Micro-financing - March 22

Micro-financing as an economic development tool for has gained traction over the past several decades. It seems to make perfect sense. Poor people in developing countries lack financial capital, so if they can access cheap financing, they will channel their entrepreneurship energy into real commerce that will grow the economy. Micro-financing is customizable across different developing countries, and can tap into the potential of large swathes of the population that normally lack opportunities, such as women and the uneducated. The original micro-financing success story is 

Grameen Bank, founded in Bangladesh in 1976, and later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

The flaws of microfinancing become evident once we dig deeper into its mechanics. Firstly, microfinancing institutions are almost always subsidized by the government. Without government support, lenders must charge near-usurious rates of 40-50% to cover the loan losses, which are exorbitantly high for any borrower to repay. Second, many borrowers have no intention to repay or to invest in their business at all. A significant portion take out loans for consumption purposes, to pay for one-off expenses like weddings and medical bills. The poor are more likely to use cash to solve immediately pressing problems, because many other expenses take precedence over their business.

Those who do invest in their businesses eventually hit a ceiling. Entrepreneurs in developing countries cannot increase the scale of the company or progress to higher value-add businesses without proper technological, financial, physical, and labour infrastructure. They are also limited by their lack of education and specialized skills, so they produce only the most basic products and services. Micro-financing creates a situation where market supply for basic goods like milk, fruits, and fabrics, skyrocket, and prices plummet. With narrow margins and bleak prospects for business growth, the entrepreneurs are rarely better off.

Microfinancing can work for small businesses in developed countries, where entrepreneurs enjoy an acceptable basic standard of living, and are likely to invest loans into their businesses. They are also much more likely to be able to scale their businesses, and to specialize in niche or high-value sectors, because of the better market infrastructure and more skilled population.

Microfinancing falls short though, as a tool to boost small business growth in developing countries.

Fear - March 21

Fear is a strange feeling for us to have. If fear is created in the mind, why should we ever subject ourselves to it?

Perhaps it is because fear is irrational, and we cannot fully control our irrationality. However, irrationality does not necessarily have to lead to fear. And it seems that people can overcome both their irrationalities and their fears. Given this, is it possible to completely eliminate fear from our lives?

I define fear as the feeling that compels us to not take action on something because of a possible undesirable outcome. Fear is irrational and thus, it is different from a decision to not act after weighing the pros and cons. Fear focuses on the negative result to the degree that it disproportionately stifles the positive result. It is involuntary and it prevents us from living how we want to live, if we had the conscious choice.

I do not fear pain, nor death, nor loss, nor the unknown. My greatest fear is fear itself. I fear that fear will rob me of my power to control my own life. I fear that fear will paralyze me with indecision and passivity - that I will come to regret irrational decision-making that led me to live less fully than I could have.

I fear that I will not achieve the high standards for the life I set for myself - not because I was not bright enough, nor skilled enough, nor resourceful enough, but because I allowed the blind anticipation of failure to prevent me from making a satisfactory effort.

Fear, like doubt, worry, or procrastination, can be mastered. We cannot allow it to dictate any decision in our lives, so we must learn to recognize it and eliminate it as soon as it appears. The easiest way is to understand the absurdity of fear itself, as if we would ever let anything as superfluous as fear impact us in any way.

Get Started on Working Out - March 19/20

Working out

You’re looking to get into shape again. 2017 is the year. You’re ready to hit the gym, and finally achieve those fitness goals you’ve been telling everyone all year.

Sure, you may end up dragging yourself to the gym today. But without attacking and transforming your fitness mentality completely, it’s impossible to maintain a consistent exercise regime. I want to share some personal insights about how to rewire your brain so that fitness isn’t a chore, but becomes must in your life.

Goal-setting

To get serious about getting fit, you must set clear and achievable goals. An unrealistic goal like “going every to the gym every single day” is not sustainable in the long run. Something like “go when I have a free evening” is too vague and non-committal.

What’s your fitness goal? Do you want to build your cardio base? Gain muscle? Lose weight? Once 

you determine exactly what it is you want to achieve, you will need a plan to achieve it.

Designing a workout routine used to be a daunting task, but in the age of the Internet there are thousands of pre-set workout routines available for beginners. By investing only an hour of research, you will find a routine that caters for your fitness goal, your current fitness level, and your weekly schedule.

For instance, you want to put on muscle and only have time to work out 3 days a week. You may 

discover that a simple routine like Starting Strength aligns with your goal and schedule. You’ve now simplified the entire ordeal of planning to a workout, to simply showing up to the gym 3 days a week, and following the workout videos on your phone.

When selecting a fitness routine, don’t spend too much time searching for the perfect workout. You can adjust the small details over time – the critical step is to get yourself in the gym in the first place.

