For years, I optimised my stack - better laptops, faster workflows, smarter prompts.

But I was still doing one thing the slow way.

Typing.

In 2026, that feels like dial-up in a fibre world.

Voice is more natural. Faster. Lower friction. And with today’s AI transcription accuracy, it’s finally reliable enough for serious work.

And my near-term goal is to build a native iOS app using nothing but my voice.

So I switched.

Here’s how I evaluated the two main tools - and why I chose one.

I installed a voice transcription app because speaking is simply faster than typing. With modern AI models, transcription accuracy is now good enough for real work - including dictating prompts into LLMs.

After researching the space, two names kept coming up: Superwhisper and WhisperFlow. Both offer free trials.

My criteria were simple:

• Lifetime pricing

• Install across multiple devices (MacBook, iPhone, Mac mini)

• High transcription accuracy

• Structured output and formatting after transcription

I downloaded the macOS app for Superwhisper first and ran the free trial.

The accuracy was strong. More than good enough for daily use.

Then I looked at pricing.

This was the real decider.

Superwhisper offers lifetime pricing.
WhisperFlow runs on a monthly subscription with no lifetime option.

Superwhisper 1. WhisperFlow 0.

If voice becomes my default input method - especially for AI workflows - I prefer set-and-forget tools. Buy once. Install everywhere. Move on with life.

I’m able to install Superwhisper on multiple devices on the lifetime option.

I did see Reddit threads claiming WhisperFlow has lower latency and better automatic formatting.

So I checked whether Superwhisper covered that.

It does:

• Default Mode - transcribes as-is

• Message Mode - removes filler words like “um” and “uh”

• Super Mode - lets you structure text with voice commands (“new line”, bullet points, etc.)

For my workflow, that’s enough.

Pricing mattered so much that I didn’t even download WhisperFlow.

When you realise you can think out loud instead of type - and it just works - it’s hard to go back.

Typing feels like friction.

Voice feels like leverage.

p.s. this blog post was initially started just by talking using SuperWhisper :)

The uncomfortable takeaway is this:

If intelligence is now cheap and abundant because of AI, what actually matters anymore?

That question hits differently when you’re a parent.

Because if we don’t know which jobs will exist in 10-15 years (we don’t), then what exactly are we preparing our kids for?

The Wrong Question

Most parents ask:

• What should my child study?

• Which skills are future-proof?

• Which jobs are safe from AI?

I think those are the wrong questions.

The better one is:

What kind of person thrives no matter how the world changes?

I keep coming back to one answer: agency.

Why I Keep Coming Back to Agency

Job titles decay.
Industries rotate.
Prestige expires.

But the ability to notice a problem, take responsibility for it, and move things forward without waiting to be told compounds in every environment.

That’s high agency.

If I had to pick a small set of traits to prioritise for our kids - traits that survive uncertainty - this would be at the top.

High Agency vs Low Agency Traits

This table is the entire post. It shows the difference between low-agency and high-agency traits:

Once you see it, you start noticing it everywhere - at work, in school systems, in relationships, and uncomfortably, in yourself.

What I’m Trying to Teach My Kids (Quietly)

You don’t teach agency with lectures or nagging.

You train it by:

• Letting kids struggle instead of rescuing

• Rewarding initiative, not just outcomes

• Asking “What do you think we should do?” instead of giving answers

• Letting inaction have consequences

It’s uncomfortable.
It’s slower.
It looks messy.

But it builds something more durable.

The Real Divide Going Forward

I don’t think the future splits into:

• STEM vs arts

• Technical vs non-technical

• White-collar vs blue-collar

I think it splits into: people who wait - and people who move.

High agency doesn’t guarantee success.
But low agency almost guarantees stagnation.

That’s why this matters.

I don’t know what jobs my kids will have.

But I’m making a quiet bet.

That in a world where intelligence is abundant and instructions are automated, the people who do well will be the ones who don’t wait to be told what to do.

So that’s what I’m looking to train - not loudly, not perfectly, but consistently.

Agency first. Everything else can be learned.

I’d still take the $10k. Every time.

Why? Because I’d rather spend my active energy chasing asymmetric upside - subscription software, cashflowing assets, anything that can scale beyond my time and effort.

Here’s the problem: a high-paying 9-5 job isn’t success. It’s modern day wage slavery dressed up as “career advancement”.

