Competition is great. It is a deeply rooted evolutionary trait that we all possess. What started as a tool for survival is now much more: a tool to thrive and excel, a tool to climb the socioeconomic ladder, and more.
Some people are so competitive that they are willing to compete with anyone at all. They don’t discriminate, whether it’s someone smarter than them in general, their mentors, or even co-founders. They want to be seen as the better co-founders.
I disagree with that kind of energy. There needs to be a desire for collaborative synergy with people you think are smarter than you, and especially if they are your mentors or co-founders.
Super competitive people can sometimes not comprehend the concept of shared goals, and in my opinion, can potentially under-optimize on their long-term potential.
Competition is great, but collaboration is even better.
Authentic transparency means living as your true self—free of masks, free of costumes. It’s the rare gift of being able to speak, share, and connect without second-guessing what parts of you should stay hidden. You show up fully, not just for yourself, but with the hope that your presence will add light, spark ideas, inspire change. Through openness, you offer others what you’ve learned, the insights that have unlocked new doors for you. And, in turn, you invite them to share theirs.
But in doing so, you will meet people who can’t quite stand that kind of transparency. In the masquerade of life, they might have preferred if you had worn a costume like everyone else. This discomfort may not always stem from envy; it could just be that your authenticity disrupts their own carefully guarded walls.
The choice, then, is whether to soften your light to blend in or to keep showing up as yourself, knowing not everyone will welcome it. Do you start holding back, or do you step back from relationships that require you to wear a mask?
Ultimately, the answer depends on who you are and who they are. For some, compromising parts of yourself in exchange for peace might be a fair trade. But for those who value freedom and truth over conformity, a life where you can be yourself—where relationships thrive on genuine energy rather than social costumes—will feel more aligned.
So, choose accordingly. Wear the mask if fitting in feels right to you. But if you crave authenticity, seek people who value it too. There’s a quiet power in building connections where you don’t have to hide.
I love missing opportunities. Countless times, I’ve been approached to collaborate on new startups or projects. My general response? A polite no. This response often confuses people – some even take it personally. But, in my experience, genuinely good opportunities are rare, and people who prioritize honesty and integrity over revenue are even rarer. So, in most cases, a quick no feels like the right call.
When something, or someone, is truly exceptional, you tend to see it almost immediately. The best opportunities don’t create inner debates. Authentic excellence isn’t confusing, and truly good people are typically transparent.
Charlie Munger once illustrated this well. In a room of 100 people, you might find yourself naturally drawn to only three – these are the rare individuals who resonate with you deeply. Three others might put you off, and the remaining 94 are somewhere in between – decent, well-meaning, but unlikely to become close partners or friends. This isn’t about judging anyone but recognizing that true connections and clear opportunities stand out unmistakably. When the right person or project crosses your path, it doesn’t ask for persuasion; it just makes sense.
For the past few months, I’ve been trying to reflect on the dynamic nature of risk appetite, and how personally my tolerance for risk has varied at different points in my life.
When I had nothing, taking risks felt natural—necessary, even. Risk was survival, not strategy.
As my wealth grew, I hit a number that felt secure, dependable—a safety net against the unforeseen. Suddenly, I was playing defense, not offense. I couldn’t risk what I needed to have what I merely wanted.
So, I plateaued. I stayed close to that number, guarded it, settled into its comfort. This feeling of fear probably stagnated me for a couple of years. This is rather strange in hindsight: a paradoxical feeling of comfort and fear. An accomplishment and a limitation.
Once I crossed that threshold, stepping past the line that had kept me cautious, I found room to experiment again—a new inclination for risk began to emerge, fueled by what felt like “surplus.” Here, risk took on a different meaning, moving away from survival and toward exploration.
Maybe this is how it goes: risk is a dynamic game. At different stages, it holds a different shape, pulling us between need and want, pushing us from survival to strategy. It’s not just about the money; it’s about where you are with it. It’s about your personal circumstances and where you are in life.
Envy—it’s a force that quietly drives us all, an impulse that oddly hurts the envier far more than the envied.
Turks guard against it with their evil-eye amulets
Meanwhile, Pakistanis lean on the old “joota” ritual, hoping to fend off any lurking ill will.
But if you’re genuinely concerned about becoming a target of envy, Aristotle had the right idea: let the merit of your accomplishments be your shield. True success, earned with integrity, carries a natural armor against the gaze of envy.
He said, “The best way to avoid envy is to deserve the success you get.”
I came across a new concept that while buying assets cheap we are often looking for ideas that aren’t mainstream yet or are quite obscure. That’s great in general and how I’ve also thought about it, however for your trade ideas to play out, others also need to eventually see what you’re seeing. Without that, the trade would never play out.
I wanted to remember this concept better, so I threw this to chatGPT and asked it to turn this into a poem. I think it’s done a pretty good job
We often seek the treasures veiled in shadows Where our eyes catch the glimmer that others miss
Yet therein lies the delicate dance of fate
If brilliance remains hidden, seen by only a few The beauty within may never break through
A few years ago I invested 5000 PKR each into an equity fund (MIF) and an interest-bearing money market fund (MIIF) by Al Meezan. The goal was simple; to publish data here to see (and show) how they do over the mid-term and long-term.
The investment is now live for about 40 months or a little over 3 years.
As can be seen, MIF (equity fund) has generated about the same returns as MIIF (interest-bearing money market fund) even during the (very) high interest-rate environment. Over a very long period (10-20 years), I suspect that the equity fund would significantly outperform the interest-bearing money market fund. The total investment is up over 42% – whether you had chosen an equity fund or a money market fund.
