Notes to Thyself

Aim away from your failure, you will succeed.

Aim away from your failure you will succeed.

There are different ways to start a startup. One way is to start with what you want to do. What interests you. What you know how to do. What you have the skills and competency for, or what you are willing to learn and develop. The other way is to start with what people are willing to pay for. Find a problem. Find a product people need. Build something people are willing to buy. It is a trade-off. If I start with what I want to do, at least I know I will enjoy being in the company. I have some skills for it. I understand the problem better. I can learn along the way. It may be easier for me to operate because it is something I care about. But the problem is that what I want to do may not necessarily be something people want to pay for. It may not become a good business. If I start with what people are willing to pay for, the business may have a better chance of making money. But it may not be the company I want to spend my life working on. So there is always a trade-off between building what I want and building what the market wants. I most likely will choose the first one. Not because making money is not important. It is important. A business needs to survive. But I also have to live with the company I build. I have to spend years of my life with it. So I would rather build something I understand, something I care about, something I have the ability to become good at, and then find a way to make it useful enough that people are willing to pay for it. Maybe the real challenge is not choosing between what I want and what people want. Maybe it is finding the place where the two meet.

Less programs, more companies. Less pitching, more customers. Less government money, more private capital. Less local thinking, more regional ambition.

Ask yourself: do you perceive reality as it truly is, or do you perceive it merely as your own imagination? Do you live within the delusion of the spotlight, believing you possess the capacity to perform actions superior to others? Do you think the person who drives faster than you is careless and the one who is slower than you is an idiot? Watch the delusion you feed to yourself.

Music is food for the soul. Sing, dance, play. Don't be too serious.

Plants being green is somewhat accidental, but having life is essential.

A weak, undisciplined mind merely stumbles. But a strong, unbridled mind actively forges its own ruin; power without a ruler is just a sharper blade to cut yourself with. Stand as a vigilant sentry. Watch the birth of every impression and the architecture of your thoughts. If you do not rule your mind, it will rule you.

If you are going to overthink, then overthink the positives. Overthink the best outcomes. Overthink how good and peaceful life could be. Overthink how incredible it feels when things slowly and quietly work out. Overthink how you are going to achieve every single one of your goals. Overthink how the whole world is cheering you on. Now, breathe out the noise and let your hands do the building.

Look at your feet. You have walked this earth for nearly half a century, carrying the weight of years, duties, and ambitions. Yet only now do you realize your feet are a size 43, while you have been forcing them into a 42 all this time. You bound yourself to a tight fit and called it reality. If you could misjudge the very foundation that holds you up, what else have you misunderstood? Consider what other illusions you are wearing out of sheer habit or stubbornness. Examine what assumptions you have long outgrown but still refuse to change. Reflect on what false constraints you have needlessly placed on your mind, your work, or your judgments. If the shoe does not fit, it is not the fault of the foot. Correct the measure, acknowledge the error without regret, and walk forward in truth.

Money signals competence; beauty signals health. Women are attracted to competent men; men are attracted to healthy women.

មនុស្សជោគជ័យក្នុងសង្គមមានតិចតួចណាស់ ព្រោះជ័យជំនះជារឿងកម្រ។ ប៉ុន្តែអ្វីដែលកម្រជាងនេះទៅទៀត គឺមនុស្សដែលអាចស៊ូទ្រាំនឹងការបរាជ័យជាច្រើនលើកច្រើនសារ ហើយនៅតែបន្តតស៊ូ និងជឿជាក់លើគោលដៅរបស់ខ្លួន។ ព្រោះនៅទីបំផុត ជ័យជំនះមិនមែនជារបស់អ្នកដែលមានទេពកោសល្យបំផុតនោះទេ ប៉ុន្តែជារបស់អ្នកដែលមិនបោះបង់។

មនុស្សជោគជ័យក្នុងសង្គមមានតិចតួចណាស់។ ជ័យជំនះក្នុងជីវិតរបស់មនុស្សម្នាក់ៗគឺជារឿងកម្រ ប៉ុន្តែអ្វីដែលកម្រជាងនេះទៅទៀត គឺមនុស្សដែលអាចស៊ូទ្រាំនឹងការបរាជ័យជាច្រើនលើកច្រើនសារ ហើយនៅតែបន្តតស៊ូ និងជឿជាក់លើគោលដៅរបស់ខ្លួន។ ព្រោះនៅទីបំផុត ជ័យជំនះមិនមែនជារបស់អ្នកដែលមានទេពកោសល្យបំផុតនោះទេ ប៉ុន្តែជារបស់អ្នកដែលមិនចេះលះបង់។

How often today did I change my mind on a thing that did not matter? Which tea. Which road. Whether to send the message now or wait. Where to park before the journey has even begun. How to park a car I have not yet entered. What to eat, where to eat — even when my stomach is full. Back and forth, the mind gnawing on nothing — and calling it deliberation. I am not thinking. I am just restless and pretending I'm thinking. Observe it. The moment I begin to weigh two equally empty options, I am no longer deciding — I am burning time I cannot get back. The hours do not return. The discipline: when the choice is between two things that change nothing, pick the first one and move on. Kill the contradiction before it breathes. Not because the decision matters — but because choosing is what trains the mind to own itself. A mind that cannot rule itself in small things will not rule itself in large ones.

On walking the wrong side of the road. The wrong side shows you what approaches. The right side hides it until it is upon you. A man who cannot see what comes cannot prepare. And a man unprepared is a man undone. Walk where the danger is visible. Prefer the face of the threat to the back of ignorance. What you see, you navigate. What you do not see, masters you.

Angkor Wat was not built by one people. The engineering, the vision, the scale — that required thousands of hands from across empires. Prisoners of war, skilled laborers, architects from different lands. The stone doesn't care who laid it. The French drew the borders a hundred years ago. Without that line, this land could've been Vietnam or Thailand. But Angkor sits in Cambodia. That's where it is. Claiming it was built solely by Khmer hands is a stretch. But claiming it as Khmer heritage isn't. It stands on Khmer soil. It's been Khmer for centuries. That matters. What makes Angkor remarkable isn't who built it. It's that it still stands. Empires rise, borders shift, languages disappear. The temple remains. A flower blooms today. Who tended the soil before us? Who will tend it a thousand years from now? The river doesn't remember the stone that shaped its bank. But the bank is still there.

Operational brain extension active. Systems online. Nimmit.

Start today!

It is a simple truth: to walk in the light is better than to dwell in the dark. To be at peace is superior to being troubled. Yet, consider the nature of things: the universe assigns no purpose to your joy, nor does it demand your sorrow. To be happy or unhappy is ultimately indifferent to the cosmos. But you possess the power of judgment. Since you know the difference between what is pleasant and what is harsh, why would you choose to linger in misery? Do not think that you can force your soul to rejoice in an instant—that is impossible. But it is entirely within your power to recognize that feeling unfulfilled is not a sweet thing to taste. Look at your unhappiness and see that it serves no end. Therefore, strip away the illusion. If there is no point to your suffering, lay the burden down. And even if you believe you have a just cause to be unhappy, you should still refuse to be. What good does it do you? The aim is not to chase a fleeting feeling, but to cultivate a life where the good outweighs the bad. Remember: sometimes events are beyond your control, but your will is your own. When the choice is yours, choose happiness. Since the final outcome is the same either way, you might as well walk the path that brings you peace.