Whether you’re earning $20k or $50k a month, your lifestyle doesn’t change much. Maybe you upgrade your apartment, buy property, or splurge on a car. But now you’ve got a fatter mortgage and bigger bills to pay. Same hamster wheel - just running faster.

And here’s the kicker: the more you earn, the heavier the chain.

Climbing the corporate ladder means more responsibility, more stress, and often less time for health, family, or creative pursuits. I’ve been there. The higher you go, the more accountable you are for the company’s P&L. And the higher you rank, the bigger you are as a cost centre to the company. And when the economy turns? High earners are expensive to keep…and first to go.

What shocks me most is how many people who’ve “made it” in corporate life are still trapped.

That’s why the vehicle matters.

Someone quietly growing a SaaS product or a cashflowing asset is compounding month after month. Customers accumulate. Cashflow stacks. Meanwhile, many top corporate performers I know could be building their thing - but instead, they’re building for someone else.

Freedom doesn’t come from wages. It comes from ownership.

And no - starting a one-man consultancy isn’t the answer if it just means working longer hours for the same trap. That’s trading one cage for another.

That said, working a 9-5 can make sense - if it’s a means to an end. Your take-home pay is ammunition. Use it to buy assets that generate $10k/month in passive income, and you’re buying your future freedom. The danger is when the job becomes the plan instead of the stepping stone.

Yes, there are exceptions. RSUs, ESOPs, partnerships, CEO seats with equity. But they’re slow, political, and rare. RSUs only pay on a liquidity event (if it ever happens). Partnerships take a decade of billable-hour grind. And CEO seats? Usually drenched in office politics (yuck!).

You can play their game…

Or you can build something you own, where your upside isn’t capped by your salary.

I spent the early years of my career as an investment manager. Passed the CFA back when the Institute was still called AIMR (yep, that’s how long ago it was). Worked alongside some of the sharpest value fund managers in Australia. Studied all the legends, like Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, and Benjamin Graham.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth I’ve realised: even the best active managers don’t really know where the market’s going.

If you had relied solely on fundamental analysis over the past 15 years, you would’ve struggled to make sense of the market and drastically underperformed in a world flooded with printed money. I've come to realise traditional models are broken. Beyond fundamental analysis, you also need to account for:

• Market sentiment and narratives

• Capital rotation

• M2 money supply growth

• Geopolitics and new world order cycles

These are now major vectors to consider for any serious asset allocation strategy.

Why the Traditional 60/40 Portfolio Is Long Dead

The traditional 60/40 portfolio allocates:

• 60% to equities (for growth)

• 40% to bonds (for stability)

It was the go-to model for decades.

But post-2008 when we had the Great Financial Crisis and the US bailed out the banking system, this model is long outdated and completely irrelevant. When central banks print trillions, inflation rises. Higher inflation means higher interest rates. And higher rates crush bond values.

One of the fundamental tenets you learn in the CFA curriculum is the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM):

Expected Return = Rf + β(Rm − Rf)

Where:

• Rf = risk-free rate (typically government bonds)

• β = beta (volatility relative to the market)

• Rm = expected market return

• (Rm − Rf) = market risk premium

In other words, if you want more return you need to take more risk.

But here’s the catch: government bonds are no longer “risk-free”.

If you invested 40% of your portfolio in government bonds over the past few years, you might’ve collected a 3-5% yield, but your principal dropped by 20-30%. Whoops. There goes your "safe" return. Instead of being a “risk-free return”, bonds are more like “return-free risk”.

In other words: owning bonds today might be riskier than owning stocks.

The US Today (July 2025): Still Risk-Free?

Let’s look at the facts for the US today:

• Sovereign credit rating: AA+ (S&P), Aa1 (Moody’s) - no longer AAA

• National debt: $37+ trillion, while GDP is $30+ trillion/year

• Debt-to-GDP: ~120%

• Annual interest payments: >$1 trillion (more than 20% of federal revenues)

• Current account deficit: ~$800 billion/year

Now ask yourself: does this sound like a risk-free nation?

And that’s without even mentioning America’s eroding ability to project power, as China gains control over strategic resources like rare earths that are so critical for defense and technology.

US Treasuries are no longer risk-free. Bonds are no longer “safe.”

