  I train hard trying to overcome that feeling…

This Youtube video by author Daniel Pink perfectly explains how to find your life’s purpose. Notes:

Excellent post from Chris Williamson.

Nassim Taleb’s The Bed of Procrustes has many nuggets of wisdom every time I read it. “Wealthy” is meaningless and has no robust absolute measure; use instead the subtractive measure “unwealth,” that is, the difference, at any point in time, between what you have and what you would like to have. Nassim Taleb, The Bed…

You know you are in the right career when you wake up excited to do that thing. And if you sleep well at night after doing that thing the whole day, then it means that you did things the right way. Consider these two important metrics when choosing what to do with your life.

Separate action and outcome. Take action now with whatever it is you want to pursue. But just know that the outcome of that action might take time to actualize. That’s okay. Most “overnight” success took 10 years of grind. Trust the process. Don’t wait for the perfect plan or strategy. Just get started. And then…

Freedom usually means the ability to do whatever you want, wherever you want, however you want. But the more I think about freedom, the more I see that freedom has its trappings. When a person is free to do what he pleases, most likely he will engage in addictive lifestyles like substance abuse (alcohol, drugs,…

There’s s deluge of information today. Endless chatters about different problems happening all around the world. It is good to know. But you can only do so much. It is overwhelming to be fed with this much information. That’s why there is a mental health crisis. The solution is to ignore things that don’t concern…

Imagine living in a rural farm without internet. You are surrounded by fresh air and an abundance of food. Life is simple. Would you desire a Porsche? Would you even know what a Rolex is? Of course not. Desire is often shaped by exposure. The moment you move to the big city—where ads, influencers, and…

I lead a big team, and one of the biggest challenges of being the boss is being surrounded by yes-people. It just comes with the territory. This is all very new to me. I worked in tech for over 10 years, and in that world, my ideas were constantly challenged. Every meeting felt like a…

Back when I was young and hungry for material success, I would look up to those rich people and wished to be them. But then, as I got older, I realized that everything in life has inherent sacrifices. There is usually a trade-off. Some are on the 4th divorce. Some have debilitating health conditions. Some…

Learn more about yourself and your unique skill sets. You have something to give – you just haven’t discovered it yet. Find a mission/purpose/calling that needs your unique skill sets. Don’t chase the money. Don’t chase the fame. Don’t confuse a hobby and career. A hobby is fun. A career is hard but fulfilling.

Absolutely love this post on X. Keeping it here for future reference.

I’ve been obsessing about improving in every sport that I do. I know that I’ll suck as a beginner, but I get to improve as I train and get feedback from coaches. But I’ve noticed that I don’t always carry this mindset into work or business. I expect to be the best at work on…

I was really struck by this post on X. I think it depends on the degree of closeness to that person. The closer you are to that person, the more that they want to see you succeed. But if you are not that close, I think they do feel intimidated when they see you succeed.…

I have been creating WordPress plugins using ChatGPT. I just saved hundreds of dollars using ChatGPT instead of paid solutions. The thing is if you have a high level understanding of code, you can ask ChatGPT to do the grunt work for you. ChatGPT can even explain the code for you step by step. The…

It’s amazing to me how people have different inclinations and interests. I know people passionate about stocks, crypto, programming, AI, baking, gaming, etc. Their passion turns into obsession, which often translates to success. The obsessed are on a different level. Work doesn’t feel like work. They don’t chase balance—work and play have become one. If…

I haven’t touched a tennis racket in three months—I’ve been busy training Muay Thai. But today, I went back on the court and was amazed at how good I felt. The first five minutes were rough, but after that, I was loose and in rhythm. My game felt smooth. It reminded me of days when…

There is something about simplicity that attracts me. When things are simple, I get that feeling of peace. It is almost meditative. I remember getting hold of my first iPod shuffle back in the early 2000’s. I was absolutely inspired by its simplicity! A tiny device with a play button in the center. I put…

One thing I’ve noticed about myself is that I tend to set very short timescales for my goals. I want to accomplish things as quickly as possible. This often makes me miserable because I overcrowd my day with tasks, thinking I’ll reach the finish line faster. Clearly, I didn’t follow the advice from The Wisdom…

I barely use social media these days but whenever I do login Instagram, I do get the feeling of insecurity from not doing enough. There is definitely a lot of fake posts and embellished wins on Instagram, but my lizard brain can’t understand that. I instantly compare myself to whoever that person on Instagram is. …

The older I get, the more I realize how much suffering is simply part of life. Like Rocky said—it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. There are days when I just want to escape. I don’t want to go to the office. I don’t want to put out another fire in operations. I don’t want to…

Go start that thing. You don’t need all the answers yet. You’ll gain clarity through action. Action breeds information. You failed? Good. Now you have feedback — you know why it didn’t work. Journaling, writing, and planning can only take you so far. Real clarity comes from action. Do it now.

