I had been disturbed by the writing of Thomas Paine. He said that “government like dress is the badge of lost innocence”. Although (for sure) I do not ‘own’ or otherwise possess a government, I have something similar to it… And that is my long-ignored entity, AC.
This is not the first time I questioned the necessity of establishing a commercial entity to carry out investment activities. I increasingly felt that I may have enough capacity to conduct such activities under my own name. There will not be any complications, excessive taxes, or redtapes. Anyway, my aim is not to get rich or to become the richest person in the world. Contradictory, for doing investment with a disregard of wealth?
I view investment as an activity which will help me to attain greater level of spiritual conscience and to see the world in a different (or rather, ‘normal’?) way. The dictum (from my favorite book…) already condemned the existence of greed in the undertaking of investment activities. Mutual benefit is going to fill the absence of greed. I am numbed by the saying as ‘how to make a million’ or ‘think like a billionaire’. Express it in a more extreme way, I would shun away from people who are ‘merely’ touched the topic and are in favor of it. The action is harsh, but is well justified. It is highly unlikely that I will obtain any positive utility by befriending people with such impractical and self-conflicting thinking.
Let me get back to the topic. People are always in opposition (thus far) on my proposal of entering the field of investment even though I have proved myself to be able to survive the 1999-2002 bear market and have profited from it. For that I may get a little commendation, maybe. But deep in their heart, they are still against it. The fact can be evidenced from their way of thinking and talking to me. I hope not to elaborate this further…
In view of the environment which I grew in it is therefore natural for me to invest in obscurity. The establishment of AC was somehow more relax and open, as it initially did not engage in investment activities (it was originally a codename for a system of technological classification systems). The need to deal with realities of human civilization prompted AC to evolve from a research-based entity to an investment-based entity. Throughout the years, AC and I had wade through numerous ‘wars’ and confrontations, among them:
- The struggle for self-exploration (1996-2001)*
- The establishment of a reference library (1997-present)*
- The procurement of a personal computer (1998-2000)
- The purchase of a bicycle (2001-2002)*
- The division of opinions over my tertiary education (2002-2005)
- The division of ideology (2003-2006)
- What’s next?
*Under ZP, predecessor to AC
You may think that these are relatively minor matters. The problem is, when you engage in the confrontation all-out, it may be serious. Some may lead to disastrous consequences. The division of ideology, in particular, has far-reaching effects. It is not easy to confront someone elder, more so if he is in the top-1000 richest people list. But I made it through. The consequences? A little boy, with barely 10 bucks in the bank account, has grown to one that was capable of sustaining himself with just interest payment from the bank alone. (Investment in gold can make some more.) In the end, it was reconcillation, with greater understanding among ourselves. (That happened not too long ago, and it really took great effort on both parties.) The event altered the perspective of life of all the parties. To sum it up, another important lesson in life.
How the accumulation of wealth was realized? One simple word: Discipline. The constitution of AC was drafted and strictly enforced, to the point of self-privation. The fund was streamed into ‘cash’ and ‘investment’ category, which, lucky enough, I used to buy gold at RM33 a gram in 2002, and sell it at RM71 three years later. The average rate of price appreciation is 29.1 percent per annum, as opposed to 12.4 percent per annum realized by S&P500 over the same period. Meanwhile, the situation changed, from nearly insolvent to cash flush. This was done without I having to work for pay. Every time I think of this, I swell with pride.
It is natural that, after all these years, I have some emotional attachment towards AC. To let it go is difficult, if not impossible. But more difficult things had happened: to witness the liquidation of my favorite company, to confront with someone I admired dearly, and to let a blind eye towards the issue I am passionate to participate.
Emotional attachments aside, I need to be practical. An excessive insistence on formality, continuity, or ‘face’, becomes stubborness. It will inhibit progress. Instead of letting go the entity, I think it is better to, say, shelve it. Allow me a period of cool-down.
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