Investing April 18, 2026 0 Comments

Unlock True Clarity: The Untold Secret Every Entrepreneur Needs to Dominate Markets and Crush Competition

Ever found yourself standing in front of a pile of joss sticks and offering plates wondering, “What the heck am I even doing here?” Yeah, me too. Growing up, I tagged along to temples and tomb sweepings, mostly because that’s just what you did—no questions asked. But there was always this nagging twinge of awkwardness about asking for blessings—did I sound too greedy wanting good grades or health? And those grueling trips to overgrown graves, armed with a mountain of food and candles, felt more like a “WTF is going on?” moment than a meaningful ritual. Yet, as life tugged harder—especially after losing my mom—that haze started to clear. Suddenly, it wasn’t just routine; it became a way to reconnect, to reflect, and weirdly enough, to make peace with things I never fully grasped before. Still, even with all the understanding, questions lurk—why do we shell out so much for offerings we’ll eventually burn or throw away? Is it tradition or just paying an “inconvenience premium”? And amidst all this, can a guy juggling investment portfolios truly be in the moment while his mind races through stock charts and work deadlines? Stick around as I dive into this complex mix of tradition, personal growth, and the pursuit of financial and mental independence. LEARN MORE

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There was a period of time when I always wonder what the fxxk was this for.

Well, it is not like my parents didn’t explain well why we go to temple to pray. We pray for good health, good grades. In a way, it slowly makes me feel awkward why such a session among the Chinese involves asking others to bless us for something good.

Sometimes you wonder if you are too greedy with what you asked for.

I know that that I should honor our ancestors, our parents during Tomb Sweeping during Qing Ming Festival. We know not too much but generally what generally it is for.

But largely we followed what our parents do.

This is worse when I was young.

Tomb sweeping in even not so early days Singapore is really… tomb sweeping. My grand parent’s grave was literally overflowing with grass that has not been cut for months. It was so troublesome to get to the grave in Yishun (which was not too far from my old home). There were mosquito and we need to get there early to avoid the crowd. We need to bring a bunch of food stuff, joss sticks, candles and paper money to the place.

It feels more of a WTF what-am-I-doing-here session than anything.

I do it because I was told.

Maturity, Meaning and Relationship

I have never seen my grandparents on my dad’s side ever.

My mom’s dad passed away before I went junior college.

I only started to connect with these fxxking stuff better when my mom passed away. You have to do much more whatever you find it intolerable in the past immediately after the passing. By tradition, if you mourn for 49 days, you have to go every week on the day of the passing to pray and offer, before a final ceremony at the end of the period.

My brain struggled with the WTF does-it-have-to-be-this-elaborate and that I got a day job to get back to.

It is different when the mom you spend so much time with passes away than when her dad whom you only remember sitting at the dinner table of your uncle’s house smoking cigarettes passes.

Whatever official meaning these traditions represents go away to… what is the true significance of going to visit them.

To me, it is a very routine reconnection with them.

It is a way for me to have silent conversation with them. It is a way of taking care of them in the best way that I can.

Indirectly, I grow to understand why my dad does it diligently.

We all now understand better when our mom and dad passes away because the relationship is significantly deeper and so are the connection.

Some of you might be indifferent with it and that is okay because… perhaps not all relationships and recollections are positive stuff.

Even With Understanding, the WTFs Doesn’t Go Away

This picture shows what we brought as part of our offerings:

This is pretty traditional as it gets with the white rice, tea, coffee and vegetarian meals. My aunt told us that the temple has a service where they can prepare the food for us and during the actual day, we can just direct the staff of the temple to put the food there.

This whole spread, except for the apples, and one pack of the Jixiang Ang Ku Kueh cost us $50.

We didn’t do this alone. My cousins also did that for my uncles and my mom’s dad (who is their grandpa as well).

If you have the chance and look at our faces, you will see we wondering if it makes sense to pay $50-80 each time for this. One of my aunt told our cousins that by doing it this way, they won’t have to run around last minute to buy these stuff or coordinate among themselves.

We are basically paying an inconvenience premium lol.

These sessions is even worse for me because… as a finance blogger for the longest while, it is unlikely you can take the part about measuring intrinsic value, extrinsic value versus what we had to pay.

All of these sometimes mesh between

We are going to throw most of these away and these are just paper we burn. Should we spend so much?
But we got to do it in a traditional way. Do we need to buy XXX, buy YYY or are one of these optional (that is not part of the tradition)?
Are we really going to throw these food that is actually eatable away like that?
I wonder if I am doing the minimal and I should do more?