Ramit Sethi's Diversified Investment Portfolio: A Simpler Framework

I’ve always admired Ramit Sethi’s minimalist approach. He advocates:

• 90/10 allocation (stocks/bonds) for younger investors

• Slowly increasing bond exposure as you age (e.g., 55 = 69/31, 65 = 53/47)

• Instead of picking individual equity stocks, use 2-3 market ETFs instead (US, international, bond)

• Automating contributions and rebalancing once a year

It’s clean. It’s simple. There’s a certain elegance to just buying the S&P 500 index fund, paying very low expense ratios, earning around 9-11% annually, and casually outperforming most active fund managers after fees. Add in the Rule of 72, and with the magic of compounding, you’re doubling your money roughly every 7 years.

But even this clean, passive framework is starting to feel incomplete in today’s macro environment. At a market nominal growth rate of 9-11%, this simply matches the rate at which M2 global money supply is growing. You're not building any real incremental wealth, you’re just meeting the market beta benchmark.

Jeff Park’s Radical Portfolio

Enter: The Radical Portfolio Theory by Jeff Park.

Instead of 60/40 in stocks and bonds, Park proposes a new lens:

• 60% Compliance: Traditional, state-aligned assets like equities, real estate, and institutional holdings

• 40% Resistance: Decentralised or state-resistant assets - Bitcoin, physical gold, art in private custody, biotech IP, even Pokémon cards, sports betting, and prediction markets

This portfolio is designed for a world where fiat systems are increasingly unstable and centralised control is tightening. In Park’s words, resistance assets preserve optionality and independence.

I like the split between compliant and resistant capital. I like the inclusion of Bitcoin which provides significant alpha to any portfolio by being state-resistant.

But what I don’t love is the illiquidity of many “resistance” assets. Pokémon cards, fine art, or prediction markets often require niche domain expertise to value correctly. If you’re deeply engaged in these domains, then great. But if not, you’re competing without an edge.

Personally, I prefer assets that are liquid, transparent, and accessible - where you can enter and exit without friction, and don’t need to be an expert to avoid overpaying.

My Current 75/25 “Contrarian Portfolio”

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) was developed in the 1960s, well before the era of aggressive central bank money printing - which started in 2008 during the Global Financial Crisis. As such, in a world of rampant money printing, we need to redefine this formula and re-think the risk-free rate.

The risk-free rate is no longer the yield on a 10-year US Treasury. It’s the rate at which fiat currency is being debased - measured by M2 money supply growth.

Since 2008, that’s averaged 9-11% annually. As shown earlier, the S&P 500 has compounded at a similar rate over the last 15 years - so that would just match the rate of monetary debasement, let alone beating it. So this should be the minimum hurdle your portfolio should aim to beat, not just a US treasury yield.

So here’s my updated rule:

Your portfolio must beat the rate of monetary debasement.

And there’s only one asset that sits outside the fiat matrix - with a fixed supply, no dilution, and no central control:

Bitcoin.

Everything else, stocks, fixed income, real estate, etc sits on a fiat foundation that is melting at the rate of monetary debasement.

In a strange way, Bitcoin may now represent the true "risk-free rate" and minimum hurdle rate. It’s both growth and defence. Not because it’s without volatility, but because it’s the only asset that isn’t melting underneath you. It represents the risk-free rate, because it doesn’t sit on a fiat foundation that gets debased. And it also represents the highest alpha security, because fiat has no ceiling (unlimited demand) and Bitcoin has a fixed supply.

Here’s how I’ve constructed my own investment portfolio:

• 70-80%: Outside the Fiat Matrix (i.e. the “don’t touch” long term portfolio)

  • Hard monies (Bitcoin and gold)

• 20-30%: Inside the Fiat Matrix (i.e. the “itchy-finger” short term portfolio)

  • ETFs, stocks (thematic investing, swing trading and options trading)

• Any excess returns from the 30% get funnelled back into Bitcoin/gold or used to pay for large discretionary lifestyle expenses (e.g. travel, TVs, and house renovations)

My investment thesis today reflects a barbell approach between long-term conviction and short-term flexibility. 75% of my portfolio sits “outside the matrix” in assets like Bitcoin and gold that are resistant to state intervention, inflation, and monetary debasement. This is my “don’t touch” portfolio.

The remaining 25% is “inside the matrix” - a more active, liquid mix of ETFs, equities, and options. This is my “itchy-finger” portfolio, where I take calculated swing trades and hunt for alpha. Any excess returns from this portfolio either get funnelled back into Bitcoin/gold (which is always the main goal) or used to fund lifestyle upgrades - like travel, tech, or home improvements. This structure keeps me both grounded and agile.

