I Don't Think, I Just Do.

I hope everyone has been well. The first half of 2023 has brought significant personal transformations, echoing the massive shifts happening in the world around us. After a long wait, pandemic restrictions have eased, and international travel has finally resumed. The arrival of ChatGPT sparked an AI boom centered around U.S. big tech, leading to a flood of generative GPT models. Naturally, semiconductors like HBM and DDR5 have returned to the spotlight. Beyond chips, collaborative and logistics robots, as well as smart factories, have gained traction. The entertainment industry has seen explosive growth, and the secondary battery sector—the biggest winner of the first half—saw market caps for companies like EcoPro and EcoPro BM soar past 20 trillion won.

While the Fed recently reported that CPI has dropped to 4.0%—levels similar to those before the pandemic—the cost of living seems to have hit an all-time high. Personally, I've felt this most in the prices of fresh food, alcohol, and taxi fares. Meanwhile, China has shifted its stance. While the conflict between the U.S. and China has historically provided advantages for the Korean economy, China now appears to be making moves to mend relations. It is time to re-evaluate Korea's economic landscape.

A 'Great' Software Engineer Who Cooks

Let’s start with my main "occupation." Currently, I am a soldier. My primary duty is as a military cook, responsible for preparing meals for officers. While I don’t handle all the cooking directly, I manage a wide array of tasks. Anyone who has worked part-time at a restaurant will know—I'm doing exactly the kind of "background work" you'd imagine. My main focus is serving, specifically for high-ranking officers. It’s enjoyable work. The team has a great, supportive atmosphere. Although I naturally gravitate toward leadership roles, the nature of the work makes it impossible to do anything alone. I’m constantly reminded that to go far and last long, you must walk together.

I used to have a motto: "Be a developer who cooks." That is exactly how I am living now. While cooking takes up a large portion of my time, I continue to sharpen my development skills to ensure they don't get rusty. Software development was my first professional business. I started earning money through freelance work in high school and lived off development until I enlisted. Now, I spend my weekends and holidays building things to prepare for post-military employment and, more importantly, to relieve stress. I want to emphasize "stress relief."

I didn't dive back into development immediately this year. It took time to settle into military life, and I was busy with other studies. The development environment was abysmal—no IDEs, no terminal access. However, I admit that limitations in time and environment are merely excuses. I could always find at least 10 minutes a day. If I couldn't install an IDE, GitHub Codespaces served as a perfect alternative. While I've had moments of skepticism about a career in development, I always find my way back to being an engineer. Ultimately, coding is what I enjoy most. That’s why it relieves my stress. The thrill of building something you actually want to see existing—as a hobby rather than a job—is incomparable! I still have much to learn and many areas to improve. I strive to be not just a coder, but a "great" software engineer.

What defines a great developer? It’s not just about years of experience. You must transcend being a mere "coder" and become someone who can build a business. In the early chapters of The Software Craftsman, Sandro Mancuso defines the abilities of a great developer as follows:

Communicating with customers
Automating testing and deployment
Selecting technologies that impact the entire business
Collaborating with geographically dispersed teams
Helping customers define necessary tasks
Setting priorities
Reporting progress
Managing changes and expected timelines
Introducing products to potential customers and partners
Supporting pre-sales activities
Calculating development schedules and costs
Conducting hiring interviews
Designing architecture
Reviewing non-functional requirements and SLAs
Understanding business goals
Making optimal decisions within given constraints
Keeping an eye on new technologies
Finding better ways to work
Deliberating on whether the product is delivering value to the customer

Fortunately, I had the chance to experience many of these in my previous role. Developing a platform alongside an exceptional mentor allowed me to grow immensely. These experiences now serve as a compass for my current development work. And it’s not limited to coding; it provides feedback and milestones for how I cook, how I study, and ultimately, how I perceive life. Carrying this mindset instills a sense of pride in my business and life, and it changes my entire approach. I strive to do everything the right way.

