What I Read This Week (3/2/25)
Wisdom from Cao Cao, A Glimpse at the Future of Robots at Home, Bullish on Market Correction, Buying Stocks, Making Friends Online, Reevaluating My Priorities
Every week, I like to share what caught my attention. This is from 2/23/25 to 3/2/25.
Timeless Ideaš”
Wisdom from Cao Cao
āA wise ruler does not reward on the basis of reputation, nor does he punish on the basis of slander.ā
Cao Cao (155-220 AD)
Iāve recently indulged in my childhood obsession with Chinaās Three Kingdoms period.
Cao Cao was a brilliant and ruthless warlord, strategist, and poet during Chinaās Three Kingdoms period. He is known for unifying northern China and laying the foundation for the Wei Dynasty. Although often portrayed as a villain, he was a master of warfare and political maneuvering, balancing brutal pragmatism with bursts of poetry and philosophy.
When I was younger, I didnāt like Cao Cao. I thought he was harsh and self-serving. Now that Iām older, I see why history played out the way it did and why he emerged victorious over the Shu and Wu Dynasties.
I recently discovered he was big on poetry and philosophy, so Iāve been diving into his writing.
I love this quote because Cao Cao suggests that a good leader values clear judgment over gossip or public perception. I believe this was foundational to his success. He constantly practiced thinking for himself and didnāt allow himself to be moved by others. This is how he created alliances with people who were once enemies and made decisions that others couldnāt even imagine. Independent thought is foundational to success and survival.
New Idea š
A Glimpse at the Future of Robots at Home
Figure, the robotics company, just introduced Helix AI, and itās wild. This system lets robots reason like humans, meaning they can pick up and handle all kinds of household items ā even if theyāve never seen them before. Thatās been a huge roadblock for robots in homes, and this is a big step toward solving it.
Helix's Vision-Language-Action model, detailed in Figure's technical report, combines perception, language, and control, allowing robots to execute tasks through natural language prompts, marking a first in multi-robot collaboration and full-upper-body control.
But hereās the part that blew my mind ā there are actually two models working together. One handles most of the thinking (the reasoning and decision-making), and the other handles the physical actions. Theyāre constantly communicating ā like, one model needed an apple, and the other handed over the whole fruit bowl for it to pick from. That back-and-forth collaboration? Super underrated breakthrough.
Dexterity still isnāt quite there yet for truly general-purpose robots (weāre not at ārobot butlerā level), but weāre getting closer. Maybe still a few years away ā but even thatās insane when you think about it.
You can read more about it here.
What I See In Markets š
Bullish on Market Correction
Iām seeing a lot of stocks crash left and right. There are a few reasons for this, but nothing I see as too severe.
Economic Slowdown: Weak data like slowing housing starts, declining home sales, and a contracting services PMI signaled a cooling economy.
Inflation Spike: Inflation expectations rose to 4.3% (from 3.3%), raising concerns about persistent price pressures.
Fed Policy Shift: FOMC minutes hinted at pausing rate cuts and continuing quantitative tightening, reducing expectations of monetary easing.
Tariff Impact: Trumpās post-inauguration tariff policies (e.g., on China, Mexico, Canada) sparked fears of trade disruptions and higher costs.
Volatility Triggers: A $2.7 trillion options expiration (from February 21) and shifting investor focus from tech to small/mid-cap stocks added pressure.
Overall, I see market corrections as a wonderful gift for a long-term investor like myself. Itās like all my favorite things are on sale.
Despite all the red, Iām still bullish because the bond market shows that we are not expecting any long-term inflation. This administration's austerity measures should help the country's long-term stability.
The 10-year Treasury yields rose to 4.6%-4.7% in early 2025, but the breakeven inflation rate (near 2.5%) suggests long-term inflation isnāt expected to surge. Currently, the 10-year treasury is near 4.2%.
Trumpās administration, via Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and a February 2025 House Budget proposal, aims to cut spending by $2.8 trillion over a decade alongside tax cuts, potentially stabilizing the country long-term if executed.
You can read more about this here: Reuters & Axios
Great Time to Buy (HNST & ELF)
This week, I made a few moves in my portfolio. Unsurprisingly, I added to myĀ VOOĀ position (because I always do). However, most of my contributions this month went towardĀ ELFĀ andĀ HNST.
I picked up more shares of Honest Company (HNST) even though their Q4 wasnāt as strong as I expected. Honestly, Iām not too worried. I still believe theyāll turn profitable by 2026, and right now, it feels like a lower-risk play compared to some of my other positions. To add to my conviction, their balance sheet is strong.
As for ELF, I couldnāt resist. Iāve wanted to buy into ELF at this price for a while. Growth is expected to slow, and they might face some headwinds if Trumpās tariffs return. But I believe in them long term. Short-term pain? Sure. But Iām here for the bigger picture. They also have a balance sheet that is strong enough to weather the storm, so Iām not worried.
Personal Update š
Making Friends Online
Taking my online presence seriously was one of the most beneficial decisions I made last year. This week, I enjoyed getting to know someone through the internet.
I love making internet friends! Iām so grateful that I live in a time where I can connect with people I would never meet in my day-to-day life.
This week, I met a teacher who has been teaching for the last twenty years, has two toddlers (like me), and has started a successful academy that nets him about 60% of his teacher salary. It was so cool to talk to someone who has created a successful academy, and I got to ask him questions to help me start my own.
Iāve wanted to start an academy, but a million little problems have consistently slowed me down. My new friend has helped me see things differently, and Iām super excited to get it going.
BrightStar Academy will be even better than I previously imagined, and itās all because I took the risk and put myself out there. Now, I can connect with others who can help me make my dreams a reality.
Reevaluating My Priorities
At the start of the year, I planned to expand my skincare company. Since then, however, Iāve been presented with a changing landscape that requires me to reevaluate my priorities. For the last few years, Iāve been planting different seeds, and in the last few months, many of those seeds have sprouted and require more attention and time.
Iāve struggled to prioritize which of these āplantsā to attend to. Iāve decided to save the skincare company for Q3 and focus on my education business until Q2. Many opportunities have come up (like booking a conference and learning key insights about starting academies), which have changed the landscape for me.
Getting to this conclusion was difficult and not obvious to me, but Iām grateful to have too many things to do.
Lesson learned: Iāve been so focused on planting seeds I didnāt stop to consider if I could water and nurture them if they sprouted. I need to have more faith in my ideas and be ready to capitalize on them when the time comes.