Putting the goal into action

I’m a firm believer in habit cultivation – that you can condition yourself to form any long-term habit by applying sufficient discipline and a solid game plan

Habits are formed through three processes: the stimulus, action, and reward. The stimulus to continually exercise develops naturally over time. Once you get used to the feeling of being in shape, you’ll find it takes minimal effort to act on it. The action will be easier as well – as you become less awkward in the gym it takes less and less effort to go. Finally, you’ll learn to condition yourself to crave the reward of a satisfying workout. You’ll embrace the immediate rush of endorphins, the lingering soreness of a particularly productive set, and the lasting results of a more physically attractive you.

How do you get yourself into this routine?

The initial challenge is to get yourself physically inside the gym as much as possible. Once you’re in there, your workout essentially takes care of itself. Here are four tips that I’ve used to cultivate my consistent exercise routine.

1.       Make your workout your priority – Treat your exercise time like a job interview because you absolutely cannot miss it. Block off your workout time days, if not a week, in advance. If you want to ensure you have a free period to go, go in the morning. Set your wake-up alarm 90 minutes earlier, and set your alarm to go to bed earlier too.

2.       Put reminders everywhere – Write a note in your phone. Put post-its in your room. Send yourself reminder emails. You must continually remind yourself that of your goal to go to the gym that day or the next day. Visualizing yourself exercising a dozen times a day will make the real action easier.

3.       Wear your workout clothes everywhere – Whenever possible, particularly on weekends, wear your exercise clothes out. You want to make the gym session as convenient as possible. When people ask why you’re dressed like Richard Simmons, commit yourself by telling you’ll be working out before you head home.

4.       Get dressed as quickly as possible – This trick works especially well for morning workouts. Every time you don your exercise gear, you must explode into it. What that means is that you will put on your shirt, pants, socks, and shoes as fast as humanly possible. Over time, you’ll form a habit and you’ll be unstoppable in getting dressed and out the door for your morning workout.

Writing about writing - March 18

I am writing about waiting, and waiting for my writing to finish so I can continue with my Saturday morning. I feel the lethargic after-effects of beer and wine still lingering. I gaze lazily at the soft white buzz of my laptop screen. I hear the hypnotic hammering of construction workers outside. I am utterly lackadaisical yet in a state of pure contentment.

To be quite honest, I don’t see how we can ever be truly waiting. Waiting implies that nothing important is happening at the moment, and how can that be possible when there is so much going on all around us? We are overloaded with sensory stimulus in every waking moment, from the soreness of a recent workout, to the pressure of pressing our feet to the ground, to sounds of wind or electric humming in the air. We can even derive pleasure from the lack of sense – how our tooth doesn’t ache at all or we don’t have a headache at this moment. Even within our mind, we are constantly thinking, and appreciating, and imagining a universe of new ideas and solutions.

While we will always have things that we look forward to, we have no excuse ever to just be ‘waiting’ for the current moment to pass. Is me writing right now writing really waiting, when I am constantly engaging my creative faculties? Am I actually waiting when I am purposely relaxing my body to recover from last night’s drinks and to prepare for an explosive workout session later today? The opportunity to have a calm period to write about waiting is a gift. I am grateful that by articulating these thoughts, I have subtly influenced myself appreciate the small details of today, and to instill a habit for when I write in the future.

Learning Chinese - March 16/17

Have you ever wondered why Mandarin is so challenging to learn for native English speakers?

Learning Chinese from scratch can be a challenging experience. One area where native English speakers stumble is on Chinese’s tonal nature. For example, a single sound like ‘ma’ can have dozens of meanings depending on the tone and context it is used. This means that a learner not only has to instantly recognize the tone used, but interpret it as part of a larger word or a phrase. What makes learning Chinese even harder is that there are no blocky words like ‘refrigerator’. Nearly everything in Chinese is expressed in two syllables or less, which leads to endless overlapping of the same sounds. Hence, for basic comprehension, a strong vocabulary foundation and knowledge how words interconnect is far more essential for Chinese than English.

English speakers also tend to struggle with the language’s character script. The strokes for writing a Chinese character seem to go every which way: up and down, left and right, diagonally, with semi circles, squares, and dots thrown in for good measure. Before you can tackle writing basic sentences together, you must learn the proper stroke order and subtleties of almost 100 ‘radical’ characters, the building blocks of Chinese words. Even after that, you will need to invest significant time to memorizing the size and placement of these radicals in different words.

Reading in Chinese is more troublesome too. Since there is no alphabet, it is impossible to sound out an unknown character to determine if you have heard it before. An unknown character may as well be a black box until you can grasp the meaning of the sentence. To understand a Chinese passage, it is usually necessary to be familiar with at least 90% of the individual characters. However, if your knowledge of word combinations are weak, the passage would not make sense if you individually understood 100% of the characters.