Systems and Leverage

I view my entire life as a single business ecosystem. Even my current focus—studying—follows this logic, even if it doesn't generate immediate profit. Between cooking, developing, and studying, and adding exercise and diet management, controlling this life requires significant time and effort. How do I keep going without burning out? I approached it as a system. Defining this system was one of the major changes I experienced in the first half of the year. The other was clearly leveraging what could be leveraged. I’ll elaborate on this below.

Systematizing my life didn't take long. As someone who has always pursued peace of mind, turning life itself into a system was a natural progression. It was simply a matter of whether or not I chose to document this lifestyle. Now, it has become a core principle. One of the phrases I’ve revisited most this year is the title of this post: "I don't really think. I just do it." It’s a quote from Kim Yuna. I simply study every day, record every day, and check my business every day. It’s a simple, rhythmic life.

I've defined a daily system and, within it, health and habit systems that melt into my routine. I usually wake up at 4 AM. While this shifts depending on circumstances, I try my best to stick to it. This means I must be in bed by 10:00 or 10:30 PM at the latest to ensure enough sleep and a refreshed start. I’ve developed this lifestyle by identifying when I am most focused and securing that time for myself. Of course, social commitments occasionally lead to late nights, but my system is always centered on the day’s required tasks and studies. I am more obsessed with finishing my daily quota than with exactly when I sleep or wake up. To maintain 85% system accuracy, I have to be honest about the other 15%. Under that belief, I follow my system, take breaks when needed, and focus on what needs to be done without fail. I can say with certainty: I never procrastinate on what is essential.

To achieve this, I’ve significantly reduced the time I spend aimlessly. I’ve cleaned up my social media. I use SNS only to follow entrepreneurs and keep up with close friends; everything else is ignored. I listen to audiobooks while commuting. I watch documentaries when I eat alone. Just as I ignore things I don't need to remember or spend time on, I have leveraged everything that is a "must-do." I use people and software alike. For leverage, I’ve drawn heavily from Rob Moore’s book Leverage. It has been incredibly helpful for everything from time management to system building. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Leverage is the art of outsourcing everything that makes you feel like you're not alive. Leverage is an attitude of living your life according to your goals and vision. Leverage is the skill of prioritizing your values and reducing or removing everything else to earn money and create lasting change. Leverage is a system where you use your time to create the greatest and most lasting wealth, while eliminating the time-wasting tasks you can’t or won’t do, but must be done for achievement. Leverage is the skill of doing what you excel at and delegating everything else. Leverage is a way of life and a philosophy of reaching a higher level by clearly reminding yourself of your goals, vision, and priorities even in the busiest moments.

Focusing on What You Can Control

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

This is the prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a soldier in the Spanish army before his conversion. While Father Norman O'Neal wrote in detail about Ignatius, that’s not what’s important here. What I want to say is entirely captured in this prayer.

Some things must simply be allowed to flow. I control risk by combining high-quality research materials with the principles and lessons I’ve established throughout my life. This applies to past, present, and future risks. This is what becomes wisdom. Uncertainty lies right across the street from risk. However, I do not try to control uncertainty. There is a clear moment when uncertainty transforms into risk. I focus on other risks for that moment. Until then, I just keep moving forward. Banishing delusions and putting worries aside to "just do it" makes the impossible possible and, ultimately, makes life happy.

I evaluate monthly events and achievements to see if they align with the greater cause I pursue. I check everything: relationships, business, career, exercise, and habits. If something feels slightly off, I re-adjust my direction. While I set aside specific times every month to check in, I recognize my current position at least a few times a day—sometimes dozens of times—and think about how to accelerate. I used to separate my "work" from other parts of my life. That was a mistake. They move together. Lessons learned at home or at work have made me a better person, which in turn helped me become a better friend. Every reality must respect every other reality.

