Sunday, March 15, 2026

Firehose situation; hell week at MIT, how to raise P100,000 in one month - they force you to be resilient and entreprenuerial, and resourceful

Be better than before, than yesterday...

The MIT monk mentions his stint at MIT about firehose, (and or Hell Week)  Having a situation where there are so many tasks that seem to be impossible to finish.    Then you learn to delegate, collaborate, and have a system.  Otherwise you will fail.

Then at Golman Sachs, their assignment in real world (and this is for the sellers) to raise P100,000 in your personal income in one month.  That is tough if you are not resourceful and you are thinking 8-5 worker.  I am happy that when this was assigned to the latest batch of trainees, they came through.   Marketing people should be subjected to that kind of situation or given that exercise









Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Hacks that could have been learned earlier for earlier success by MIT monk

Be better than before, than yesterday...

The author became a street boy (a runaway) monk, MIT student, later a CEO of tech company (even AI)
He lists down in this video hacks that should have been learned earlier.

Some of them:

1.  Differentiate between savings and investment.    Or you can have both.  Savings let you earn 1/4 of 1% while investment tied to S & P can get you more, Compounding plays out better.

2.  Stop believing in the American dream.  Limited opportunities now,  less jobs, heavy taxation.   

    Only 4% make it through and become successful, the 96% suffer. 

3   Practice practice practice in what you are good at.   (There is no inherent genius.  Only practice creates geniuses.    Some people who are determined are good in practice.  Athletes, musicians, actors practice this  Even doctors.  What are you good at?  Do you practice constantly

4.  Look at yourself as an investment portfolio.  Do you spend on your education and self improvement?   Are you gettting desired returns.  Wilkinson said that fortune are preceded by education and intelligence

5.  Move where the opportunites are:

     NY, Boston, SF, Chicago. Where the talented and fortunate are.  They are not in  the boondooks

6.  Equity and salary. 

    You become rich early.  You behave differently when you are the owner.    Salary is a trap is an addiction.  

7.  Humble yourself.  Get a mentor

     Not the coaches who are paid exorbitantly.  Be coached by someone who has made it.  Some will coach you free if he can get an action of your venture.  

8.  Have an emergency fund

       1.  For medical emergency
       2.  When you are laid off
       3.  Acts of God:   flood, typhoon, 

9.   Have your own FBI.   (Financial Bureau of Investigation) to find out where your money goes.  

     In this priority/order:

     1.  Emergency
     2   Equity
     3.  Essential
     4.  Enjoyment

     Allocate $ or PHP first in 1-3 before going to # 4

10.   American dream can become the American debt.  Avoid debt at all costs.   Buying homes early while young can be a catastrophe.           

11.  Be financial literate.   There are apps you get into or YT videos .    There is no excuse.  There are books:    Psychology of Money, and the Algebra of  Wealth Compounding.  These are precious guides. 

12  Automate personal finance.  There are apps that can do this for you.

13.  Go analog.  Read read read books.

14.  Failure as a teacher like as on the spot firing being jobless, being homeless.  Be prepared and develop resilience from that.  Find something positive in bad experiences to bring out the best in you.  Find the strength that you have missed.  It can let you see the road beyond the corner and find the best you

15.  Find the krypto in you (what destroys Superman)  find the antidotes and seek people who can support you and give your strrength.  

16.  Dont play victim

       Dont hold grudges.  Stay friendly even with those people who wronged you.  

17.  Find the right partner.  Who can give you support in the worst of conditions.

18.  Forgive yourself and live away from the past -   Abusive parents, bad employers, misfortunes.  Stay in the present find something positive and be a good person now.

19.  Think of yourself as someone living for others to be their best   Find out how can that happen  By finding love and service.  What impact can we have on others lives.   
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20.   Happiness =      Resources/need   Thus increase your resources and decrease need   If your need is 0 your happiness becomes infinite

Why smart people do not become rich?

Be better than before, than yesterday...

They are so analytical, sees more than 15 downsides in an opportunity, and prefers to be analytical.  The less educated, less analytical fail to see the risk breeze through the process, and gets the roi...
I saw this.  The educated PO dumped two multi billion projects which we passed on to other allies.




Monday, March 9, 2026

Mindset needed at the Board Room by MIT Monk





These are the things we need to be qualified for the Board Room

1.  Find the missing note  the ghost note  (the missing data)

    Ask for the data that you do not see.    E.g.  the bombers that made bank saw the bullet homes decided to provide armor for the 

   Upgrading your mind for data that do not show up.   

   Look behind the curtain and do nto look into things that are shown.  Be curious

   Look at the silent ghost.

   How the 1%  must think

2.  Optimize mistakes

     Learn from mistakes.  Mistakes and learning from them create new neural networks.    Those who do not make mistakes plateu

   1.  Define metric -  What does better  mean -   faster, better, more accurate, 

    2.  Define the outcome

    3.  Deliver

    4.  Find exact failure point

    5.  Change one thing iterate  

3.  Find the hard.  

     Explore difficult challenges and learn from this  Say difficult nego.

     Stay with it.  

     High tension conversation:  how to navigate hard conversation nego later

     1  From people to facts ;  where do we suggest  we change 

     2  Lesson the tension   are we with you or against us

     3.  No poinitng fingers   -  we want to work together

     4.  Acknowledge their presence;   appreciate what you are doing.  We care about the outcome and you

      Later you will be known as the person 

 4.  Time horizon - say  7 years.   Your action differs if you think long term

      Beams from dining room;  started to rot  The original architect all ready grew the oak so that the beams can be made in the future.  Cathedral thinking. 

     Hedge funds investors invest in long term.  Warren Buffett focussed on the long term.    40 years that passed is very fast

               90 day timeline -   be visible

              12 - 18 months -   decision that willl contribute to the company

              5 years be visionary

             ARE YOU PLANTING FLOWERS OR TREES.  ?

 5.  Your identity  -  you can architect  what yourself 

     Getting more than you deserve
      Deserving more than you get

     When you make a decision?    

     1  What will I be if I make decision?
     2  Is it a decision that is safe but will not make your better.

     You do not see around the corner.  You were made to make the world better.

     You will be better You will be for the world that will be better

     You will be better if someone believe you and sponsor you