Last update: 21 June 2026 “Engineer by degree, entrepreneur by passion, writer by choice.” Hi, I am Kwanxhen. I read, write, snowboard, manage projects, ...
Update: 22 Jul 2026 Dashboard is live here Building a dashboard to track a few US economy metrics that aligns with my investing philosophy. Position well enough to not get diluted by the absurd money printing from the US economy. I will upload this dashboard for free when it is done. The portfolio thesis is simple. Position yourself to capture humanity's growth (US SP500), while keeping yourself…
You will imagine the world, far into the future, far backward into the past, and see that the whole universe goes on with or without you. You will arrive at the same destination Virgil reached in his Fourth Eclogue, where the ingenuity of change has been exhausted; the whole universe will fall into a repeated forgotten antiquity. As you do so, you relieve yourself of all of the anxious thoughts…
Most books on airport shelves are contemporary. They are sensible books, but are not that helpful for growth. It's like doing bicep curls instead of chin-ups. I have read about fifty of these self-help books in the last three years, and they are starting to become really boring. They are written in similar styles, address similar problems, and generally just make you feel hopeful and encouraged.…
There's a Mandarin term called "一念". The term originates from Buddhist philosophy and refers to the smallest fundamental unit of mental activity or a single moment of consciousness. What does success have to do with this? The fundamental building block of success is "one thought" in your mind. The argument goes like this: I wake up with one thought (related to a goal). I act on the thought.…
The first part of this essay was what I wrote before I began the experiment Testing a new approach to note-taking - emergent structure Testing a new way of keeping notes using Obsidian for 3 months. The idea is to keep the note files at the root folder instead of obsessing over how to categorize them. Previously, I was always anxious about losing some notes if I didn't categorize them correctly.…
Continuing from: Part 1 - Different levels of productivity in a workplace Observations: Tasks are accumulating at a pace I couldn't keep up with. Completing these tasks often led to more tasks. Our endless to-do list is easier to add to than check off. I feel overwhelmed and anxious all the time. If this sounds like you, you're likely juggling too many tasks without a reliable knowledge system.…
This essay is a little reminder to myself about Buddha-nature and being present. It helps with my anxious mind. It might not make sense when read on its own. If you're curious about the context or the entire argument, go check out Just So by Alan Watts. Suppose you are rich, as rich as can be. And you are, because the whole universe is yours. Suppose you got all the time you need. And you do have,…
There comes a time when everything becomes silent, for a brief moment. You become the witness consciousness. You are seated at the back of your mind, watching everything -- every single thing, including thoughts But you still notice things happening, without your conscious effort. The events just occur. What do you feel in this state? You feel at ease, and you notice your breathing deepens. Words…
When Feasible Targets Fail: A Game Theory View of Organizations Sometimes a target is technically feasible — but practically unachievable given the team and resources. This is where organizations stop being engineering problems and become game theory problems. Faced with this mismatch, people don’t respond randomly. They sort themselves into predictable strategies: 1. The Sharp Operators They…
Corporate productivity and management philosophy [!tip] These essays are a short burst of eureka moments that came about from years of team building and management. I talk about my management philosophy and how to navigate this complex role in the chaotic corporate world. Part 1 - Different levels of productivity in a workplace Background This essay explores how to get more done in a day and why…