My Mental Map: Extremes, Long-Term Vision, and Inner Strength

Finding Certainty in Extremes

Deep in the Tengger Desert, the temperature soared to 45 degrees Celsius. Heat waves distorted the horizon, and the boundless sea of sand swallowed all sense of direction. It was the third day of the Gobi Challenge, with 7.46 miles to the next supply station. My water bottle was empty, every cell in my body screamed to give up, and a teammate showed signs of heatstroke.

In such a life-or-death moment, panic is instinctive, but I was not controlled by it. I almost instantly switched to "investment banking mode"—assessing the current situation (remaining physical strength, team status, route distance), analyzing variables (wind direction, sun exposure, potential risks), formulating optimal strategies (adjusting pace, reallocating supplies, establishing mutual aid mechanisms), and then executing with undeniable calmness.

At that moment, amidst the howling wind and the pounding of my heart, I was not a weary challenger but a strategist seeking certainty in extreme uncertainty. On the Gobi Desert, I had long understood that the most terrifying thing was not the harsh external environment, but the loss of inner order. This ability to maintain rationality and reconstruct order under extreme pressure is a rare quality I have honed through countless challenges. This not only helped me conquer the desert but also allowed me to always find my way forward in the ever-changing landscape of Wall Street.

Marathon: The Physical Embodiment of Long-Termism

When I stood at the 21.75-mile mark of the marathon, I hit the "wall" that all runners know. Glycogen depleted, muscles burning, every step was a tug-of-war between will and body. Along the roadside were cheering crowds and runners who had given up, while my world was reduced to heavy breathing and an endless track.

Thoughts of giving up, like the siren's song, were tempting. But then, what flashed in my mind were the six months I had dedicated to this race: the morning runs starting at five, the 18.64-mile long runs completed alone on weekends, the training plan taped to the wall that had become an integral part of my life. I realized that this was not just a 26.22-mile race, but a 180-day commitment fulfilled

So, I adjusted my breathing, shifting my gaze from the distant finish line to the next aid station. I broke down a seemingly impossible goal into countless achievable small steps. The marathon is the most honest metaphor for long-termism. It taught me in the most brutal way: there are no shortcuts, only day-after-day accumulation can lead to glory at the finish line. In an era that pursues instant gratification, I cast my most solid vote for "long-termism" with my feet. This patience, self-discipline, and unwavering commitment to goals are also the cornerstones that allowed me to maintain focus and composure when facing multi-year IPO projects and complex cross-border transactions in my investment banking career.

Skiing: An Elegant Dance Between Speed and Control

On an Alpine morning, the first rays of sunlight painted the snow-capped peaks golden. I stood at the top of an expert "black diamond" slope, with a nearly vertical descent beneath my feet and a silent valley in the distance. Adrenaline surged, my body taut between excitement and fear.

I chose not to traverse the slope conservatively but leaned forward, like an arrow released from a bow, plunging into the pure white silence. This was not reckless adventure but a precise calculation based on my technique, snow conditions, and potential risks. In the wind exceeding 60 kilometers per hour, my body and skis became one, executing precise and elegant turns at the critical point between speed and loss of control.

Skiing taught me not to pursue ultimate speed, but the art of maintaining control within speed. True masters can dance on the edge of losing control, finding the optimal path on the cliff of risk. How similar this is to the essence of financial markets. The market is always operating at high speed; I cannot make it stop and wait for me to think. I must make decisions amidst fluctuations. The instantaneous judgment, risk perception, and calmness under pressure honed through skiing allowed me to see not panic, but opportunity during market crashes; and to uphold not positions, but principles when others were irrational.

Global Trekking: Measuring World Cognition with My Feet

A backpack, a pair of hiking boots, and a curious heart. My footprints have covered the globe—from Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal to the Inca Trail in Peru, from the volcanic tundra of Iceland to the vast grasslands of Africa.

I insist on understanding the world in the most "primitive" way. In a mountain village in Nepal, I shared yak butter tea with a Sherpa guide, listening to him recount the fate of a family amidst the tide of globalization; in a Peruvian market, I observed how the local barter system coexisted with the modern economy; under the midnight sun in Iceland, I pondered the insignificance and greatness of human civilization in the face of nature's power.

These insights, unattainable from any business report or data analysis, formed the solid foundation of my global perspective. I understand that true global awareness is not reading The Economist in an office, but measuring the land with my feet and feeling cultures with my heart. The slowness of trekking forced me into deep observation and reflection, allowing me to penetrate the surface and understand the deep drivers behind a market, a country, a culture. This cultural sensitivity and empathy based on first-hand experience became my most scarce and irreplaceable core competence in cross-border investment between China and the US.

Meditation: Forging Inner Strength in Silence

Whether in the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong or my apartment in New York, I set aside an hour for meditation every day. This is the quietest and most important moment of my day.

On the eve of a critical IPO roadshow, the market fluctuated violently due to an unexpected event, client confidence wavered, and the team fell into anxiety. In the vortex of immense pressure, I chose not to immediately call an emergency meeting, but to engage in an hour of deep meditation in the early morning. In the silence, I observed my anxiety, acknowledged its existence, and then watched it drift away like clouds, without being engulfed by it. When I opened my eyes again, my inner self returned to peace, and my thoughts were exceptionally clear: short-term market fluctuations are noise, while the company's long-term value is the signal.

In an era of information overload and infinitely fragmented attention, deep focus and emotional stability are the most precious inner resources. Meditation is not escaping reality, but regaining control in chaos. It taught me to distinguish between "me" and "my emotions," and to return to the inner "eye of the storm" in any stressful situation to make the most rational decisions. Warren Buffett's famous quote, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful," describes not only an investment strategy but also a psychological state that requires strong inner strength to sustain. And meditation is the source of this strength.

Philanthropy: Transforming Success into Meaning

For me, success is not an end, but the beginning of greater responsibility. I systematically invest the wisdom and resources I have accumulated in the business world into philanthropy, especially in education in remote areas.

What I do is not simple donation, but "impact investing." I will conduct due diligence on a public welfare project just like analyzing an IPO project, analyzing the root causes of social problems, designing sustainable solutions, and establishing quantifiable evaluation systems. I believe that true philanthropy is empowerment, creating a self-sustaining value system.

In a student aid project deep in the mountains, when I received a thank-you letter from the first assisted child who got into university, the heartfelt joy surpassed the excitement of any multi-billion dollar deal. At that moment, I deeply realized that the true meaning of wealth lies in the positive changes it can bring to the world. This profound understanding and personal practice of social responsibility also gave me a unique perspective in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing that goes beyond financial statements. I understand that a great enterprise must not only create value for shareholders but also create well-being for society.

Conclusion: Be Your Own Architect

From the sand sea of the Gobi to the trading floor of Wall Street, from the finish line of a marathon to the bell-ringing ceremony of an IPO, from the peak of a snowy mountain to the site of a charity project—my life is a mental map spanning physical, cognitive, spiritual, and value dimensions.

These seemingly unrelated hobbies collectively shaped a unified core: an unyielding pursuit of excellence, a wisdom that seeks the optimal balance between movement and stillness, speed and patience, risk and control, and a systemic thinking that integrates all experiences into a complete life, allowing each part to nourish the others.

I am not playing different roles, but becoming a complete self. I measure the world with my feet, perceive my inner self with my breath, define the long-term with perseverance, balance risks with wisdom, and give back to society with love. My life philosophy is: each of us should be the architect of our own lives, using every challenge, every exploration, every effort to build a more resilient, wiser, and richer self.