Escaping the Grind, Entering the Void

Work often feels like a prison of pointless meetings, impossible deadlines, and managing your boss's latest whims. FIRE promises the ultimate escape, financial freedom from corporate nonsense. But here's where it gets uncomfortable: I recently asked myself what I'd actually do with those extra 40+ hours per week. To be honest, I have no clue. This made me question whether FIRE is simply an elaborate escape route from work stress rather than a journey toward something meaningful.

After years of fantasizing about escaping the 9-to-5 grind, I realized I had no concrete plan for filling that void. Sure, work can be soul-crushing, but it also provides something we rarely acknowledge, a built-in sense of purpose and automatic social connection. Strip that away, and you're left with unlimited time and the pressure to make it meaningful.

Here's the deeper problem: we've been conditioned for productivity since childhood. Constantly competing, multitasking, optimizing every moment, we're culturally programmed to believe that doing more equals more success. But after leaving work or reaching FIRE, this compulsion to fill every hour with measurable achievement often intensifies. We end up creating a different kind of prison, one where hyper-productivity actually diminishes real satisfaction and well-being.

Our relentless hustle often masks a deeper discomfort with stillness. Can we truly embrace slow travel, deep reading, meandering conversations, or simple reflection without feeling guilty about "wasting time". Having hustled since my student days, I genuinely don't know if I can sit comfortably with unstructured moments.

Will I be truly able to let go and develop comfort with stillness to truly immerse myself in the experience of slow travel, deep reading or some other hobby of mine? 

The cruel irony? Trading the stress of too little time for the anxiety of too much time might not be the upgrade we think it is.

This realization has shifted my perspective. Retiring now probably isn't the right move, but the "FI" part remains crucial. Working with a financial safety net beneath you beats working like your life depends on the job. Financial independence gives you options, time to find better work if your current role sours, leverage to negotiate reduced schedules, and most importantly, the freedom to work from choice rather than desperation. 

Personally, I might need a change in my thinking that we cannot just define a life well lived by checking boxes or performing perfectly optimized routines, rather it should be defined by presence, connection, and the richness of slower experiences. Learning to value these experiences, and reframing how “productivity” is defined, allows for a healthier, more sustainable enjoyment of one’s newfound freedom after the rat race.

The Invisible Portfolio: How Human Capital and Stillness Build Real Wealth

Sometimes I wonder if it’s a good thing to check my net worth regularly

Sure, it feels great when the numbers climb, but what happens when they plummet? The gut punch of watching your net worth crater during a market downturn reveals exactly why obsessive tracking might be doing more harm than good. When a spreadsheet can dictate your mood, you've turned wealth building into an emotional rollercoaster.

Here's the thing: wealth building is a lifelong marathon, not a daily sprint. Checking your net worth at any single moment is like judging a movie by one frame, it tells you almost nothing meaningful. Worse, it often serves as nothing more than a personal finance vanity metric, a number to boost your ego or crush your spirit.

But the real problem runs deeper. Traditional net worth calculations paint an incomplete, often misleading picture of financial health. They don't reflect actual financial flexibility or security. Consider this: someone with $50,000 in cash and liquid investments might be more financially secure than a "billionaire" whose wealth is locked up in illiquid assets. 

Rethinking What "Net Worth" Really Means

The traditional definition of net worth misses something crucial: human capital. Picture two people, a recent graduate drowning in student debt versus someone who just inherited millions. By conventional metrics, the inheritor wins hands down. But dig deeper: the graduate has drive, ambition, and decades to build skills and networks. The inheritor? Maybe they're content to coast on family money, slowly squandering their head start.

Fast-forward ten years. Who do you think will be in a stronger position?

This isn't just theoretical. Your skills, relationships, growth mindset, and ability to adapt to changing markets are assets, perhaps your most valuable ones. The recent graduate who lands the right mentorship, develops marketable skills, and builds a strong professional network is accumulating wealth that doesn't show up on any balance sheet but will compound for decades.

The Human Capital Advantage

Rather than limiting "assets" to cash, stocks, and property, what if we included human capital in our calculations? Skills that appreciate over time. Networks that open doors. The ability to learn, adapt, and create value. These invisible assets often outperform traditional investments, especially early in your career.

For young professionals, seeing a negative net worth isn't the end of the world, it's often the beginning of wealth building. Instead of wasting mental energy tracking numbers that will naturally improve over time, focus on tracking what you can control: your personal growth, skill development, and relationship building.