Right now, I’m in a phase where I’m not entirely sure where I see myself in the next few years. I don’t have a detailed plan—and that’s okay. Honestly, I’m still trying different things out and figuring out what fits. But here’s what I do know: I’m at my happiest when I’m giving value to…

I’ve followed Mark since the very beginning, though I’ve barely checked his content over the past few years. I recently came across his announcement about shutting down his podcast. It’s a bold move—and one that really reflects Mark’s character and integrity. There’s a trade-off that comes with being a content creator on the internet. As…

I just saw a post on X from Sahil Bloom, and it instantly reminded me of how many times my gut pointed me in the right direction. It’s something so profound that it deserves a closer look. I think we all know that feeling—when your body tells you a decision feels right, or when something…

If there’s one thing I learned from living in Finland, it’s that you can get by saying less. The Finns are straight to the point—precise with their words. They don’t need a lot to get their message across. Before moving to Finland, I lived in America. Coming from a culture where people love to speak…

I’m on vacation right now, yet here I am—with my laptop and books in tow. I’ve realized I have this constant urge to be productive, to always be on. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from sports, it’s that the body absolutely needs recovery. In fact, I’ve always performed better after a period of…

We’re on a five-day vacation at a peaceful resort in Da Nang, Vietnam. But as soon as I open social media (especially X) or browse YouTube, the deluge of information leaves me feeling stressed! It’s wild how much information and news we now have at our fingertips. Our brains aren’t wired for this. We should…

I have been listening to Chris Williamson and Naval Ravikant podcast for 3 different days now. And every time Naval throws out an idea, I immediately pause to ponder.  This stood out: The more seriously you take yourself, the unhappier you are going to be. Naval Ravikant He explains that if you take life too…

Don’t chase recognition. Don’t play status games. Don’t chase high fives. Don’t let your ego run wild. Just do the work and live a happy quiet life with the people that you love.

The traditional school system taught us that failure is bad. But school is a controlled environment—real life isn’t. In the real world, failure is your greatest teacher. It’s how you learn more about yourself, your career, or your business. What if we stopped calling it failure and started calling it learning? That shift alone removes…

Charlie Munger had this interview where he said that, “if you’re consistently not crazy, you get a big advantage in life.” It sounds funny how he words it but in essence it basically means to have the mental stability to make the right decisions in the long haul. A few advice from Charlie Munger I…

Develop skills and expertise.Use these skills and expertise to help people.Give value.And don’t take advantage of people.Don’t cheat. Remember your mission is to use your skills and expertise to help.Don’t chase the money.Chase where you can give value. You have skills,  knowledge, background unique to you.Understand your unique skillsets and use it to give value.Stay in…

I have read the Tao Te Ching so many times, but every time I read it, there is aways this flash of insight. A reminder – like a mentor slowly nudging me to the path. This morning, it was this passage that got to me: It is unnatural to walk on tiptoe,Try to elevate yourself…

I am an overthinker and a worrier. I have read Nassim Taleb’s books (Incerto Series) so many times that I always wait for a Black Swan. Everything is all good and dandy, and then boom, a Black Swan shows up and catches you off guard. Robert Sapolsky in his book, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcer,…

I recently came to know of Arthur Brooks, an author and Harvard Professor, through a podcast with Jordan Peterson. He had many ideas on happiness that stood out to me, but I really liked his take on friendship. He says that “real friends are useless.” It is quite a statement and is really memorable. Real…

I am pretty sure 5-10 years from now, I will have ideas here that I no longer believe. Growth. Learning. Change in perspective. Experience. I remember being a vegan for about 3 years. At that point in my life, I really thought that veganism was the way. I watched a few convincing documentaries about it.…

It starts by asking “What do you want out of life.” Once you know what you want, begin to visualize what the end goal is. Work your way backwards from that end goal. What are the major and minor steps that you need to get to that? What are the sacrifices that you need to…

In my 20’s, I backpacked extensively trying to understand myself and the world. I have also lived in different countries, which gave me a lot of perspective in how people live, what their value system is, and how they view the world. What do I want out of this life? Essentially, what I want is…

Don’t go where chaos lives. Choose your friends.Choose your workplace.Choose your gym.Choose your neighborhood.Choose your community.Choose which part of the internet you enter.Choose who gets access to your energy. Go where there is peace.Go where the air feels lighter.Go where conversations heal, not harm.Go where silence is safe, not awkward. Go where there is love.Go…

Whenever I work too hard, I always remind myself to have balance. I really like this idea of 5 types of wealth. Financial wealth is the most common and easily measured type of wealth. But the other 4 are equally important.

