Earlier today, had a zoom session with one of my investing mentees and clients. He thanked me for helping him grow his money, beat inflation, and get one step closer to his financial goals. But when he told me that, I replied very firmly: “You need to be more responsible for your own money.” Now, why did I say that? Firstly, let me just explain how this meeting came about. For me personally, I am in the job of teaching people how to invest, giving them the skills and knowledge, mentoring...
9 days ago • 4 min read
Part of the reason why I invest, is that deep down, I still feel insecure. So let me share with you something I seldom tell many of my clients unless you know me very well. On the outside, people look at me as somebody who hit my first $1 million at 29. I'm financially free. I don't have kids or many liabilities to worry about, so life is good. And I agree. On some level, life is good. But I've never really personally shared why I actually invest. We all invest for a couple of reasons, but...
14 days ago • 4 min read
You don't need discipline or effort Reading time: 3 minutes I used to be a big failure when it comes to sticking with habits. Years ago, I came across this book that taught me the skill of sticking to habits with almost no effort or procrastination. “The Kaizen Way: One Small Step Can Change Your Life” Over the years of training thousands of entrepreneurs in my career as a speaker, I’ve shared my own personal experience with them. I’ve seen them apply it to build sticky habits in their own...
almost 3 years ago • 7 min read
What others say about us... Course details: https://zeninvesting.gumroad.com/l/investingacademy Over 100 students and counting… From 15 different countries… Meet our lovely Zen Investor Graduates! What Others Say About Us… “This course is worth far more than what I’ve paid! Thomas and Max are generous and sincere in imparting their investing wisdom…” “There is a lot of passion from Max and Thomas… They are both down to earth… I have gained the confidence and skills to value stocks well” “I...
over 4 years ago • 1 min read
"Your ego is too big..." When I first started doing public speaking, I once had a chat with a wise buddhist master. I shared that I got nervous easily. I was hoping to get some encouragement. Instead, I got this advice I remember till today: "You are nervous because of your ego. You care too much about what others and you think of yourself. If you didn’t have such a strong sense of self, you would see the activity for what it is. You are merely going up there to speak and share. That’s it. It...
over 4 years ago • 3 min read
Some non-investing reflections of mine Confession: I've often failed to hit many of the goals I set for myself. Because I didn't get clear on the true price I need to pay. If you struggle with this too, I hope it helps you feel a little better: Some years back, I was chatting with an old friend at a hotel lounge over drinks. She spontaneously ran over to the grand piano and started playing it. She was flawless. Playing song after song from memory. I watched in awe. I started playing a mental...
over 4 years ago • 4 min read
On their research process, mental habits, and time management Recently, I read this book titled “Free Capital”. It covers the mental habits and practices of 12 private, full time investors. If you've always wanted to know how a full time investor spends his/her time, how they think, what they struggle with... Then you’ll enjoy this book. Here’s what these 12 full time investors have in common: They all manage their own money They’re independently wealthy They started with a small capital base...
almost 5 years ago • 5 min read
Amazon, Costco, Southwest Airlines Amazon, Costco, Southwest. These 3 great companies have 1 thing in common: A low price strategy. I recently read this book titled “Confessions of the Pricing Man” by Hermann Simon. He is known as one of the world’s leading strategists on pricing. It’s been helpful to understand what is needed to make low pricing work in business. It’s not just about offering discounts or getting into a price war. It’s more than that. Here's 5 frameworks to help you identify...
almost 5 years ago • 4 min read
3 reasons why you should go wide, not deep To see results in a new field you want to master, you need to focus. Not really. That's what I used to believe. But today I actually practice the opposite. Here's how I learnt that lesson... When I was 18 years old in the army, I started selling things online to earn a side income. This field was called "Internet Marketing". I spent all my money buying courses and videos online, teaching me skills like SEO, copywriting, driving traffic, affiliate...
almost 5 years ago • 5 min read