馬兆駿感人的一段話

有时候，个人理想要搁在一 边。

人生起起浮浮，奶粉与便当，要选哪一个？

People that matter

Try this exercise - hungry eat; tired rest (and no looking at clock)

Just one weekend. 

Or any day off.

For a day only.

Don't set alarm to wake up. Wake up naturally.

Try not to glance at the clock the whole day. (And no cheating with alerts from smart phone!)

No agendas; no schedules; no plans.

Listen to your body. 

Hungry eat. See? Do we need the clock to tell us when to eat?

Tired rest. Or take a nap.

Feel like reading read. Feel like watching TV watch (cannot look at TV schedule and clock).

Do anything without being a slave to the clock.

End of day, sleepy sleep.

The next day, see if you are rested or tired.

If it works for you, now you know a technique to rest your mind, body, and soul.

Wink.

What is the "Right Thing"?

In a few posts back, I blogged about doing the "Right Thing" versus " doing "Things Right".

I noticed some readers have very different and diverse concepts of what's the "Right Thing".

You know what?

Do what's right for you.


 

Cash - Go for Effectiveness or Efficiency?

Before you ask anyone, we can make a good educated guess what their answer will be simply by verifying when they started their investment journey.

Old stock junkies, were you a bit bemused like me recently when you see people getting quite animated when STI just dropped 2-3%?

Don't talk about minus 50% 1997 and 2008 severe hair-cuts like during our Basic Military Training time. Since 2009, we have not had a plain vanilla 10% correction in our STI yet!?

End 2011 US fiscal cliff scare was the closest to a 10% correction. Missed by a bit.

So those who started during and after 2009 had never experienced a proper 20% bear market. Now how cool is that? 

What we say and do are frequently shaped by what we think we know and our past experiences.

One group will go for effectiveness and let cash rot in the bank. They have learnt the hard way that when opportunity knocks and you have cash to welcome it in, its mighty powerful!!!

Winning the war is more important than aiming to win every battle.


Another group will agonise over efficiencies - like if STI zooms up 10% and we are 30% in cash, it will be a big drag to our benchmarking with STI... How to have bragging rights like that?

Or if our income portfolio is generating 6% yield, having 30% in cash is simply too "expensive" in opportunity costs... That's no good if I want to hit my increased passive income goals.


You may want to try this exercise with your fellow investing friends.

First ask when they started their investing journey.

Then survey them what's their opinion on having cash in their portfolio.

Have fun!



 

Do The Right Thing vs Doing Things Right

I am rehashing an old post which I think can be a good idea to revisit in light of recent events.

Do read the below post and especially the comments section: 

Efficiency versus Effectiveness


Don't worry, I'll wait for you. Take your time.




Done?


Most of the time, especially at our pay scales, we are only familiar with setting Corporate goals for Doing Things Right - we focus on quicker, better, cheaper. Efficiency rules!

This becomes an unconscious habit when we set goals for our private lives.

We often overlook the Elephant in the room - why are we doing it in the first place?

For if we do not get the direction "right", all we do, despite our fancy goal settings and planning, may be about going in the "wrong" direction more efficiently!?

How many of us in our 40s and above have the epiphany where we have hit our goals and arrived exactly where we have planned only to realise our ladder has been leaning against the "wrong" wall?

I love my age

Antidote to always moving the goal posts

We all have done it before.

When we want to do something we say we "love", we like to put conditions or goals like when I have "X" by "Y", then I'll do it.

Guess what?

When we hit the goals we have set for ourselves - mind you, it us who set these goals; not others - we move the goal posts and start all over!?

Either that thing we say "love" is bogus, or we are terrified of taking that step outside what we have been used to thus far. 

And being "busy" chasing our goals is a great way to avoid facing the hard truths - Who am I? What do I want to do with my life? Why do I get up in the morning? Where do I belong?



Here's one antidote to moving the goal posts.

I was on home leave back in Singapore and by pure chance, noticed that 2 persons have passed on at 55 in the obituary pages...

And on the next few days, I kept spotting people around 55 moving on...

Why was 55 important? That was the age I was "planning" to call it quits and return to Singapore for good.

My "planning" have not included the possibility what if tomorrow may never comes?

Well, the rest is history. 


 
You may want to try this exercise yourself. 

Read the obituary pages for a month and see whether that will change your perspective.

You all have your own magic number.

To some its 40, to others its 55 like me, while for others it could be 65.

Have fun (in a morbid sort of way)!