Living on the Bitcoin Standard

Of course, these weightings can be tweaked up or down depending on your tolerance for risk. One could live on the Bitcoin Standard and keep 100% of their net worth denominated in Bitcoin. Their incomes are converted to Bitcoin and they can borrow a loan against their Bitcoin to cover daily living expenses without selling their Bitcoin.

For me personally, I only keep an “itchy-finger” portfolio because it’s fun to swing trade for short term profits (I know myself) and it’s a fun challenge to accelerate returns to ultimately grow my Bitcoin stack.

Why I like this portfolio theory:

• It has the passive elegance and simplicity of Ramit’s portfolio, but rather than dollar cost averaging (DCA-ing) into ETFs, you DCA into Bitcoin instead

• It has the non-fiat resistance inclusion from the Radical Portfolio Theory, but with the resistance assets of Bitcoin and gold being liquid

• To the “layperson”, it’s probably unpopular, and very contrarian - which ironically gives me more comfort

What about yield?

If you’re looking for income in your portfolio, here’s what I’d avoid:

• US 1-year Treasuries: ~4% nominal yield → negative real returns after inflation and monetary debasement

• Singapore savings bonds or high-interest rate savings accounts: ~2.3% nominal → again, negative real returns after inflation and monetary debasement

What about dividend stocks?

It depends. Yes, you can find 5-6% yields in banks and REITs, but that yield alone won’t protect you from inflation nor monetary debasement. More importantly, dividend stocks aren’t true income securities, the underlying equity value can go up or down, and your “income” can vanish overnight if the business falters. You’ll need to be selective e.g. like looking for signs of dividend per share (DPS) growth, etc. This requires extra work if you have the bandwidth.

And even then, structural headwinds loom:

• Banks may be at risk in a new world of stablecoins and decentralised finance

• REITs could suffer if AI and remote work lead to a permanent reduction in white-collar office demand

That said, I’d make an exception for quasi-government entities like DBS. In major market dips, you could potentially lock in a 7%+ yield, and if you hold long enough and reinvest your dividends, the equity appreciation + dividends might net you a 20%+ CAGR over time. Yum yum.

A Note on Real Estate

I haven’t included real estate in this portfolio because it’s highly country-specific.

For example, Singapore’s housing system subsidises mortgages for first-time local buyers - making it a savvy buy in most cases. But in general, I’ve typically preferred a “rent-vesting” approach, where you:

• Rent the place you live in (typically pay a 2–3% rental yield)

• Invest in rental properties with higher yields (4–5% depending on leverage)

• Refinance those investment properties once they appreciate, and extract equity to redeploy into higher-returning assets

That said, I don’t fault anyone for buying their own home. It’s often more of a lifestyle decision than a financial one. During disruptive times like Covid-19, having a stable place to return to and being with people you love, can be invaluable. And the freedom to live on your own terms without being at the mercy of landlords and worrying about rent hikes or sudden lease changes - you simply can’t put a price on that.

“Work your ass off to get very good at something that you care deeply about, or are obsessed with, that allows you to serve not only yourself but other people.”

I’m not sure who said it (Tim Ferriss?), but when I heard it I immediately thought: wow, this is a brilliant life manifesto!

The problem with “find your passion”

“Find your passion.” “Find your calling.” It’s way too much pressure. Like there’s one perfect magical job out there waiting for you, and if you don’t find it by 30, you’ve failed at life.

But the truth is, most people stumble into it. Obsession doesn’t usually arrive with fireworks. It creeps in. It finds you.

You try stuff. You get curious. You get better. You just show up everyday. Then one day you realise: Hey, I actually care about this. And people seem to care that I care. That’s the spark.

Start with ikigai

I’d also show my kids ikigai - the Japanese concept of purpose at the intersection of:

• What you love

• What you’re good at

• What the world needs

• What you can get paid for

You don’t need all four right away. Start with one and build from there. The more dots you connect, the better - and it’s way less pressure.

Don’t know what you’re good at? Ben Kuhn (CTO at Anthropic) once said: “What does it seem like everyone else is mysteriously bad at?”, which I translate that to:

What does everyone else suck at, but you don’t?

J.K. Rowling wrote wizard stories on napkins during train rides while she was broke. She just couldn’t not write it.

Oprah got demoted for being “too emotional” on TV as a journalist. That flaw became her superpower when she shifted to daytime talk shows.