Health, Health, Health

And health. I feel more than ever that health is the ultimate asset. Changes in my lifestyle have brought the biggest shifts in my diet. I now stick to two meals a day. Usually, I eat breakfast and lunch and skip dinner. For breakfast, I used to eat a standard meal, but now I mostly have soy milk or yogurt with granola, adding some fruit if I have it. For lunch, I eat whatever I want. I’ve realized that strictly forbidding foods I enjoy only causes stress, so I let myself indulge at lunch. On weekdays, the menu is usually fixed, so I don't overthink it, but I try to stay away from fried foods. If I have dinner plans, I usually skip lunch. If I have both lunch and dinner plans, I skip breakfast. I’m flexible, but I try to maintain the two-meal-a-day rule.

I used to be able to eat anything and digest it perfectly, but that’s no longer the case. As a result, I avoid delivery food and prefer to cook for myself unless I have plans. When it comes to eating, I no longer want "a lot" or "fast." More accurately, I dislike the heavy feeling of being overfull, so I manage what goes into my mouth quite strictly. Naturally, I’ve found myself craving vegetables and avoiding fatty meats. Enlisting in the military really does change your eating habits. I never believed it before, but seeing myself actually do it has been surprising.

I exercise consistently, even if in small amounts. My sport of choice has always been boxing, but I can’t do that right now. Instead, I focus on bodyweight exercises. I don't lift weights or take protein supplements. I agree that I should invest more time in exercise, as I currently spend very little on it. This is partly due to laziness, something I hope to address later. Exercise has been a lifelong habit, so I’ll always find something to do, but I don't exercise with the goal of getting a "body profile." I still maintain my desired physique and weight.

Acknowledgments

I’m regaining my focus and looking forward to what’s next. There is much more to say, but this feels like a good place to wrap up this semi-annual letter. This is my first time writing a retrospect in this format. I hope it wasn't too much for any of you. I look forward to returning in the annual letter with even higher quality content and things I couldn't cover here. I wish you all peace. The fact that I can live my life this way is entirely thanks to you. Thank you.

I end this with the best sentence I've found and written over the past six months.
Farewell for now.

The eyes of the world are often directed the wrong way. They highlight differences and amplify extreme voices. In such a situation, it's easy to develop prejudices about certain countries or people.

Walk the streets, meet the people, and taste the food. Everyone welcomed me with an open heart and warmth, and I learned that you can find a sense of belonging by sharing experiences—as long as there is mutual respect.

I felt joy and connection at an Israeli family's dinner table. It was a place where everyone's tastes and values were respected. And I witnessed the power of delicious food to weave everyone together.

- Phil Rosenthal, Somebody Feed Phil

A warm word that we don't say today and push into our thoughts will eventually be forgotten along with those thoughts, and tomorrow we will still be busy. Tomorrow, we will still return home alone with tired steps through a dark alley.

- Do Jong-hwan, Going Home

The place our family holds in our experience with food is truly important. I am grateful to my parents for teaching me what good food is and how vital food is to our well-being and social bonds.

- Ha-Joon Chang, Edible Economics

I hope our love flows slowly and leisurely, like a gentle ripple. Not just a cup of water, but the flow of a vast ocean, embracing the subtle sparkle of sunlight on the waves.

Life is like that. Understanding someone you couldn't understand. Admitting that you could have been in their shoes. Knowing that all those rejections and regrets led you here. The wisdom gained with age is too precious to refuse.

I believe that being able to cherish memories of someone, some place, or those times is a blessing in itself. I bless everyone who remembers, and I applaud your still-youthful self who wishes to face the past through those memories. Finally, at the risk of sounding like an old-timer, I leave you with one thought to remember: "The very moment you are reminiscing about the past is the moment that will become the most missed past of your future."

- Letter from Go Gil-dong

A recipe is, in short, a way of life. It’s like a standard of values for what to take and what to leave behind. You can't get anything without giving something up.

- Haruki Murakami, If Our Language Were Whiskey

There are no perfect choices. There are no right choices. There is only the process of making a choice right.

- Park Woong-hyun, Eight Words

For Germans, a friend might be a relationship that has to pass through quite strict criteria. They didn't seem to overdo it when it came to intimacy. There was a clear word in German for someone who is just an 'acquaintance,' not a friend.

- Lee Sl-ah, Daily Lee Sl-ah Essays