So given all these challenges, is it worth investing your time to learn Chinese?

China will likely be one of the two most important countries in 20 years in terms of the economy output, cultural influence, and business reach. Command over English and Mandarin will allow you to communicate with roughly half the world’s population, especially with the majority of people in globally prominent cities. Moreover, there are countless ideas and perspectives that are only accessible through understanding the Chinese spoken and written language. Chinese insight is essential for those who want to expand their worldview and knowledge base beyond the Western 

world

If you can implement a disciplined strategy, it is possible to achieve serviceable Mandarin within a few months. However, this goal would require you to completely immerse yourself in the language.

The flashcard method, particularly using the Spaced Repetition System (SRS), is ideal for Chinese word recognition. SRS is the best tool available to build familiarity with segregated packets of information, which is exactly what Chinese characters are. SRS shows you the characters you recall less well more often, which is like focused practice for weaker parts in your Chinese. Once you master approximately 500 individual characters, you should be able to read basic Chinese materials like primary school textbooks, and engage in simple conversation with native Chinese speakers.

Another method is to write at least one Chinese paragraph per day, to reinforce knowledge of how Chinese stroke order, word pairing, and sentence structure works. You can also capitalize on how spoken Mandarin translates effectively into written Mandarin. Unfortunately, this axiom does not hold for other Asian languages, such as Cantonese.

Finally, I encourage the Chinese learner to gain exposure to as many forms of Chinese media as possible. This involves exploring free Chinese learning apps, TV, podcasts, and even karaoke.

When things don’t go according to plan

When things don’t go according to plan - March 15

Sometimes the unexpected occurs and life throws you a curve ball. How we manage the change, how we learn from it, and how we become a better person as a result, is a test of our tenacity and character. We adapt to our circumstances by making the most of what we can control.

I received a waitlist notice from the Duke MBA program today, and while I was initially disappointed with the decision, I realized after a while that it does not bother me as much as I thought. When I embrace the feeling and experience disappointment as it is without seeking to escape it, I realize that it is not painful as I had feared. In fact, by welcoming the feeling on my own terms, I am liberated from its negativity.

I am invigorated to move forward and decide what I can do with the available resources at my disposal – a sizeable savings balance and a set of finance and real estate skills. There are a few options to me.

The first is to seek employment in Hong Kong. For this, I will engage extensively with headhunters for a real-estate related role. I will also dedicate my free time to improving my Chinese by writing a Chinese essay instead of 300 words every day, and focusing solely on Mandarin podcasts and news articles.

The second is to get in touch with recruiting firms in New York, Singapore, and London, to gauge for investment, banking, or real estate related opportunities. Unlike many people I know who have ties in Hong Kong, I am not restricted to just this city and have no qualms about moving.

The third is to plan to move back to Canada and take time off to figure out what exactly it is I want to do – either to plan my own business or to use it as a base to seek employment.

March 13 - 14

Why Meditation? (Part 2) - March 13

Meditation as many of us recognize it today first developed in Buddhist India and Taoist China in the 5^th to 6^th century BCE. It was a central tenet of many Asian cultures and greatly influenced spirituality and religion, chiefly among them Buddhism. Meditation’s simplicity and easy accessibility helped it proliferate across Asia, and many adherents customized the practice to align with their personal beliefs. As a result, meditation expanded and evolved into many forms, with some of the most followed branches today being Zen and Vipassana.

Different forms of meditation espouse many of the same techniques, such as mindfulness of breath and freeing of thoughts. And despite subtle nuances, most forms of meditation aim to help the student gain an enlightened and heightened awareness of his surroundings.

Meditation is key to Buddhism because it is a practice that helps end suffering. Buddhism teaches that feelings such as pleasure and pain are fleeting vibrations that are constantly changing every moment. Chasing pleasant feelings and avoiding painful ones is a futile action because even if you succeed, the feeling goes away and you must begin all over. Because of this, the root of suffering is not pain, nor suffering, nor even meaninglessness, it is the never-ending and pointless pursuit of ephemeral feelings, which causes us to never feel satisfied. Even when our mind experiences pleasure, it is not content because it fears that this feeling might soon disappear, and craves that it should stay or intensify.

People are liberated from suffering when we understand the impermeable nature of all feelings, and no longer crave them.

In meditation, you observe your body and mind, witness the ceaseless arising and passing of your feelings, and realize how pointless it is to pursue them. When the pursuit stops, your mind becomes relaxed, clear, and satisfied. You live in the present instead of fantasizing what might have been.

An apt and powerful metaphor for the experience is to imagine a man on a beach attempting to catch the good waves and push back the bad waves. Compare that to a man who simply accepts that there will be good waves and bad waves, who sits down and allows the waves to come and go as they please.