Howard Schultz was a marketing guy who visited Italy, fell in love with espresso culture, and convinced Starbucks to pivot from selling beans to serving coffee. Passion came after exposure.

So yeah, find your thing. Doesn’t have to be flashy. Could be baking bread, building software, teaching, lifting heavy things for fun, or making people laugh.

Whatever it is - go deep. Get excellent. Share it. Serve people.

That’s how you discover your place in the world without losing your soul in the process.

And dear child, if none of this makes sense to you yet, that’s fine. You’re still early in the game.

One day, when you’re older and drinking your third coffee while questioning everything, maybe this will come back to you.

No matter how clean I eat or how often I train, if I don’t sleep well, I would literally feel like sh*t the next day.

But when I do sleep well? I’d wake up feeling unstoppable - like Bradley Cooper in Limitless. Honestly, it’s the closest thing I’ve found to a legal performance-enhancing drug.

I used to think health was just nutrition + exercise.
But sleep is the foundation. The key to longevity. Everything else builds on it.

Now, it’s the #1 thing I optimise - for myself and my family.
And the goal is simple:

Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

What Helped Me Sleep Better

I’ve tested a lot of things to improve both the quantity and quality of my sleep. These are the ones that genuinely made a difference:

Sunrise

• Get morning sunlight within 30-60mins of waking

• Regular exercise

• Taking magnesium glycinate daily

• No alcohol

• No coffee at least 8 hours before bed (for me, this means no coffee after 2pm. Caffeine has a half-life of about 8-10 hours for most adults. This means it typically takes 8-10 hours for your body to completely clear caffeine from your system.)

Sunset

• The 3-2-1 Rule:

  • No food 3 hours before bed. This is to lower your resting heart rate before bed. As Bryan Johnson puts it: “The single strongest predictor of sleep quality is how low your resting heart rate is before bed.” As a family, we aim to have dinner at 6pm.

  • No drinks 2 hours before bed (so you’re not waking up to pee).

  • No screens 1 hour before bed (This one’s the hardest. If I’m working or reading something intense, my brain gets too fired up. But something light, like a comedy, is usually fine.)

• Avoid bright artificial lights after sunset (go full vampire mode after 8pm, dim lights or red bulbs work great)

• Hot bath, shower or sauna in the evening

• Cold room temperature (18-19°C is my sweet spot)

• A completely pitch-dark room

• Use a weighted blanket (I have a separate blanket to my wife so she doesn’t accuse me of stealing her side of the blanket 😂)

Underrated Sleep Hacks No One Talks About

These might sound unusual, but they’ve helped me personally:

• Applying lymphatic drainage oil on my face and neck - especially around lymph nodes. One of the deepest sleeps I’ve had came right after I started using this.

• Rubbing magnesium gel on the soles of my feet before bed.

• Sprinkling Epsom salts in a warm bath - simple and surprisingly effective.

• Having calm music ready to go - if the kids are fighting or have a melt down before their 8:30PM bedtime, I’d put on some calm music to help de-escalate the chaos (this is my go-to). Otherwise, their resting heart rate spikes, and so does mine :)

👉 A Quick Note

I don’t use any fancy biohacking gear - no Eight Sleep bed, no red light panels, no mouth tape, no HEPA filters. I haven’t even tried a sleep mask.

Just a regular king-sized bed, an Apple Watch to track my sleep, and a few low-tech, old-school habits that work surprisingly well.

I might experiment with the other stuff down the line. But for now, I’m keeping it simple.

My Top 4 Sleep Protocol (80/20 Formula)

If I had to strip it down to the minimum effective dose, these are my top 4 daily non-negotiables that almost always guarantee a good night’s sleep:

1. Get in bed by 10:30 PM
   I wake at 7:00 AM. Count back 8 hours for sleep + 30 mins to wind down = in bed by 10:30. 9 times out of 10, that’s enough to hit my 7.5-hour target. Figure out your own “get-in-bed” time.

2. No food 3-4 hours before bed
   The longer the gap, the better. It helps digestion settle and keeps my resting heart rate low.

3. Keep the room cold
   18-19°C works best for me. Servicing the A/C regularly helped more of a difference than I expected.

4. Take magnesium daily
   This is the one supplement I’ve consistently felt a difference from, especially in calming my nervous system.

Fix your sleep and you fix everything.

I’m always testing and tweaking my sleep protocol.
Curious, what’s worked for you?

do i have time to write? probably not…but let’s see