After all, you can actively invest in human capital every single day. Your financial net worth? That might grow slowly, but your human capital can compound rapidly with the right focus and effort. People can actively invest in human capital daily while financial net worth might grow slowly. 

The Dangerous Urge to "Fix" Everything

Another insidious side effect of frequent net worth tracking is the compulsive need to tinker. Every dip triggers an itch to "do something", rebalance portfolios, chase hot investments, or panic-sell during downturns. It's like constantly adjusting your car's steering wheel on a straight highway; you'll end up swerving all over the road. The harsh truth? Most of the time, the best financial strategy is delightfully boring: do absolutely nothing.

But humans aren't wired for inaction. We see a problem (declining numbers) and feel compelled to solve it, even when the "problem" is just normal market volatility. This intervention bias has cost investors billions because they can't resist the urge to react to short-term fluctuations and buy high during euphoric peaks and sell low during fearful valleys, turning temporary paper losses into permanent real ones.

By checking your net worth less frequently, you remove the emotional triggers that lead to poor decisions. You can't panic about market movements you don't see. You can't second-guess a long-term strategy based on short-term noise. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do for your financial future is to close the app, ignore the numbers, and let compound interest work its quiet magic while you focus on what actually moves the needle: earning more, spending wisely, and growing your human capital.

Don’t Buy the Buzz — Buy Your Freedom

Picture this: you're finally on that well-deserved holiday, determined to switch off from the daily grind. Then your phone buzzes with news that a newly listed stock has surged 100% on its first day, or that a property development has sold 90% of its units within hours. Despite your best efforts to ignore these distractions and enjoy your break, you return home to discover that friends who acted on these opportunities have multiplied their investments tenfold whilst you were relaxing on the beach.

This scenario perfectly captures the fear of missing out (FOMO) that plagues modern investors. At its core, FOMO stems from our insatiable desire for wealth, a desire that grows precisely because we measure our financial success relatively rather than absolutely. We don't simply want enough money; we want more than others have.

 

The psychology behind investment FOMO is so powerful that some entrepreneurs deliberately exploit it. Thomas Healy, founder and CEO of Hyliion, a clean energy technology company, became the youngest self-made billionaire in the US at just 33. He has openly admitted to exploiting investors' greed and fear, actively cultivating FOMO to secure funding for his ventures. This candid admission reveals an uncomfortable truth: whilst you're trying to make rational investment decisions, others are specifically targeting your emotional vulnerabilities to separate you from your money.

Below are some ways to combat financial FOMO as advised by Sam Dogen, aka Financial Samurai (I strongly encourage readers to check out his blog):

1. Build a Core Portfolio You Rarely Touch

Hold a diversified base you barely ever trade like an S&P 500 index fund, broad bond fund, or real estate allocation. Knowing most of your net worth is riding on the general growth of the economy frees you from chasing every shiny new asset. Over time, this “set-and-forget” block will compound beneath the noise.

2. Allocate a “FOMO Fund”

Designate a small slice of your capital (around 5 percent) for speculative bets. This controlled sliver lets you dabble in emerging trends like cryptocurrency, without risking your core plan. When that itch to chase the next hot ticker strikes, your FOMO fund is there to scratch it.

3. Systematize Your Investing with Automation

Set up recurring transfers into your main portfolios and your FOMO fund. Whether it’s weekly or monthly, dollar-cost averaging removes the emotional roller coaster of timing the market. You’ll build wealth steadily, ignore headlines more easily, and keep your overall strategy intact.

4. Use Opportunity Cost as a Filter

Before jumping on any hype train, pause and ask:

• What goals or meaningful experiences might I be sacrificing?

• Could this money be better spent on travel, education, or time with loved ones?

• Am I trading peace of mind for the thrill of high-volatility speculation?

Weighing potential gains against what you might lose helps you make more grounded, intentional choices. Personally, I find this reflection especially important. There’s often no substitute for quality time with family and I wouldn’t trade peace of mind and those moments of connection for a shot at the next hot investment.

5. Define “Enough” Clearly

FOMO grows when “more” feels indefinite. Decide what financial freedom means for you, whether it’s covering monthly expenses, funding five years of travel, or securing a down payment. Once you hit that benchmark, any extra gains become a bonus instead of a necessity.

6. Change Your Environment

Peer pressure and constant market chatter can inflame FOMO. If you live in a high-intensity financial hub, carve out regular retreats to quieter locales or surround yourself with communities focused on sustainable wealth rather than get-rich-quick schemes. A calmer backdrop makes it easier to stay the course.

