Hi, I'm Slowmad.
I make a living betting on dots people don't realize are connected.
I work for myself and have zero employees.
My story
Safety, predictability and rule-following are the hallmarks of Singporean thinking. Growing up, everyone wanted to be a doctor, banker, or lawyer. It was generally frowned upon to live an unconventional life. I didn't fit in very well.
Being a soldier taught me:
- To appreciate the small things in life
- To live frugally
- To value freedom over comfort
- To appreciate geopolitics
- That the people in charge don't always know what they're doing
Spent 16 years in the education system and graduated from university with honours; It turned out to be less of an accomplishment than I thought. Looking back, I realize the main purpose of school is to inculcate compliance and obedience. Not saying it's a good or bad thing; It is what it is.
A steady paycheck was nice, but the 9-6 office routine did not agree with me. I wanted more out of life.
I'd been trading on the side for a few years at this point, and was doing well enough to pay the bills. With some savings in the bank, I decided to bite the bullet and quit my job to focus on trading.
Found an investment property that I thought was largely undervalued and a no-brainer. I initially wanted to get two units but a relative advised me to play it safe so I just went with one. In 3 years, the property doubled in value and I made 5x my money. The lesson I learned was to be aggressive when I have high conviction. It was a multi-decade opportunity and I didn't fully capitalize on it because I didn't trust my own judgement.
Since I could trade basically anywhere, I began traveling from place to place. First to the U.S., then around Europe, and finally back in Asia. I lived in China for a while, but then settled on shuttling between Taipei, Bali, and Chiang Mai. These are my favourite places to live in today.
I made my second big bet on precious metals but it didn't work out and I lost 35% of my investment.
Due to the worldwide Covid pandemic, I moved back to Singapore.
Today, I'm betting big on crypto, which will proabably take a few years to play out. To follow my investment journey, join my free newsletter.
Digital Slowmad is about...
1. Decentralized income: Refers to making money without needing anyone's approval (such as a boss, client or government). This generally means working for yourself, preferably online where the results of your work can be quickly and easily scaled.
2. Digital assets: The best investments are found in burgeoning industries. In the coming decade, I believe crypto will be a multi-trillion dollar asset class. By investing into the space today, I'm looking to generate a substantial return over the next 5 - 10 years.
3. Slow travel: When your income and investments can be fully managed online, you are free to travel and live overseas for as long as you want: San Francisco, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Shanghai, Tokyo, Bangkok. Finances permitting, there's no reason you can't spend a few months a year living in any city you like.
What I'm working on now
- Learning about the crypto industry
- Managing my crypto portfolio
- Posting on Twitter
- Writing the Digital Slowmad newsletter
- Putting up videos on YouTube
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Core philosophies
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