Meditation (sum-up) - March 14

It is easy for us to be distracted by our thoughts and feelings. By not exercising any control over our mind, we can easily fixate on negative and unproductive thoughts. However, it does not need to be this way. Just as you can exercise your body to keep it healthy and productive, you can train your mind to keep it energetic and focused.

Through meditation, you learn to dissociate from unhelpful thoughts. Chiefly among these are cravings: the desire for pleasant feelings. The chase for pleasant feelings is a trap because it is meaningless for us to constantly seek fleeting sensations. When we obtain them, the feeling is brief and quickly dissipates, which leads us to start all over again. We cannot even fully appreciate pleasant feelings, because we desire that they continue or intensify, and fear that they may go away. When we are ceaselessly chasing for something we cannot truly have, we can never be permanently satisfied.

In Buddhism, suffering is not caused by discomfort, loss, or even meaninglessness. Suffering arises only when we desire something we do not have. Our craving for pleasant feelings is the most basic form of desire, and thus is the root of our unhappiness.

Meditation helps us overcome craving by forcing us to witness the impermeability of our thoughts and our body sensations. As we observe our feelings come and go, we understand that the craving for pleasant feelings is an ephemeral sensation like everything else, and that we can simply choose to acknowledge it exists without acting on it. Meditation enables us to realize that much of what we think and feel are impulses – we can make note of them and move on.

My favourite metaphor for this realization goes like this. Imagine a man on a beach who is constantly trying to catch the good waves and avoid the bad waves. Compare him with someone who sits by the water and lets all waves wash over him. We know that the waves will come and go as they please – how we react to them is up to us to decide.

What is Meditation (sum-up) - Bonus

There are many things in life that are beyond our control.  However, it is possible to take responsibility for our own states of mind – and to change them for the better. According to Buddhism this is the most important thing we can do, and Buddhism teaches that it is the only real antidote to our own personal sorrows, and to the anxieties, fears, hatreds, and general confusions that beset the human condition.

Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. Buddhist meditation practices are techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity and a calm seeing of the true nature of things. By engaging with a particular meditation practice you learn the patterns and habits of your mind, and the practice offers a means to cultivate more, positive ways of being. With regular work and patience, these nourishing, focused states of mind can deepen into profoundly peaceful and energised states of mind. Such experiences can have a transformative effect and lead to a new understanding of life.

Over the millennia countless meditation practices have been developed in the Buddhist tradition. All are described as ‘mind-trainings’ but they take many different approaches. The foundation of all of them, however, is the cultivation of a calm and positive state of mind.

March 9 - 12

Unrequited feelings - March 9

Unreciprocated attraction can be a discombobulating experience.

Nevertheless, when we dig into it, aren’t we grateful to get to experience this rush of feelings? Isn’t it incredible to be able to traverse the full range of the emotional spectrum? Isn’t life, with its mystery, its risks, its soaring highs and desolate lows, infinitely more enthralling than muted monotony?

We may initially feel disappointment when someone does not return our affections, but once we learn to embrace the feeling, it feels like an essential, irreplaceable, oddly beautiful part of the human experience. Sadness by itself does not cause suffering, nor is it even a negative feeling. It is simply a part of life that occurs every now and then – by recognizing its impermanence, we become aware of how it naturally subsides.

Heartbreak gives us an opportunity to be introspective and to delve deeply into our emotional tendencies and preferences. Through self-examination we gain a clear idea of where we currently are, and where we want to be. This provides the foundation and the impetus for us to move on.

We return to our best selves the most quickly by focusing on what we can control. By committing to and taking specific steps to improve our situation, we shift the narrative from what affects us to what we are affecting. This is the difference between feeling completely powerless and feeling unstoppable. Acting with purpose helps us accept that even though there are some things we cannot control, we are capable of managing our reaction, and make the most of our circumstances.

Disappointing events are a powerful motivator for personal growth. They awaken us to what is not perfect right now and compel us to take action. Given that we are willing to give full effort in effecting the change, we can almost always achieve an end result that is more ideal.

The End of Power - March 10

In The End of Power, Moses Naim explores how the decay of power is affecting governments, corporations, militaries, churches, and other institutions. He provides myriad examples to demonstrate that the weakening of traditional power structures is brought on by three trends: More, Mobility, and Mentality.

More relates to the abundance of materials, health, education, and freedoms we enjoy in modern times. We become more difficult to control when we are healthier and better educated. We also demand more from those in power when our basic needs are met and our personal safeties are guaranteed.

Mobility refers to the increasingly interconnected world, where people, information and assets move more easily. When we can choose to migrate to where we have the best options, we can influence how traditional power behave.

Mentality concerns the higher expectations and standards we have today. For example, we focus more on egalitarian principles such as rights and fairness, which are the result of demographic changes, increased education, and more free political systems. We aspire for more because we feel relatively deprived compared to our ideal environment.

