Last week, I wrote about the things I would like to do in 2019. It was a new to-do list which I thought was timely to get me going for the year, sort of like a kick-my-own-butt exercise.
As I had mentioned before on the objectives of writing my blog, 2 stands out and come to mind. First, by writing about my resolutions, it forces me to go through a process to help clarify my thoughts. I create end goals and then formulate strategies to achieve them. Periodic reviews will also help me track my progress and keep me focused.
Secondly, it is to kill the NATO (No Action, Talk Only) habit. By stating them in my blog in a public domain, I am shouting out to the world my intentions and how I plan to get there. Whether anyone reads it or not, I really don’t care. My ego is at stake here now. “Do or not do”, that is my fav Yoda statement. I constantly re-read my blogs to remind me what I have written and committed. I will not take them lightly.
One of my resolutions was to read at least 10 books this year. The opportunity came along when my older son asked me to get a book for him to read. I managed to download the ebook version of the book and then Whatsapp it to him. The book was “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. It was written in 1997 and still hold some relevance in our world today. I figured that since my son was reading it and the topic interests me, I might as well join in and read it too!
He is a fast reader and he finished it this week while I have another 40 more pages to go. I suggested that we have a discussion on the book to highlight the topics we disagree or agree with the author. Last night, we had the opportunity to do that as we were having dinner together. It was a good discussion and I shared some of my work and investment experiences with him too. We had a quality father-son bonding session too.
I told him about my resolution to read 10 books and asked him to help me by suggesting the next book. He now has more time on his hands in the coming months as he has been posted to his permanent army unit after having an intensive train period for the last 12 months for his National Service.
He shows an interest in investments and we actually helped him open an online equity investment account 2 weeks ago. The minimum age is 19 and he qualifies now. This will be a good time for him to acquire knowledge of the subjects that interest him and would be of value for his preparation of uni life in 2020. He already has a place in Oxford to do economics so this is good practical training for him ahead of school life. Hopefully, this will also build a strong foundation for him into his work career too.
He asked me to suggest the next book we can read together, so I proposed “One Up On Wall Street” by Peter Lynch. Though it was published in 1989, there should still be some relevance that is applicable to our world today. Like the last book, we will then have a discussion on the book after we have read it. Benjamin Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor” (1949) looks like the next interesting book we should explore together. I have downloaded the ebooks accordingly for us to read on our iPhones and iPads. This is a good start to our learning journey together. It is a win-win proposition and the extra cream on the cake is that I get to spend quality time with my son and share with him some of my career learnings.
The next new year resolution was to do at least 10 more courses (online or off) to acquire new skills to sharpen my learning curve. I strongly believe that we die if we stop learning. Life is a constant journey of discovery and learning new skills. A person who thinks he knows everything is fooling himself and is too proud to admit that he knows nothing.
As a start, I have always been interested in Fintech and its various components. But yet I felt that I did not really understand it as I do not have the total big picture yet. I spent the last 2 weeks looking for such a suitable online course to attend. I came across one from Oxford’s business school that really attracted me but the cost was high and I could not get a Skillsfuture subsidy https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/programmes/oxford-fintech-programme (GBP 2,500).
I finally found one that was nearer home and provided study cases of China internet giants that were highly relevant to Asia. It was from HKU and cost just USD 99 and it spans 6 weeks requires 1 to 3 hours per week. https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-to-fintech This seems to be a good start for me to get a solid foundation for my fintech journey.
As the next step, I went back to my favourite online training website Udemy to look for topics which interest me. They have many free ones which trainers post as a beginners guide to attract participants and hopefully subscribe for paid ones later if they want to go deeper into the subject.
I am starting to play with my new birthday toy, a DJI drone (Mavic Air). It is much easier than I thought, as I flew in for the first time after viewing a few youtube videos. I now need to learn more complicated manoeuvres in order to take good aerial videos and photos. This will enhance my home videos and bring it up to the standards I see on youtube nowadays. I have just signed up for 3 free Udemy drone and photography courses which I will take in the next few weeks.
Finally, I have been studying the subject of social investing for the last 1+ year. The company eToro https://www.etoro.com is at the forefront of this movement. Imagine that you can piggyback on top traders to copy their trades. This website allows you to participate for just a few hundred dollars. The top traders get recognition and earn extra fees. The exchange gets more volume. Investors hopefully get enhanced returns. Win-win for everyone… I decided to put in USD 500 to try it out now. No more NATO!
Good start to the year as my learning plan is forming up 🙂
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