The point is simple really; if you dislike buying interest-bearing instruments, there are still plenty of things you can (and should) do to protect your purchasing power.
When you see someone do well, and emotions trigger for you to do well yourself, there’s often a thin line between what’s driving it.
Were you inspired or envious?
Seemingly difficult to know what it is, but not as hard to identify. If the changes you’ve made to get closer to the end game make you more disciplined towards your goal, you were inspired.
If your actions become more erratic e.g. taking bigger risks, breaking rules to get to the point, etc then envy drives you.
And of the 7 deadly sins, envy is the one that is no fun at all.
As we come to the end of 2022, it’s time for me to look back and reflect on the past year. I have had plenty of highs and lows across the year. But that is not specific to 2022. It’s specific to life – which is full of highs and lows. As long as the highs outnumber the lows, it is a life well spent.
The year started with my younger brother’s wedding. He has been an introvert all his life so I really didn’t know what to expect. However, it gives me great joy as I look back and see how they have evolved together as a couple.
My daughter took the opportunity to practice her photography ideas
2022, unfortunately, also had a difficult health scare for my family. In February, my father suffered from subarachnoid hemorrhage. It is nothing short of a miracle that not only did he recover, he recovered well. We feel grateful that he has been given another life. It has reinforced my belief that life is fragile and true happiness stems from spending moments with family & friends. My friends & family took this opportunity to put together a small fund to help brain hemorrhage patients in Pakistan.
Later in the year, my father in law was involved in a hit and run accident in Lahore. He sustained brain injuries and unfortunately didn’t live. In addition to lessons on life’s fragility, it was a reminder of a sustained failing law & justice system in Pakistan.
Mid year, I travelled to three countries including Qatar, Turkey & Georgia and ended up moving to Georgia to give a shot to digital nomad lifestyle that I’ve written about several times on this blog.
Doha – Museum of Islamic Art
Some parts of this lifestyle are great; e.g higher standard of living for a low cost. And some parts just outright suck; being alone in a city with very little Pakistani expat community. Moreover it is hard for friends & family to visit me here as the visa policies are somewhat non-existent for Pakistanis. Despite that, a few of my friends did come to see me here from Pakistan and hence I’m bullish on friendships.
Zhinvali Reservoir: Musa, Hamad, Taimur, Irtiza
As I wasn’t as social in Georgia as I was in Pakistan, I had more time available. I took some short courses on financial markets. I’m really excited to have learnt more about the things I’m passionate about. I also had a wonderful time home-schooling and bonding with my children. My daughter has really connected with me during this period and has worked on several projects that she wouldn’t have had in a traditional school environment.
Financially, the year started off very lucratively for me. I had big crypto wins, mostly out of luck. A fund delayed my withdrawal due to liquidity issues, and paid a few months later at the market top instead. If you don’t believe in luck or randomness, you should start doing that.
Everything is usually random. Those who know this have learnt to spread their wings wide enough to provide themselves with a higher probability of catching something out of sheer luck.
It was a tough year for financial markets with S&P500 closing ~20% below where it started the year from. Private markets, crypto etc have done even worse. Naturally my portfolio is affected also just as much as everyone else’s. But I’m a long-term optimist in these assets and continue to average in as the discounts get deeper. I plan to continue to deploy more funds over 2023. I have acquired more SaaS businesses along-side Saad. I have continued to write more micro-checks in a large number of startups. My plan with startups is similar to my understanding of concept of randomness i-e to write equal-sized micro-checks to a large number of companies spread over several years to capture the luck & randomness that the life offers.
I’m very close to my plan of achieving a financial state where my assets grow just enough to a) pay for my life b) and still not decrease in value after adjusting for inflation. I’m not there yet, but I see more and more signs that a self-sustainable flywheel can be a possibility.
While spending some time in Kazbegi, I learnt how to start a campfire just with an axe and a lighter which seemed really simple on YouTube but was a lot of work in real life especially in a freezing weather. As I was learning how to light a campfire, SBF was pulling the rug underneath me and others. FTX scammed customers out of $8 billion dollars and I lost some funds too which were held at the platform. Saad kept calling me to tell me how grave the situation was, but it was too late to do anything, so I enjoyed the fire instead.
My wife always wanted to spend a full winter holiday season in a country that celebrates it to the fullest. As orthodox Christians, Georgians really celebrate the season quite unlike anyone else. And she had the blast of her life doing that.
I end this year as well as this blog with gratefulness. For the opportunity to do more things. For the luck. For family. For friends.
It’s been over 4 years since I transitioned out of my digital marketing career and I’ve spent a lot of time asking myself why I’ve done the things I’ve done which included being less involved & less excited about a well paying well established business and letting it gradually slip away.
While I was doing it, I didn’t know exactly why I was doing it, I just knew it had to be done. After years of introspection, trying to collect my thoughts to understand myself better, I think I’ve a little bit idea of why I chose that path.
My business and everything I was building felt like a game to me. The income/profits were points and I loved seeing my scorecard grow. As I got good at the game, setting a newer high score became more accessible, and less exciting. So I probably ended up changing the difficulty mode to hard i-e a painful career switch leaving most my leverage behind and starting over again.
I think I’m excited to try to rebuild. I’m earning much smaller game-points but excited to see the scorecard go up again from 0. I think I will be very excited when I break my previous high score on this new difficulty level.