Naim demonstrates a near-encyclopedic knowledge of history and current affairs in finding evidence to support his theory. He presents a well-researched and substantiated argument by drawing on countless examples of political, economic, and social systems, from ancient times to the modern day. Naim’s ideas are especially convincing because evidence continues to pile up around us. We only need to pick up a newspaper to see that street demonstrations led to the South Korean president’s impeachment, or how the US and China are increasingly constrained in battling each other because by their economic ties.

I would have liked to see the book explore one more idea. Since Naim discusses power decay and its implications, it would have been fascinating to also delve into the strategies that existing institutions can employ to maintain their power or to slow their decline.

Defying age - March 11

We are at a special period in history where we now have the technology to significantly extend the human lifespan. For much of recorded history, advances in disease prevention and medical treatment have accounted for much of the increase in life expectancy, from approximately 35 years up until the 1500’s to about 75 years in developed countries today. Even if we discount child mortality rates and premature deaths due to disease, we can only hope to live to 120 at most.

The current medical approach of eliminating one disease at a time is not feasible. Even if we were to miraculously develop a cure-all solution for age-related chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer or stroke, we would see a dramatic escalation of existing ones like Alzheimer’s disease. While treatments for existing diseases are necessary, we must seek other methods to extend the natural lifespan.

Medical researchers are tackling the ageing question in three ways. The first is to develop a method that can manipulate the central processes of the human body that control ageing. For example, cells constantly undergo division so as to replace themselves before they die. Each replication is not perfect and faults are passed down over time. One form of the damage occurs to the telomeres, the end parts of chromosomes. Each time a cell replicate, its telomeres become shorter until further replication becomes impossible. By controlling the speed of cell replication, we can program how quickly a person genetically ages.

Another method is to replace body parts over time. Stem cell research, with its potential to regenerate existing body parts and to create new synthetic ones, can allow us to live indefinitely. Advances in computing robotics technology may also be a viable for us to retain our consciousness in an artificial body the future. These technologies have huge moral and ethical implications and should be studied carefully.

Why Meditation? (Part 1) - March 12

The number of books and articles touting daily meditation as a miracle activity are manifold. Meditation has seemingly become a flexible solution for everything from stress relief to stimulating mental clarity to improving physical health.

However, does meditation does really provide measurable benefits and should you incorporate it into your daily life?

The most common form of meditation prescribed by health professionals is mindfulness meditation, which aims to relax the mind and reduce stress. In mindfulness meditation, you observe your breath and the sensations of your body. At the same time, you allow your thoughts to come and go, never dwelling on them. By practicing to focus on your physical sensations instead of your thoughts, you will find it easier throughout the day to return to a tranquil state and clear your mind.

Mindfulness meditation helps train you to be aware of your thoughts so you can reduce the overthinking that often leads to stress. It lets you recognize and detach from negative feelings by bringing you back to the physical world in that moment. This process results in less stress, greater concentration, as well as higher contentment.

The benefits of meditation for your physiology is backed by scientific research as well. Those who meditate regularly are measured to have higher levels of the neurotransmitters GABA, which are best known for stabilizing mood disorders and reducing anxiety and tension. Additionally, meditation has been shown to produce endorphins (boosts happiness), melatonin (increases restful sleep), serotonin (fights anxiety and depression), and decreases cortisol (the “stress” hormone).

Even if your hormones are already at healthy levels, it is worth investing your time to practice mindfulness meditation so that you better control your emotional state. Strengthening the mind is as important as strengthening the body. Mindfulness meditation teaches you to recognize when you are in a negative mood and empowers you to eliminate distracting thoughts and feelings so you can always be in your best state. 

The challenges of writing every day - March 8

Today is the 10^th day of the exercise and I want to share my thoughts on my writing experience so far.

• I primarily write twice a day: once in the morning before breakfast, and the second time after I get home from work. My writing is fascinatingly incoherent in the morning and I always end up extensively editing my work at night.

• My most challenging day so far was last Friday, when after imbibing considerable whiskey, I made my way home at 1:00AM in a drunken haze. I closed my eyes and tried to continue where I had left off 15 hours prior, but instantly dozed off and started to sleep-write. I segued directly from my opinion on North Korea to writing about my work and personal relationships. About half an hour later, I woke up and realized this piece of work, though grammatically correct, couldn’t do. I replaced the passage soon after and forgot what I wrote, but it would have been fascinating to see my dream thoughts on paper.

• My motivation has varied these 10 days. I received a huge boost the first few days, driven by the euphoria of following through with a personal goal. Yesterday and today, it felt more like a chore than before, though once I get into a rhythm, it becomes much easier to finish.

