Hello friend!
This newsletter serves as my personal letters to re-catch up with friends, especially my pre-covid world friends.
It hasn't been an easy ride since 2020. Covid might not affect some that much, but it is a significant milestone in my life. I will be sharing what happened and is happening as I get to know myself better and learn to be my true self.
These core values guided me through a resilient journey as the North Star. Without them, I wouldn't bounce back to another transcendental growth.
Radical Openminded-ness
Inspired by Ray Dalio’s Principles
Radical open-mindedness is the ability to effectively explore different points of view and different possibilities without letting your ego or your blind spots get in your way.
Drop the egoistic self. Bring as many diverse experiences as possible in life. Curiosity enhances me questioning the reality. Nothing can threaten the self to death when I have nothing to lose. It nurtures the fertile soil for unlimited possibilities.
Avoid stupidity. Don't overlook or dismiss conspicuously crucial information. Don't intend to be the smartest in the room. Absorb enough to flow in my circle of competence.
Be transparent. Openly share my progress. Show integrity through my actions. Shout to the world the help I need, and it often brings them sooner or later.
Purpose
Know my Ikigai. The mainstream society, my cultural traditions, and the capitalist world dictated my pursuit of life. Until I was introduced to this concept by Chōsen Experiences, old constructs start to collapse. Because they are fragile without solid sense. What holds true resides within my consciousness. My clarified truth leads to a full-force path, indistractable from fears.
Inquire inward. Society reinforced delusional recipes of success when I didn't see my Ikigai. Now, instead of asking for answers to reach external milestones, questioning towards self is the compass. More answers don't lead to certainty. Knowing what and how to ask already ensures me from within. Set a why before everything I do. It strips away stress and induces more flow.
To become a good investor, I would need to come to an acceptance of myself as an outsider. The real goal, perhaps, is not acceptance by others, but acceptance of oneself.
Guy Spier, The Education of a Value Investor.
Conscious Connection
Active listening. Social connection is a primitive need as quenching the thirst and feeding the hunger. Empathy is my strength to hear the real needs. Acknowledge the messages and emotions others openly share with me. Drop the judgments and unsolicited advice. As a result, every conversation becomes an exchange of stimulants and a party of oxytocins, bonded for a lifetime.
Be mindful about who I surround myself with. Acceptance in a safe space community is what energizes me. Standing true to myself empowers me to say no to any distractions that consume my energy. I value intellect, integrity, vision, and mindfulness in a spirit. Sensitivity is my superpower to identify those gems among the crowd.
Be reciprocal. Be useful to the world. Give the value I have. Trust that favors will be returned.
Creativity
Creativity is finding novel connections between often seemingly unrelated things. Humans will evolve by linking subjects across diverse fields that machines can't be taught with the prospering AI and automation technology.
Liberate the buried self. For decades I've packaged myself to fit in with the efficiency-driven world. Now I shall share the connectedness I see but not obviously seen by others. Explore the magnificent beauty and divinity of the underneath. Go along the Tao, and the world goes along with me.
Inspired by Chase Jarvis: Creativity is our birthright,
Creativity is a muscle. It’s a habit not a skill. It’s a process not a product.
and The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.
So good to catch up with you again!
I can’t wait to share more of my observations and human optimization journey, as I study deeper on ancient Chinese philosophies.