Title: how i live is how i invest. Thumbnail: my barbell strategyy

How I Live Is How I Invest: The Barbell of Life

Most people separate investing from life. But in reality, investing reflects our temperament, habits, and mindset.

How I invest is how I live. How I live is how I invest.

Both run on the same operating system — energy management, self-discipline, and emotional awareness. They constantly influence each other.

Eight years of investing have shaped my mindset and temperament. And the way I live — my habits, personality, and awareness — shapes how I invest.

In this video, I’ll share how I use value investing and the barbell strategy to achieve steady, meaningful growth — in the market, in personal development, in relationships, and in life itself.

The Two Strategies

The Buffett Side — Stability and Compounding

The Buffett approach to value investing forms the stable, long-term core of my portfolio. It’s built on patience, understanding, and discipline.

I invest only in businesses I truly understand — companies with moats, consistent cash flow, and trustworthy management. And I hold them through volatility, because I trust their ability to keep creating free cash flow over time.

This side runs on the quiet power of compounding — allowing time, quality, and fundamentals to do their work.

The goal isn’t excitement; it’s endurance. Returns come slowly but steadily, building a foundation strong enough to survive any market cycle.

The Taleb Side — Optionality and Asymmetry

The Taleb side is the black swan — the smaller, high-upside part of my portfolio. It’s built on curiosity, experimentation, and surprise.

I don’t go searching for black swans. I simply stay prepared — and act when one appears.

Because black swans can’t be predicted, only positioned for.

I take small, calculated positions in opportunities with limited downside, but potentially large upside — asymmetric bets.

These are trades or investments that won’t hurt me much if they fail, but could multiply if they succeed. It’s how I expose myself to positive black swans — unpredictable events that can dramatically accelerate growth.

This side doesn’t depend on prediction; it depends on positioning. I protect most of my capital on the Buffett side, so I can take bold shots on the Taleb side — without fear of ruin.

A Higher Integration — Dynamic Equilibrium

No single strategy is complete on its own.

The Buffett side keeps me grounded — it protects the compounding process.
“The first rule of compounding: Never interrupt it unnecessarily.”

But if you only follow Buffett’s path, you might miss rare, asymmetric opportunities.

The Taleb side keeps me alive — it keeps me open to change and innovation.
But if you only follow Taleb’s path, you might live in constant uncertainty
and break compounding all the time.

Together, they form dynamic equilibrium — a system that is antifragile:
strong enough to withstand shocks, yet flexible enough to benefit from them.

One side gives you stability.
The other gives you optionality.
Together, they create not just a portfolio, but a living philosophy —
a mind that can thrive in any environment.

In Investing

My portfolio mirrors this perfectly.

In Taleb’s barbell strategy, the safe side usually consists of extremely safe assets —
cash or short-term government bonds.
But my definition of safety is based on time horizon, not just risk.

Short Term — 5% growth, minimal downside

SHV and bonds: extremely safe, preserving liquidity and stability.

Mid Term — around 10% growth, limited downside

UNH,APPL,COSTCO: a defensive stock.
It may not be as stable as a bond, but its downside is limited and it offers solid upside.
It also provides optionality when markets turn.

Long Term — over 20% growth, short-term volatility but long-term safety

TSMC LLY NVIDIA: high-growth companies that fluctuate in the short term
but whose dominance makes them long-term safe.

Together, these positions form my safety side —
a foundation that compounds steadily across different time horizons.

On the optional side, I keep small, asymmetric plays —
opportunities that can bring large gains without risking my foundation.

Example: Reddit (RDDT)

As a value investor, I wouldn’t normally buy a hype stock —
but when I saw a unique setup, a short-term black swan, I acted.

While searching online, I noticed Reddit being recommended everywhere by Google.
At the same time, the stock had dropped from 220 to below 100.

So I knew it was a great chance, but it is growth stock, so i limited my position to 12% — and held it for four months.
The result: a 100% gain.

That’s my version of the barbell strategy:
a stable, compounding base combined with small, bold bets when opportunity appears —
and collecting the “coupon” when asymmetry disappears.

The return didn’t come from prediction — it came from system design and emotional discipline.

In Life

1. YouTube — Optionality through Creation

First, I built stability — a strong body, a solid financial base, and a peaceful, detached spirit. That foundation allows me to create without fear, urgency, or attachment to outcomes.

Then I treat YouTube as a compounding machine — just like my Buffett assets. It’s long-term, slow, and cumulative. Each video is a small iteration that refines my thinking, expands my awareness, and plants a seed for future growth.

And yet, it also holds optionality — one video could change everything. That’s why creating gives me energy — it’s both my growth engine and my playground.

2. Relationships — Emotional Optionality

Emotions used to be my weakest point because I suppressed them.
But stability through discipline and routine gave me the safety to take a bold step
when a black swan appeared in my life.

It was brief, intense, and unpredictable —
but the growth it gave me was asymmetric.

That experience became my training ground for emotional mastery.
I faced my deepest emotions and discovered that even in volatility,
I could stay aware, grounded, and creative.

Now emotions are my strongest asset — I treat them as pure energy and message.
My stability allows me to benefit from emotional black swans.

3. Language — Awakening New Dimensions

I used to be shy and unsure of myself.
But speaking English awakened a new part of me — confident, expressive, independent.
It felt as though another language activated a deeper layer of consciousness.

Now I’m learning Italian —
and perhaps it will awaken yet another part of me.

Each language feels like a key unlocking a new dimension of who I am.
Consciousness itself is the ultimate meta-learning tool.
It doesn’t just upgrade the operating system — it can recode it.

That, too, might become a positive black swan.

Compounding Steadily While Exposed to Optionality

My Buffett side is consistency.
My Taleb side is wonder.

In every area, one side gives steady growth; the other gives expansion.
Together, they make me antifragile.

Even nature follows the same barbell logic.

Evolution balances two forces: stability and experimentation.
DNA preserves what works — the stable foundation.
Random mutations test what might work — most fail, but a few create breakthroughs:
flight, vision, intelligence.

My life mirrors that same law of nature:
protect the core, experiment at the edges,
and let time, variation, and compounding do the rest.

End

How to invest is how to live. How to live is how to invest.

Both are about decision-making. The whole operating system is the same.

So I take every experience in life as training for my temperament in investing. and apply mental models like compounding, circle of competence, and the barbell strategy to my life.

They reinforce each other — creating a continuous feedback loop for evolution.

This is why I say: inner wealth creates outer wealth. Because you run your operating system.

Your thoughts, emotions, and energy determine how your system performs — how patient you are, how clearly you see, and how effectively you act.

When inner wealth compounds, outer wealth follows, slowly but steadily.

This barbell system isn’t for everyone. It fits me because I have both patience and curiosity — the stability to wait and the courage to explore. And I’ll keep refining it as I learn new lessons from the market and life — because wisdom, like compounding, never stops growing.

If you want better returns — in investing and in life — design a system that fits your own temperament.

Because when your system fits you, compounding becomes effortless — and life itself becomes your greatest investment.

in my next post, i will share the mindset to run this system: less is more.