• I would prefer to write more about my personal thoughts and goals, and to share my opinions on current events, rather than to simply chronicle my daily life. This approach would stimulate me to think more about the future and force me to justify my views of the world, rather than to regurgitate events. It would encourage me to think more deeply and help me connect my current thoughts and actions with my future goals.

Two methods to improve my writing would be to:

1. Start writing as soon as possible after getting home and having dinner. This way I would have sufficient time to…

2. Research and produce a quality piece. Writing without Googling anything whatsoever is like purposely locking myself in a cage and throwing away the key. Time to make the most of the resources available to me.

Career in Technology - March 7

The hot career path for graduates changes every generation. Many decades ago it was oil, or advertising. In the late 80’s, investment banking was in, and then was supplanted by internet companies. Following the early 2000’s technology bubble, private equity and hedge funds became the most desirable for talented graduates, and now Silicon Valley is once again in vogue.

I am glad that the technology sector has picked up again. We absolutely need the smartest people to go into the field, and build the products and services that will move the world forward. Technological innovation is the tide that lifts all boats, and it can impact other industries in both dramatic and subtle ways. For example, I see tremendous implications for machine learning techniques. The same AI training method that produced AlphaGo, the Go world-champion-beating machine, was also recently been used to build Liberatus, a No Limit Texas Hold’em AI that won a statistically significant match against 4 of the best heads-up poker players in the world. By teaching a machine to develop its own solutions, we have imbued computers with the power to learn almost any skill.

Imagine a future where business negotiations, law, finance, or even the arts, are not only performed better by computers, but their methodology and results are also virtually indistinguishable from those of humans. Just AI development alone, itself a relatively narrow subset of technological innovation, can potentially make the vast majority of jobs obsolete. It is difficult to fathom how, with these kind of stakes, we can be satisfied with the best and brightest among us to work in anything but in technology. We are fortunate we have reached a stage in the economic and political climate where participation in the technology sector is financially rewarding, more accessible than ever, and encouraged by the government and its citizens alike.

Tony Robbins 10-day mental challenge - March 6

I first came across Tony Robbins last year in a podcast episode that has since become one of my all-time favourites. I was at initially intrigued by his zeal and energy, and was amazed how his exuberance could be palpable even through an audio recording. I then realized this man was driven by strong personal beliefs, and managed his thoughts and habits in such a way that he led a successful life consistent with his values. I found myself agreeing to everything he expounded, and it led me to ask how I could achieve this quality of life myself.

Last November, I picked up his bestseller Awaken the Giant Within, and I am convinced that it is the Bible of self-help books. The book is a treasure trove of applicable life advice that has dramatically changed the way I perceive and think about my everyday experiences. I have spent so much time rereading sections and taking notes that after 4 months of consistent reading, I am still barely halfway through.

Robbins’ main argument is that we can all achieve tremendous things if we are willing to work to change our beliefs and our habits, and to take responsibility for improving the quality of our lives. The most challenging part of this change is to recalibrate our mental state so that we have absolute confidence in our decisions and actions to achieve our goals. This means we must cull our negative thoughts and disempowering beliefs.

I have decided to undertake the book’s 10-day mental challenge to avoid unnecessary dwelling on unproductive thoughts for more than one minute. If I fail at any point during the challenge, the 10-day countdown will restart. Robbins suggests a wide range of mental tools to use to complete this challenge and I believe the most powerful tip is to ask myself the right questions when the challenging times inevitably come. By asking “What about this situation is not perfect yet” and “How can I fix this problem”, I will focus on solutions rather than transfixing myself on the issue itself. I have been stellar in applying this advice today and I look forward to reinforcing this mental habit in the 9 days to come.

Week 1

Why I should write daily - February 27

Last year, I met a good friend of mine today from an online dating app. Even though she worked in the finance industry like myself, she had set for herself a goal to create, as opposed to consume, as much as possible. Her life habits were directed by this philosophy and while it was interesting to talk about, I did not think it was anything particularly novel. I had encountered the same sort of advice many times before in books, podcasts, and magazines. Be Creative seemed like just one of many vague and redundant life tips, somewhere in between Exercise the Mind and Appreciate Art.

I have since begun to view creativity in a different light entirely. I realized that the people I admire most are creators: the makers of products, the providers of services, the doers and the entertainers. We value creators because creators generate their own value that is often a net positive to society. What we create define us because our creations are our contributions to the world – they are the tools we use to impact the people the around us, and they are what we will be remembered for. To be proactive and to choose to create allows us to take control of our destiny.

Writing is the most useful and productive form of creating. It trains the mind to think deeply about ideas and to organize them in a logical manner so that they are easily understood by others. Writing, once mastered, is the most sincere and broadly encompassing reflection of our individuality. Contrary to the popular axiom, I believe that a piece of good writing can reveal more about an author than a thousand photographs. I will commit myself to improving my writing every day because it is the skill I believe will yield the greatest benefits to me in all aspects of my life.

