On life, success and passion

Looking back at how I have lived my life for the past 3 years,  I am happy at where I am today.

3 years ago while I was still in the army, I was still clueless on how I want to live my life after army. Thinking back, I think the toughness of life in army and a lot of free time made me really plan for my future. It was at this time where I started to pick up reading books and is still an enjoyment for me until now. It was also at this time where I discovered my passion for finance and investment.

I had already found a job 2 months before I ORD (come out from army) and started working straight after that. I started digging deep into investment and was actively monitoring and buying stocks. That was around the year of 2010. Well, I'm still at my same job, started part time studies for a degree in economics last year,  still investing actively, reading financial reports and sourcing for companies to buy in my free time and actively blogging just this week. On top of that is a social life of meeting friends for meals and hanging out. This hectic lifestyle has taught me the importance of planning my time as I constantly have deadlines for assignments, work commitments, exams to balance. I do hope to graduate soon and have more free time. Once I graduate next year, I'll be able to rearrange my life and focus on more important things.

The journey of investing has really taught me a lot of things. I started out with the intention of making fast money but now I focus on building my portfolio and investing for my future. I have a plan to accumulate 1 million before the age of 40. The power of compounding works better when you have a big base. For a person who has 10k, investing 10k to become 20k is 100% return. But for a person who has 1 million, investing 1 million to become 2 million is also just 100% return.

Investing early has its benefit as I can accumulate while I'm young. Time is on my side. Not many people start out with big capital therefore most of us have to start young. It is a journey that I'm always learning and setting achievable goals as I go along. It is more important to enjoy the process. I will write down my journey in this blog and this serves as a memory for me as well as learning point for myself and others. I do know there are other financial bloggers out there who are walking this journey towards financial freedom together with me. There are others who have already done it and it serves as a motivation for me.