Ronald Read (1921–2014)  gained fame for his extraordinary frugality. He worked in low-income jobs such as a gas station attendant and janitor in Vermont for decades, with his modest lifestyle, including:

• Driving a second-hand Toyota Yaris.
• Using safety pins to repair his old khaki coat.
• Cutting his own firewood well into his 90s.

However, what surprised everyone was the $8 million in assets he left behind when he passed away at the age of 92. The money he had saved and invested in the stock market had compounded to significant amounts over the years! 

Ronald Read is now quoted as a compelling example of how delayed gratification and frugality can transform a modest income into a significant opportunity. We don't have to live the same life as Ronald Read, but being frugal with saving and investing can help everyone build wealth to buy freedom-the freedom to do what you really want to do.

​As the new year begins, it’s a great time to reset.  As there are numerous exciting activities lined up in the plan, let’sprioritize our financial well-being and start to be frugal. Frugality is a valuable virtue that can help us live within our means and achive financial freedom. ​

It's another year starting. We will do something new or different. The following are some ideas on how we can spend our teatime to explore, experience, and experiment. 

1. ​Get to Know as City: choose a city to learn more about and visit it to connect with it or become a part of it. It could be the city you live in or have lived in the past. Perhaps, list all the city you have been with and find your favorite to learn more about yourself. What you like, don't like and treasure the most. 
2. Give Yourself a Zen Moment: treasure the opportunity to explore, make people around you feel helpful by you, give love to your loved ones, and be brave to face the challenges. 
3. Buy One Item: avoid overspending nor buy to show off. Instead, buy one item that truly improves your life. We find the portable water-pit for oral hygiene, lazy-Susan, or super Susan, or cabinet organizing are one of those. 
   
4. Visit to a New Restaurant: Food is crucial for our health and happiness, and science shows that we have more dopamine while eating. Pay attention to the savory flavors in every bite and find a restaurant and let a professional chef amaze us. 
5. Learn a New AI technology
6. Help One Person
7. Join a New Group for Hobby
8. Get to Know a Person
9. Learn a New Skill
10. Personality Check: Simply find one personality and try to find out if you already have it or learn to have it.
11. Forgive: It can be anything that bothers you or about anyone who has hurt you in the past. Forgiveness is truly for ourselves. Let go; it allows us to embrace the good things and the future.
12. ​Love yourself: find one thing that you'd like about yourself, think about why and how it benefits your life. 

Life is a perfect opportunity to enjoy every moment. List yours and share with others. We are looking forward to your company. 

​If Korean cuisine is on your bucket list, New York City has plenty of options to satisfy your cravings. Whether you’re looking for a sit-down restaurant or a quick bite, you’ll find it here. Bom is a Michelin-starred Korean restaurant nestled within another Michelin-starred establishment called Oiji Mi. Bom (봄) in Koreas has the meaning of spring with meaning of hope and renewal. ​
​
​Bōm
Address:17 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011
Web: bom-nyc.com (cost ~$270 per person)

Bom has unique setup resembles a kitchen table, with guests seated around a U-shaped table that encircles the chef’s cooking area. This arrangement allows diners to closely observe the chef’s culinary artistry as they prepare the dishes. Additionally, a Korean BBQ grill sits on the table, showcasing the restaurant’s main attraction—the sizzling and aromatic preparation of Korean BBQ. ​

The dishes are rich in flavor, thanks to the use of caviar, Wagyu, and truffle. These ingredients are then blended with Korean-style cooking techniques, incorporating the Trinity of Jangs: clay pots (Onggi), fermented pastes like Gochujang (chili paste), Doenjang (soybean paste), or Ganjang (soy sauce). This combination creates a deep “umami” that fresh ingredients alone cannot replicate. Of course, Kimchi, the quintessential Korean side dish, is also present, serving as a powerhouse of flavor.

For a unique culinary experience at home, consider purchasing A5 Wagyu from Costco or Sam’s Club. Grill the Wagyu and serve it with rice and soybean paste and caviar. You can also visit your local Korean restaurants and try out the iconic dishes such as Kimchi, Tofu stew, grilled meats, and the delectable bibimbap rice bowl. 

Recently, I came across a story that stayed with me long after I finished reading it. It was about a tiger that had been confined to a twenty square feet of space since it was a cub. When the day finally came for the tiger to the wild, something heartbreaking happened. Despite having the vast, open wilderness at its feet, the tiger refused to roam. It stayed within the exact same twenty-foot perimeter it had grown up in. Even with the bars removed, the tiger was still a prisoner. It wasn't restricted by steel anymore—it was restricted by its own history.

