A while ago, the nine-square mandala suddenly became very popular. Shohei Ohtani used it to set his career blueprint, and Yang Yongwei also shared his nine-square grid goals.
Suddenly, this tool was labeled as "used by successful people."
But I haven't put pen to paper yet.
Because I'm stuck on one question: What should I fill in the middle square?
Is it "How much money will I earn before I reach a certain age?"
That's too narrow. Money is important, but money is just a resource, not the ultimate goal in life. You can have a lot of money, but every morning you just want to escape.
Is it "Being a happy person"?
That sounds correct, but it's superficial, because happiness is easily faked by the lowest-energy dopamine. I can lie in bed all day watching TV, scrolling on my phone, playing video games, and then wake up the next day feeling guilty—that's not a long-term solution.
This question has remained unresolved.
Until one day, I found myself with a stable income, flexible hours, and harmonious relationships, but if someone asked me, "What are you pursuing?" I couldn't answer.
That day, I sat down and seriously considered this question, pondering it all night.
Finally, I wrote a sentence in the middle:
"Antifragile Autonomous Life."
—Antifragile is becoming stronger amidst chaos.
This concept comes from Taleb. He divided things in the world into three types: fragile things break under shocks, resilient things remain unchanged under shocks, and antifragile things become stronger under shocks.
I once lost all my assets when an exchange collapsed. At that moment, I realized that putting all your eggs in one basket, no matter how safe that basket seems, is fragile.
Now, I pursue multi-country self-owned properties, diversified income streams, portable professional skills, and influence that doesn't rely on a single platform. I don't know when black swans will come, but I will be prepared.
Autonomy is having choices.
You can choose whether or not to work. You can choose whether or not to cooperate with others. You can choose what responsibilities to take on.
I was laid off at 29, and that was the first time I seriously considered: Who am I really working for? I'd spent the most energetic ten years of my life, only to have it all taken away with a simple "We've decided to restructure."
After that, I started building my own business. I learned to focus my energy on building leverage, accumulating assets, and cultivating relationships, reducing the time-for-money work model.
— Once I identified my core goals, the surrounding eight dimensions became clear. I asked myself: To achieve an "antifragile, autonomous life," in which areas do I need to continuously invest?
Self-Awareness
This is the starting point. People who don't understand themselves easily chase after success as defined by others. I need to know my fears, drives, and energy sources to make choices that truly suit me.
Leverage
In Naval's framework, this means code, media, capital, and products. Building scalable things: writing output, quantitative trading, CoinKarma, Vibe Coding. These skills and assets can continue operating while I sleep.
Decision-Making Ability
Life is the result of a series of choices. Practice expected value thinking, first principles, reverse thinking, and post-event review.
Physical and Mental Health: Stabilize blood sugar, avoid staying up late, swim, meditate, and reject cheap dopamine. Without a healthy body and mind, everything else is meaningless.
Meaningful Relationships: I am an "I" type of person and don't like to actively socialize, so I pursue depth: friends with whom I can have deep conversations, and partners willing to support each other long-term. Actively maintain relationships, actively give value, and reduce social debt.
Luck: It sounds mysterious, but luck can be cultivated. Cultivating good relationships, building a personal brand, reducing complaints, and tidying up your room—these actions all increase the surface area for "good things to happen to you."
Integrity: This is inner strength. Consistency between knowledge and action, a clear conscience, self-reflection, and consistently doing the right thing. When your heart is at peace, you are not afraid of scrutiny, market fluctuations, or the opinions of others.
Wealth: Wealth is a tool for achieving an autonomous life. Barbell strategy, maintaining cash flow, asymmetric betting, geographical arbitrage, and waiting for the right opportunity.
— This diagram didn't just appear out of thin air.
Our era has a huge advantage: the wisdom of giants is almost free. You can read Naval's tweets, listen to Munger's speeches, read Dalio's books, and then integrate these things into your own life experiences.
While filling in this nine-square grid, I had a cross-temporal dialogue with these three wise men through AI: what would they fill in if they were writing it?
Naval taught me about leverage and how to use code and media to replace time. Munger taught me to think in reverse and avoid bad outcomes. Dalio taught me to be extremely truthful; only by being honest with myself can I see reality clearly.
Finally, I added Mencius's spirit of righteous indignation: reflecting on oneself and having a clear conscience—this is the character example I hope to set for my children.
I printed out this diagram and placed it where I can see it every day, reminding myself daily whether I'm moving in the direction of my ideal.
— If you also want to fill in your own nine-square grid, you can start with this question: "What kind of person do I want to become?" This question sounds simple, but few people can answer it immediately.
From childhood, we're taught to get high scores, get into good schools, and find stable jobs. No one asks what kind of person you want to be, only what scores you want to get and how much money you want to earn.
As adults, we're chased by bills, chased by work, and overwhelmed by various relationships, rarely having time to reflect on life.
But this problem won't disappear. If you don't think about it, it will remain vaguely there, making you feel that something is wrong, but you can't quite put your finger on it.
The answer lies hidden in those moments that make your heart flutter, those moments that bring a genuine smile, and also in those things that terrify you, those things you instinctively want to avoid.
These clues are all you.
Slowly collect them, record them. The puzzle will emerge, and the answer will naturally be in the middle piece.
