On Reddit, a question once appeared: “What to do with your days once you’ve achieved FIRE (financial independence and early retirement)?” The person who asked it was nearing their goal, but a worry nagged at them: what if they ended up dying of boredom? The answers quickly poured in. Many mentioned their passions, personal projects, or activities they’d never had time to explore. Others talked about community involvement, volunteering, or doing good. And then, there was one particularly interesting response. Its author mentioned Benjamin Franklin. After making his fortune through his printing business and retiring from it in his forties, Franklin could have comfortably enjoyed his wealth. Instead, he devoted…

Nearly 1,800 years ago, China was torn apart into three kingdoms. A Taiwanese philosopher, Ceng Shi Qiang, re-read this epic (condensed in the novel The Epic of the Three Kingdoms (Amazon link), one of the four Chinese classics) with a lens from the I Ching, the Book of Changes and management. The whole book can be read as a manual for corporate strategy, with one caveat: it never talks about business. It talks about kingdoms, generals, and oaths, but the mechanisms it describes are exactly those that make or break an organization. His premise can be summed up in one sentence: beneath the turbulent surface of battles and alliances, an…

Over two thousand years ago, in the ancient pages of the I Ching, a universal truth was written. Three sentences to understand human history: “Where a servant kills his master, where a son kills his father, the causes are not found between the morning and the evening of a single day. If things have gone so far, it’s because it was prepared very gradually. This came from not stopping early enough what should have been stopped.” (page 439 of the yellow edition Amazon link, Fnac link). Nothing great is born suddenly. Disasters, betrayals, economic crises, the fall of empires—everything begins with microscopic neglects we choose not to see. The Law of…

Recently, I attended an online philosophy class led by a Vietnamese philosopher. At the end of each session, students can submit their questions. Some have been following him for years, and he knows them well. One of them speaks up to describe his situation: he considers himself competent. Too much, even. To the point where his less capable colleagues are putting obstacles in his way, sabotaging his projects, and pinning their own mistakes on him. The philosopher’s answer surprises everyone: your energy level isn’t high enough. Firstly, you’re not rising sufficiently above your colleagues to escape their jealousy. Secondly, you’re not radiating enough positive energy to attract well-being into your…

I recently rewatched the BBC series BBC North & South and one scene struck me so much that it inspired this article. It doesn’t exist in the novel, yet it deserves our attention, because it perfectly illustrates why opportunities slip away from us. Reason #1: Because We Think We Know What Others Have to Tell Us In the series, Mr. Bell has been tasked by Miss Hale to convey crucial information to Mr. Thornton. The latter is hopelessly in love with her but convinced she has a suitor. Mr. Bell is to reveal that this “suitor” (glimpsed in Miss Hale’s company) is none other than her brother, whose existence is…

Before leaving for Tahiti, I had lunch with two friends who are working toward financial independence (FIRE), and we talked at length about the FIRE strategies of those we know, near or far, and their own. Real estate, the French’s favorite strategy Most bet on real estate to generate passive income. The classic pattern: buy old apartments that need major renovations, not too far from universities, renovate them while controlling costs, then rent them out as shared accommodation to target a yield of at least 4%. Others prefer tourist areas; a not-too-expensive apartment 30 minutes from the sights, and voila, onto Airbnb. The French love of real estate comes down…

Once again, I offer you a concise translation of a Vietnamese text I found truly fascinating: Two forces can genuinely transform a human being’s destiny: gratitude and repentance. You can amass years of spiritual practice, explore countless teachings, but at the core, it all comes down to these two pillars. True gratitude isn’t limited to when life smiles upon us. It reaches its deepest fullness precisely where it’s hardest: in the heart of adversity, when everything seems to run against our desires. It’s in those moments that the soul truly forges itself, that consciousness expands, that the most lasting merit is built. Being grateful in prosperity, anyone can do that.…