The intrinsic benefits of writing - February 28

Writing daily benefits us by helping us develop four critical life skills:

Writing helps us think critically

How often are we consciously aware of our thoughts and our surroundings? It is frighteningly easy for us to move unknowingly from one day to the next, and not appreciate the beauty and complexity of the world we live in. Writing forces us to pause for a moment and consciously reflect on how we can approach our lives better. 

Writing trains personal discipline

Committing a certain amount of time every day to write can be arduous and frustrating at times, particularly when there appear to be more interesting things to do. However, writing every day, like any new habit, is a fine test of our internal discipline and habit formation skills. We exercise our willpower every time we boot up the laptop or pick up a pen, and can achieve a boost of confidence through writing that will help us succeed in other goals.

Writing improves our communication skills

Effective communication is key to success in the world of business and personal relationships. An eloquent communicator is respected, admired, and exceedingly attractive. Practicing writing can help us sort the flow of our internal dialogue into an easily understood message, and allow us to share our personal intellectual brilliance with the world.

Writing stimulates our creative energy

The human mind has vast creative potential, and writing enables us to make the most of this innate gift. The ephemeral thoughts in our head can be endless source for creativity and it would be a wasted opportunity if we do not capitalize on this limitless resource. The more we write, the more we think, and when we think more, we find the inspiration and knowledge to create.

                                 

Why invest in US equities - March 1

Over the past 3 months, the US stock market has been buoyed by optimism about President Trump’s economic policies. At first glance, the situation seems absurd.  Back in October, the general media consensus was that a Trump win would usher in immediate economic doom. Volatility was expected to reign as America severed its connection with the global community. American consumers would spend less as domestic prices rose, and international investors and trade partners would take their business abroad in anticipation of a stagnant US economy. Fortunately for the US, public sentiment shifted for the better, and the S&P 500 went on a 15% tear since the November general election.

Much of the rising expectations center around two elements of Trump’s economic plan: tax reform and infrastructure spending. Trump’s proposals, in similar fashion to his campaigns, have been light on specific details. However, they are perceived to be positive for the economy, and the markets have responded accordingly.

The first element is to revamp significant portions of the tax code to benefit businesses and domestic investment. In particular, Trump promises to cut corporate tax rates significantly from the current level of 35% to a range of 15 – 20%. Additionally, he plans to introduce a repatriation tax of 10% that will provide an incentive for businesses with significant overseas cash holdings to invest them back into the US. Companies such as Apple (which holds an absurd USD246 billion offshore) have indicated they will shuffle overseas cash back into the domestic tax net. Trump also wants to explore changing the definition of corporate income so that imports are taxed 20% and while export taxes are eliminated – this reform would further incentivize companies to keep their operations within the US.

Trump’s second plan is atypical to the Republican Party’s platform, which normally calls for fiscal conservatism. Throughout the general election, Trump loudly broadcasted his support for fiscal stimulus by boosting infrastructure spending on America’s dilapidated and crumbling roads, bridges and airports. Trump estimates his plan will cost upwards of USD 1 trillion, but no one knows yet clear how much of that is actual infrastructure investment, or where the tax dollars will come from. Regardless, the spending proposal addresses a real concern for the US because the country’s infrastructure is indeed in poor shape. Trump will likely find support from both the Republican and Democrat camps to implement the plan, and if it is successful, the commitment will help the US maintain its near-full employment rate for the foreseeable future.

*Of course it is Mexico that will pay for the wall, but the US will front the money first ; )

Uber CEO Row - March 2

The recent controversy between Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and an Uber Black driver irks me on so many levels. The social outrage that erupted as a result, and Kalanick’s subsequent apology, is representative of how Internet media and overzealous netizens can facilitate a narrative in which logic and rational business perspective are drowned out.

I have long been astounded by how Uber has succeeded so phenomenally despite its toxic management culture. It appears that corporate misdeeds such as misogynist treatment of employees, public corporate sabotage, and antagonization of the press, does little to hamper growth if there is sufficient demand.

However, in this particular situation, people have imposed their personal bias against Uber on Kalanick. The Uber Black driver and Kalanick both had valid reasons to be frustrated. The driver had leased a high-end luxury car to drive for Uber Black, the premium and most expensive version of Uber. In the past year, Uber Black demand had dropped considerably as passengers opted for the more budget-friendly UberX and UberPool. Without sufficient ride volume, the driver was stuck with monthly lease payments on a vehicle he purposely obtained for Uber.

On the other side, Kalanick had spent the last several years fighting off competitors across the globe. He lost the battle in China to Didi, and still could not shake off Lyft despite burning billions of dollars year after year to undercut its smaller rival. The only meaningful differentiator between ride-sharing apps is price, so introducing low-end options such as UberX and UberPool was the only logical method to capture market share. Kalanick made the only decision he could to stay in business, and now he was berated by a driver who owed his economic livelihood to Uber.

