The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin is a captivating exploration of the principles and strategies that underlie high performance and mastery. Based on his own experiences as a world-class chess player and martial artist, Waitzkin offers a unique perspective on the process of learning and growth. He argues that mastery is not solely about…More
Redefining Success: Beyond Talent, Toward Growth
For the longest time, I marvelled at people who seemed naturally smart and successful. I am always not good enough, but having a first-hand observation of my son’s journey changed that belief. He was streamed to the bottom 12% of his cohort during his PSLE examinations. Yet, something remarkable happened. Slowly, he changed. He honed…More
The great investing myth (12): Moat as the investing thesis
This post aims to examine the “moat” as an investing thesis, exploring its strengths, limitations, and the potential biases it can introduce. We will delve into the challenges of evaluating moats, and the limitations of moat-based investing and propose a more holistic approach to investment analysis beyond this popular concept. Warren Buffett, one of the…More
When Things Don’t Go Your Way: Zen Wisdom for Difficult Times by Haemin Sumin
Although we desire only positive experiences in life, it is inevitable that we will also encounter difficult times. These challenges, however, are not without purpose. They can serve as valuable opportunities for self-discovery that can lead to emotional maturity and spiritual growth. The extent of maturity and growth often corresponds to the severity of the…More
Same as Ever by Morgan Housel
Morgan Housel is as good as ever. A summary with my notes taken as there are many great nuggets. Summary Same As Ever argues that by understanding timeless human behavior and focusing on long-term thinking, we can make better decisions about our lives and our investments. Different but same; we are humans after all History…More
3Cs of Investing: Contrarian, Consensus and Cult
As investors, we can broadly categorize ourselves into three main types: Contrarians, Consensus investors, and Cult investors. What matters more is (a) whether we do our due diligence and (b) making money consistently. Contrarian To the non-contrarians, the contrarians are often viewed as risk-takers and at times, hated and weird. Their ideas and picks are…More
The great investing myth (11): Generalisations to make money
Many generalise when they invest. Examples: Generalisations can be dangerous. Here are some ways people generalise: Generalizations can be useful for forming quick judgments or making decisions, but do beware of the following: Here are a few traps when investors rely on generalisations to invest: How have we generalised? These are usually from our past…More
My mother
A short story Her story was collated by my second brother Birthplace Born in Jinsha village about 30 km from Shantou in December 1927, she grew up in a multi-generation house built by her great-grandfather. Imagine a central building that served as the main hall to receive guests with a big courtyard. There were rows…More
📚 Best Loser Wins: Why Normal Thinking Never Wins the Trading Game by Tom Hougaard
Note: While the book is about trading, it is applicable to investing too. Most traders lose money. Two main reasons are: The net effect is that they can have a high win rate, but, on average, they profit less on eachg winning trade and they lose more on each losing trade. Hence, they end up…More
A Journey of Self-Discovery: 见山见水的三重境界 ⛰️ 💧
This is a keystone post that I update regularly as my understanding and perspectives evolve with time. This is one of my biggest learnings in 2023. 见山是山，见水是水；见山不是山，见水不是 水；见山还是山，见水还是水。 Translation:Seeing the mountain is the mountain, seeing the water is the water.Seeing the mountain is not the mountain, seeing water is not the water;Seeing the mountain is…More