You can’t convince yourself to be confident. You can’t look at yourself in the mirror and positively tell yourself that you are a confident person.  You can’t fake confidence. The real you comes out when the pressure is on.  I always remember Kobe Bryant saying confidence comes from preparation. But I have to add that…

Being intentional is having a clear vision of what you want and relentlessly executing that vision.  Being intentional is writing down your goals, having an action plan, executing it, getting feedback on the execution, and adjusting in case of failure. Being intentional is cutting off the outside noise and the distractions. Being intentional is being…

I have been using ChatGPT to help me understand code and WordPress deeply. There is no other tool quite like AI. It has helped me tremendously. There’s some downsides, of course.  In my previous post, I asked ChatGPT to help me improve my writing. ChatGPT’s suggestions made me feel like somebody else wrote the article.…

I am quite a pessimist so I always dwell on problems and things that could go wrong. As I was going to sleep, I read this post on X and I instantly shifted to being thankful. I will make it a habit to count my blessings every moment!

Work hard but don’t expect much from that hard work. Your hard work might make you money. Or your hard work might not result to anything. There are many things that are out of your control when you are working on something, so it is quite reasonable to have low expectation. Low expectations relieves the…

One thing I have learned through the years reading Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and other Stoics is that you have to let go of things you cannot control. An athlete could pour millions of dollars to his training and preparation, but he cannot control the outcome of a game. Nor can he control the possibility of…

It recently has dawned on me that it is quite futile to seek advice from people who are not living or have lived through your experience. They could sympathize theoretically but it is way different when you lived through that experience. You really feel what the person is going through. Hence, it is better to…

I admire people who are articulate with what they want out of life. They are sure about who they are. They make choices according to what they think and feel is right. Slowly but surely I want to find that clarity.

I am now experimenting with packaging design. I had to learn about CMYK and Pantone instead of RGB. I absolutely had no clue that digital and print have different color system! So in order to print your designs, you have to convert RGB to CMYK/Pantone so that it comes out as you envisioned it. And…

I am pretty disciplined now when it comes to my diet. I eat very clean. But back then, I ate a lot of junk food – chips, donuts, pizza, ice cream. It was usually a cycle. I vow not to eat junk food, then all of a sudden the cravings kicks in, and I down…

I am quite good at avoiding the news, but sometimes when I am on YouTube or X, the news sucks me in. It is always never a good idea! I always get anxious right after. And being an overthinker, I tend to dwell on the negativity. I will make it a point to avoid reading…

In my younger years, I had the ambition to chase money. But I also had the longing to travel and learn more about the world. So I chose to travel! In hindsight, I am so glad that I explored life in my 20’s rather than chase money. I know of financially wealthy people who are…

I had a phase in 2018 and 2019 where I had a goal of reading at least 50 books. I read 50 in 2018 and 35 in 2019. I thought that the more books I read, the better thinker I become. Well, I was indeed a better thinker right after reading the book, but I…

I am a skeptic. The works of Nassim Taleb and Karl Popper has been tattooed in my worldview. Yes Nassim, finding a black swan will invalidate the theory that all swans are white. Karl, I understand that science should attempt to disprove a theory rather than finding ways to continually prove it. Countless times in…

Indifference Curve. Isocost. Isoquant. If you’ve taken Microeconomics in uni and you feel the dread, I feel you. I was very interested in economic theory and consumer behavior but once my professor threw me those indifference curves, I was done ya’ll. No chance. Too much complexity and graphs to what I think could be explained…

I had an interesting conversation with my tennis partner this morning. He is in his early 20’s and still trying to figure out his career path. As his ultimate goal is financial freedom, I told him the concept of leverage. Two things I have learned from our conversation. First, I have a difficult time expressing…

For a long time, humans believed that the earth was the center of the universe while the sun, stars, and other planets revolve around it. Copernicus challenged the idea in the 16th century by stating the sun was the center. Surgeons have been killing patients with their own germs until Ignaz Semmelweis introduced hand washing with chlorinated…

When I turned 30 in 2019, I took up tennis. I had too many injuries playing basketball over the years (e.g. partial MCL tear, grade 1 and grade 2 ankle sprains, rotator cuff tendinitis) that I decided to switch to a less physical sport. I could have opted for swimming but my 45-minute laps were…

Okay folks, I have been in the crypto and blockchain rabbit hole lately. So far, the best podcast that I have listened to about this space is Tim Ferriss episode 542 with Chris Dixon and Naval Ravikant. It has added to my confidence on the future of blockchain, decentralization, and peer-to-peer money. A portion of…

I read 1,000 true fans by Kevin Kelly in 2017 and ever since I could not stop telling fellow entrepreneurs about this concept. Although the article was originally written in 2008, the theory is more feasible now than it was then. An artist/creator who sells $100 worth of merchandise in a year to 1,000 true…

The washing machine, what an invention. I was hand washing my favorite shirt earlier because the machine could not remove some dirt on it. This got me thinking. What if I washed all of my clothes manually like the good ol’ days? I probably would spend 2 to 3 hours washing and hanging them. By…

I decided to learn the guitar last August 2020. I needed another outlet from the monotony of home life during a pandemic.  I gave myself 6 months to “learn” the guitar. Obviously, I was in for a rude awakening as the first 2-3 months alone was literally painful. Fretting the strings to play basic chords…