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There is a misconception that you have to read voraciously and hungrily forever to get to the stage where you are able to be an investor. Who has the time? Who has the willingness to devote all their downtime to a second job? A Masters of Business Administration (MBA) for example, suggest that 2 whole years need to be dedicated to learning about business, before one is able to even start to do well in the same. This is notwithstanding that adults have to continue to feed the

"Relationships are another thing that compound, becoming stronger over time if we keep investing in win-win dynamics. Imagine a network of nodes that connect to each other at random. The likelihood of any given node receiving an additional connection is proportional to the number of connections it already has. Through randomness, a small number of nodes will end up receiving most of the connections—a phenomenon called preferential attachment. Preferential attachment is a type

We are encouraged to pay heed to what other people say. We are encouraged to be moudable, shapeable and to be adaptable to the winds. Let life tell us, teach us what is important in the world. Let life mould, shape and help us adapt. Nobody has all the answers, and there may well be shortcuts or answers provided by other people to our predicament, if we would just be open to the possibilities provided by other people. All Well and True This advice holds true, to some extent

Everyday in the news we hear about the rise and rise of artificial intelligence - is a powerful computer or AI subscription all that we need nowadays to get rich? Historical Data Peter Bevelin had argued that as human beings, we would be wrong to rely exclusively on the reasonings and thinkings of a computer. In the infamous pre-2000 chess matchups between Gary Kasparov and the artificial intelligence, Deep Blue, it appeared that man may have had met its match in the game of

The superior man does not waste himself on what is distant, on what is absent. He stands in the here and now, in the real situation. - Confucius Often we tend to emphasize the destination so much that we miss the journey. Stay in the present and enjoy life today. Blaise Pascal wrote: Let each of us examine his thoughts; he will find them wholly concerned with the past or the future. We almost never think of the present, and if we do think of it, it is only to see what light i

"READ This one's a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised at how many successful people check their outside interests at the door once they put their name and title on it. Keep your worldview as wide as possible. If you're in the widget business, it's not enough to know widgets. Celebrate your well-roundednessl Stay on top of public events and economic developments. Read at least two daily newspapers all the way through. Always have a book going. Learn a little bit about a

"KEEP A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF If you bend to every demand, there'll be nothing left to justify the transaction. And yet if you demand everything, there'll be no transaction. There's a great episode of Taxi in which Louie De Palma, the character played by Danny DeVito, is given an opportunity to literally fill in a blank check to complete a deal, and he pulls out his few remaining hairs in coming up with a figure. He knows there's a number that will make his benef

Again, die With Zero came highly recommended to me, perhaps for its insistence of shocking the average person (in this part of the world) into considering their 'autopilot' and deciding what to live their life for. If, according to the book, you are of a certain decent amount of income and assets, then you could spend your money on a designer latte or cappucino, or you could spend your wealth in a faraway beach somewhere, as long as it is a conscious decision. After all, mem

Die With Zero came highly recommended to me, perhaps for its insistence of shocking the average person (in this part of the world) into considering their 'autopilot' and deciding what to live their life for. If, according to the book, you are of a certain decent amount of income and assets, then you could spend your money on a designer latte or cappucino, or you could spend your wealth in a faraway beach somewhere, as long as it is a conscious decision. After all, memories,

This blog post is admittedly pre-reading thoughts on the book Die with Zero, which this blogger will read soon. The book is a subject of great local word of mouth, and, it is understood, indirectly only, suggests a certain budgetting for fun and leisure based on an individual’s age - an individual’s idea of fun in their twenties is different from an individual’s idea of fun in their seventies. An individual shouldn’t have to wait till retirement before experiencing fun and

It's still holiday season for some people, I know. Hari Raya, for some people, is pretty much now. Its an occasion for some to go on an excursion. An outing. Or spend some time away from home. Attention goes towards the loved ones. Or friends and family. Who wants to read a book? In other words, we're a quarter of the way into the year and some feel they already need a deserved break. There is no time to read about new literature. The Education of a Value Investor Of all t

It's still holiday season for some people. Hari Raya, for example, is around the corner. Its an occasion for some to go on an excursion. An outing. Or spend some time away from home. Attention goes towards the loved ones. Or friends and family. Who wants to read a book? In other words, we're a quarter of the way into the year and some feel they already need a deserved break. There is no time to read about new literature. Warren Buffett's Ground Rules Of all the possibiliti

Many people find investing difficult. Just the very idea of it is a put-off. It's always hard to get the ball rolling. Between a day-job, house chores and family commitments, it is hard to imagine finding the time to fix your financial situation, immediately. Everybody's situation is different and there is no one-size-fits-all for getting out of or improving your financial situation. Nobody can really give you straight answers for your predicament. Re-Read The Book One way o

It is easy to regard investing in public international markets as some sort of validation and confirmation of your abilities and aptitudes. How in tune are you with the latest artificial intelligence and technological breakthroughs. How in tune are you to any of the other latest fads and trends to grip the world (such as blind box labubu dolls)? Are you on top of the latest global developments to the extent that you can invest and make money in them? Are you better than ev

Reports are rife that recent trade and tariff wars, disruptive politics and a charge towards the latest artificial intelligence technology is created an extremely volatile investing environment. Commodity prices have recently skyrocketed, whilst there has been a receeding of prices of big tech in the latest weeks. Is it safe to invest in such a condition? Do you risk losing everything because of the turbulent prices? How do you stay patient and calm in everyday life in such

If you were in the rat race working your tails off for years or decades, you could be forgiven for not knowing what to do with yourself post-retirement. For this reason, many well-off professionals decline to opt for early retirement, preferring instead to collect a steady paycheque, working at a steady pace. Not everybody opts to subscribe for the concept of Financial Independence, Retire Early (also known as FI/RE). Not everybody who reads about the concept buys the idea t

You would be forgiven, understood even, if you said you believed in long time employment service and therefore job security. Job security encourages a better performance at work, it is argued, and employees enjoy financial security that comes in return. Nothing beats the feeling of being wanted in your job, and contributing to the financial success of a successful enterprise. Conversely, you fear the lack of job security. How will you pay your bills and mortgages if you did

You would be forgiven, understood even if you were to say that your home is an asset. The roof over your head gives you a sense of shelter, security and safety that cannot be replaced. Indeed, can you imagine, touch wood, what life would be like if you were homeless? Nothing can replace the emotional bonds that are built out with loved ones in the privacy of one’s home as well. The home is a safe space from which partnerships are formed and children find the ability to expr

There is a general tendency amongst some to exaggerate problems or otherwise to exaggerate the potential of certain investments to turn out badly. Yours truly can also be guilty in certain circumstances of being overly pessimistic. It is a habitual, factual tendency amongst some. Pessimism bias, skepticism or a tendency to see the downside in any transaction, with less or no consideration of the upside or the returns , can be a good defence mechanism in terms of everyday out

There is a general tendency amongst some to exaggerate returns or otherwise to exaggerate the potential of certain expectations to turn out well. Yours truly is also guilty of being overly optimistic. It is a habitual, factual tendency amongst some. Optimism bias, or a tendency to see the upside in any transaction, with less or no consideration of the downside or the risks, can be a boon in terms of everyday outlook in life. It can also be detrimental when trying to anticipa