Some sort of this went through my mind every session.

I made my peace eventually with these. Doesn’t mean that I don’t evaluate what I pay versus what I get. I still do mental calculations is just that in the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t compromise the living.

I settled upon that.

I don’t think my parents would want to see my brother and myself following the traditions, going beyond, giving so much and we end up worse off.

I grow to appreciate these “stresses” of life because things had to be meaningful enough for you to stress about. If you don’t have much things that you stress about, would that always be a good state to be in?

Clarity

I find myself paying attention to the whole environment when I go to temple more.

I don’t stay on my phone so much.

In a way, I have less things on my mind.

Even with deeper connection, these sort of understanding, I find that mentally I was never in the moment. I was always either thinking about something at work at Providend or Havend, or something interesting that was being discussed in my Investment Telegram chats. Or certain investment concepts that I cannot get through.

And in the past, whether it is at the temple or not at the temple, you are wondering about certain companies that you are suppose to add to your portfolio or how something would affect companies in your portfolio.

I reworked my portfolio Daedalus from an individual stock one to a mainly strategic portfolio implemented with LSE-listed ETFs to not have to be bothered with considering things when I go to temples.

At some point, I wonder why can’t I stayed present and there is only one answer.

In my mind, something else is more important than praying now, being with my relatives. There are other things that is more important to me than this.

In a way, work is more important and so is the portfolio.

I asked if there is something fxxking wrong with that picture? In the earlier days, the answer is no, that there were some stuff that is more important. If my portfolio is concentrated enough, and I don’t actively think and considered stuff, poor decision to keep something could impair the portfolio. At least that is what I thought.

Over time, I considered enough about the amount of effort that I wish to spend, which plane of risks that I find it acceptable to take on and which plane of risks that I do not wish to take on. Admittedly, I refined how I understand and process the nuances of investing which lead me to the shift in strategy. The pros outweigh the cons.

I had to also ask my relationship with what looks like immediate work concerns and interesting topics that I was so willing to discuss with my community.

Are you truly financially independent, not dependent about your job if you have to be mentally pre-occupied with work on a Sunday?

At this point, my answer is yes because… whether its work, or interesting topics in the community.. they are interesting to ponder about. For sure there would be stresses along the way, and there are potentially more important things such as staying in the moment.

I got to admit that solving problems do make me feel good and that discussing things makes me learn more and grow which is a positive thing.

I paid attention more when I tell myself that those are not the only things and that they can wait.

And so I take a look at all the fancy things people bring to offer to their parents, grandparents and siblings. I go around to where the ashes are placed to see all the interpersonal decorations that they put around the unit where the urn is.

My brother will bring my nephew along whenever we need to go to these stuff and I would look into his eyes and see the same WTF eyes that I may have when my parent’s see it.

I guess that is progression.

The pace of our connection is always different. Eventual mental maturity will also make it better. Sometimes we got to admit that how he, and I prioritize things is always going to be different and perhaps learning to be less self-focused when young would help with that growth.

Periods like prayers on a Sunday is a neutral setting.

Your boss is not forcing you to work. Well sometimes they are and you got to see if it is worth the work compensation. In a neutral setting, this is your true nature.

It is you forcing yourself to work most of the time. And where am I on this? Does it mean that if I am thinking about these stuff I am not independent enough?

You will have your own answer.

As a structural person:

If you are thinking about your own portfolio because if not, it will XXX, or YYY, whatever that is determined to be valid or invalid, you can’t say your portfolio is truly passive. You are doing a portfolio manager role on a Sunday.
If you are thinking about work because if you don’t get promoted, you cannot have more money, which would be good for your family or those that is important to you, then you are not really independent.

If the reason you are thinking about that is less of those, then its a matter of life’s priority that is beyond investments and FI.

In most of my sharing, you realize that are ‘details’ or nuances to consider and I just hope that you would now it is okay that sometimes all of these things appeared not so straightforward and yet if you understand them well, the answer you distilled, whether it is income, investment or life, it may be more simple.

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Kyith is the Owner and Sole Writer behind Investment Moats. Readers tune in to Investment Moats to learn and build stronger, firmer wealth foundations, how to have a Passive investment strategy, know more about investing in REITs and the nuts and bolts of Active Investing.

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Kyith worked as an IT operations engineer from 2004 to 2019. Currently, he works as a Senior Solutions Specialist in Fee-only Wealth Advisory Firm Providend. All opinions on Investment Moats are his own and does not represent the views of Providend.

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