I’ll admit I’ve felt the pull of financial FOMO, especially during the crypto craze. Whenever a new altcoin blew up on Twitter or Reddit, it was like a siren song luring me to smash “buy.” To snap myself out of it, I started hunting down contrarian takes, deep dives and warning pieces that laid out exactly why the hype might be hollow and patience pays off far more often than panic. 

Financial FOMO is less about the profits you might miss and more about the self-trust and serenity you risk sacrificing. When that itch to chase the latest market frenzy strikes, pause and ask yourself: whose story am I investing in, mine, or someone else’s hype? True wealth isn’t found in fleeting triple-digit returns but in the quiet confidence you earn by investing with clarity, purpose, and unshakable peace of mind.

Instinct vs Insight: The Masayoshi Son Playbook

Most investors would have heard of Warren Buffet but probably not many would have heard of Masayoshi Son, aka the Japanese Warren Buffet. He is a Japanese entrepreneur and the founder, chairman, and CEO of SoftBank Group, one of the world’s most influential technology investment firms. Few investors embody the extremes of visionary ambition and costly risk-taking quite like Masayoshi Son. He has built a reputation for making audacious bets on the companies of tomorrow, sometimes with astonishing success, and sometimes with equally spectacular failure.

Central to Son’s strategy in recent years is the Vision Fund, a nearly $100 billion war chest launched in 2017 and backed by sovereign wealth funds, tech giants, and banks. Conceived as the world’s largest technology investment fund, it set out to identify and dominate the “AI revolution” and the next generation of category-defining companies. For retail investors, the Vision Fund’s audacious track record offers valuable lessons, not just in spotting transformative trends, but also in understanding the risks of excess capital, concentration, and unbridled optimism.

The best and most famous bet by him is undoubtedly the $20 million investment in Ali Baba in 2000. He began divesting Ali Baba in 2020 and booked a profit of approximately 1.26 trillion yen (about $8.5 billion USD) from divesting its Alibaba stake, which amounted to roughly 425 times its original investment. Although it’s an impressive trade, the key takeaway is how he made the decision to invest. He had frequently described his investment process as an "instinct," an "animal smell," where he senses the "gut instinct of an underdog entrepreneur." This method was also applied to his Alibaba investment. He was a strong believer in his ability to see the future and bet on the most ambitious entrepreneurs and this self-belief, amplified by his past successes made him overconfident and become a core driver of the fund’s strategy. I found it quite incredulous that someone managing billions of dollars could base their investment thesis on gut instinct and his past wins could probably be due to just sheer luck. Everyone looks like a genius when the tides are up, you only see who is swimming naked when the tide comes down.

His subsequent investment picks based on his gut instincts didn't go as planned. But the most infamous case was probably WeWork. It was pretty incredible that he invested $4.4 billion into WeWork after just a 12-minute meeting with CEO Adam Neumann. The investment in WeWork has been nothing short of disastrous with total losses estimated to be around $14.3 billion to $14.4 billion. Key Lesson 1: You need to have a viable investment strategy rather than just relying on “instinct” in order to be a successful investor. Stay humble, don't get overly elated over a sudden investment windfall and keep your ego in check because your “stroke of genius” could be down to just dumb luck.

Masayoshi was also convinced about the potential of AI and its impact on society way before all the AI hype materialized and he even made an investment of around $700 million in Nvidia in 2018. Strangely enough, he had conviction and an investment thesis this time round, but he still divested all his Nvidia holdings in 2019 for about $3.3 billion, locking in a 4.7x return. The main reason for the sale was to show a return as the Vision Fund faced pressure and to secure investment for Vision Fund 2. We all know now this was a disastrous decision as if he held Nvidia till today, his stake would be worth around $150-$160 billion. It was a very painful lesson for him, and he even stated Nvidia was "the fish that got away."  Key Lesson 2: The power of compounding is a powerful wealth builder so try your absolute best not to trap yourself in a situation where you would be forced to sell your stocks, especially the ones you have the strongest conviction. 

In the end, Masayoshi Son’s story is not just a cautionary tale, it’s a mirror held up to every investor’s ambition. His journey reminds us of that vision without discipline can be a double-edged sword, and that instinct, while occasionally brilliant, is no substitute for rigorous strategy and patience. The line between genius and gambler is often drawn in hindsight, and Son has danced on both sides of it. For retail investors, the lesson is clear: conviction must be earned, not assumed; and the true test of wisdom is not in spotting the next big thing, but in knowing when to hold on, when to let go, and when to simply wait. After all, in investing, as in life, the biggest wins often come to those who resist the urge to chase and instead choose to compound.