Both the driver and Kalanick failed to emphasize with the other’s situation, but unfortunately for Kalanick, the bar is higher for the CEO of the world’s most valuable private tech company.

North Korea - March 3

I am fascinated by how North Korea, seemingly a relic of a bygone era, can continue to exist in the 21^st century. While the rest of the developing world has undergone radical political, economic, and cultural transformations, North Korea has clung to a totalitarian system of government that is in many ways more repressive and backwards than the Soviet system it was modelled after. Even more striking is that the DPRK will continue to exist indefinitely, due to a combination of nuclear deterrence, irresolvable foreign policy differences between China and the US, and the North Korean government’s violent suppression of domestic dissent and foreign influence.

Today we find it difficult to reconcile that North Korea and South Korea were virtually indistinguishable a mere two generations ago. Since that time, the South Korean economy has thrived through capitalism and free market economy, as well as through the direct support of the United States. North Korea was on par with its southern neighbour until most of the 60’s when the South Korean capitalistic model really started paying dividends. The collapse of the Soviet Union exacerbated North Korea’s plight, by taking away direct foreign aid, and eliminating altogether subsidies for commodities such as oil.

North Korea today is by many standards worse off than it was 30 years ago. The regime’s economy has clearly regressed to a point where it is obvious to any observer that South Korea has the more fundamentally sound economic system. North Korea’s response is only to create a scenario straight out of 1984, where the government uses the constant threat of destruction by foreign powers to promote a military-first policy. By shutting off communication with the outside world and promoting the idea that only the military can ensure survival for its citizens, the government has created a fanatically devoted and nationalistic population who are willing to sacrifice everything to the state.

Tennis - March 4

I am ball sport fanatic in general, and I reckon I would become obsessed with any ball sport if I played it at a fundamentally sound level. It just so happened that my environment growing up led me to play more tennis than any other sport, and now my skills are focused almost exclusively on tennis.

Tennis’s thrill is in competition. I get a jolt of adrenaline every time I spike an ace or stretch myself to reach a tough shot, but the beauty of the game goes beyond its physicality. I love tennis, especially singles tennis, for its psychological stimulus. Over the course of a multiple-set tennis match, a player goes through peaks and troughs in terms of mental state and playing ability. Tennis is a game that rewards consistency above all else, which makes frustration and impatience the bane of a competitive tennis player.

Therefore, every singles tennis match is battle of the mind as much as the ball. There are two opponents a player must overcome – the one standing across the net and the one inside his own head. Both players seek to gain a psychological edge over the other by identifying and attacking weaknesses, adjusting to the other’s playstyle, and then readjusting to the opponent’s adjustment, over and over again. Against a similarly skilled opponent, the typical tennis match is rarely comfortable. It takes all of a player's concentration to stay focused and avoid errors, and to patiently execute a game plan.

Singles tennis is a purely individual effort where there are no teammates to defer to or to blame, and where is nearly no luck factor. The match’s outcome favours the best executor on the court that day, where each careless mishit or errant long ball is the fault of the individual alone. To reach the mental zone where I play my peak-level tennis is almost like being in a zen-like state, and it is the reason why I keep coming back to the game.

The importance of setting goals - March 5

Over the past few years, I have wondered what my life end goal is. If I have a steady source of income, a wonderful family, and physical and mental health, would I be content? The thought exercise brings me back to Maslow’s pyramid – if my physical, material, social, and self-esteem needs are secured, would I aspire for more?

The answer is obvious to me today. Life is too short to not aspire to make an impact greater than ourselves. It is too brief to not make the utmost effort towards achieving our wildest dreams, which should go far beyond just securing a comfortable life. We are the masters of our own destiny and the protagonist of each of our personal stories; it would be a tragedy if we resigned ourselves to reach for anything less than what we truly desire.

Now, this desire might be subjective. It may be tempting to become complacent and to reason that a well-paying job is sufficient because it meets our basic needs. However, if you had unlimited resources and complete guarantee of success, would you be content with a satisfactory job? If you know that by simply striving for everything you could possibly want, that even if despite your best efforts you fall short, but you will reach much further than if you did not try at all, would you go for it?

By the simple virtue of being born in this generation, as the free citizen of a country with historically unprecedented opportunity, mobility, and wealth, we owe it to ourselves to make the most of our environment to pursue greatness. The human mind is adaptable beyond measure, and we can cultivate the necessary skills, knowledge, and personal habits, if we have the proper desire. As Friedrich Nietzsche opined, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how”. This succinct summary of the human condition applies to our dreams as well - if we invest in a strong enough reason to reach the endpoint, the journey will take care of itself.