This reminded me of a famous (and controversial) psychological study on Learned Helplessness. In the experiment, dogs were administered mild electric shocks. Initially, they tried everything to escape the discomfort. But when every attempt failed, they eventually stopped trying altogether. They succumbed to a state of total despair.
The most chilling part? When the researchers finally provided a clear path to escape, the dogs didn’t take it. They simply stayed and endured the shocks. They had been conditioned to believe that their efforts were futile, so they stopped looking for the door.

These stories are more than just observations on animal behavior. They are mirrors held up to the human experience. It makes me wonder: How many of us are living within our own "twenty square feet"? We often carry unconscious barriers that dictate where we can go and what we can achieve. These boundaries are usually built from:

• Past Failures: The "shocks" we felt when a project failed or a relationship ended.
• Early Conditioning: The small spaces we were told we had to stay in as children.
• Fear of the Unknown: The comfort of a familiar cage versus the terrifying freedom of the wild.

The hardest part about an invisible cage is that you can’t see the bars you need to break. We stay small not because we lack opportunity, but because we’ve lost the belief that moving forward will actually change anything. But here is the truth: The door is open. The wilderness is waiting. The shocks of the past do not have to be the reality of your future. The first step toward freedom isn't running—it's simply realizing that the bars are no longer there.

For professionals and life learners,  a diverse social circle introduces "weak ties" that provide fresh perspectives, career opportunities, and the collaborative energy needed to prevent burnout. Every people you know is a window into a new skill, a different culture, or a unique way of thinking that keeps our minds young. 

For retirees, strong social bonds are the ultimate "longevity pill." Staying connected reduces isolation, sharpens cognitive health, and provides a sense of purpose through shared experiences.

Let's take sometime to build a Dunbar audit - A simple exercise to build your social wealth wisely. This simple exercise can help you evaluate your current network and discover what you treasure most in life: 

• The List: Write down everyone you interact with regularly.
• The Tags: Identify those you genuinely cherish and tag them with #Close Friend, #Friend, #Acquaintance, and #Social Circle. 
• The Quality Check: Look at your Dunbar-Circle and ask:
  • Is this relationship supportive or demeaning?
  • Do we challenge each other to grow, or do we simply stagnate?
  • Is it time to let go of unhealthy connections to make room for new ones?

Identifying Your "Close Friend" to find the heartbeat of your social life, ask yourself: Who would sit in the front row at my funeral to honor my journey? These are the people who offer the highest ROI (Return on Investment) for your heart. Tag these individuals with #Close Friend. Typically, only 5 to 15 people can fit into this inner sanctum of deep trust and intimacy. 

• The Action Plan: Nurturing Your Social Wealth by sending email or messages, setup lunch meetings or tea chat. Send gift and greeting during holidays or special days that are meaningful for the relations.

​Relationships are not static; they are living assets that require investments. The following are some additional ideas to build strong bondings: 

• Share your stories: Vulnerability builds the strongest bridges.
• Small Gestures: A quick greeting or a thoughtful text keeps the "knowledge cycle" moving.
• Shared Experiences: Arrange a lunch, a movie night, or a weekend trip.

True wealth isn't just about what you have in the bank; it’s about the quality of the people you walk through life with. By building your circle wisely, you ensure a life that is not only productive but deeply happy.

Related Post: chatmanaging-the-dunbar-circle.html

Our lives are insanely short and limited. To achieve our goals and live the life we want, we need a life system that aids us in maintaining focus, preventing time waste, and staying on the mission that truly matters. Today, we will explore how to build a system through the systematic formation of habits. 

Habits are the building blocks of the life system because they are the most efficient and scalable way to accomplish tasks. When actions become habits, we enter autopilot mode, where our subconscious takes over, allowing us to accomplish tasks with minimal effort. However, establishing a set of good habits is extremely difficult, so many people give up at the early stages.

There are numerous discussions on how to overcome this challenging situation, including starting small, prioritizing your own goals, maintaining discipline, and utilizing tracking systems. In essence, success hinges on these fundamental practices: 

• Make it simple. A habit should be easy to start. You might already heard about the concept of atomic habits, which proposes starting from small changes. We also suggest limiting  to no more than five habit changes at the same time. 
• Bundle actions to accelerate the adoption of new habits. For instance, you could integrate multiple good habits into a morning walk. This could include exercising, listening to an audiobook, and enjoying the sun for vitamin D. With this, we can accomplish multiple goals with a single change.
• Effective habit tracking is crucial for establishing a routine. A well-designed tracking system should not only demonstrate progress but also identify pivotal moments and provide motivation.

Once a habit becomes part of your daily rhythm, you no longer need strict tracking — it simply becomes who you are.​