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March 20, 2026

The past three years have been a crucible, forcing me to mature as a man more than any other period of my life. After my father unexpectedly passed away in August of 2023, I left my full-time job as an investor and traveled the world for a year before settling in Taiwan. I spent most of my waking hours focused on my physical and mental health: adjusting my relationship with food, drugs, alcohol, and exercise, while also learning how to accept and love previously neglected parts of myself.

During this period I used writing as a method to cope. I wrote about matters of my own heart, primarily in an effort to mend the holes that had been punched by the tragedy of my father's passing, but also to understand what I wanted to do with my life in the wake of my departure from my country and work. This exercise was almost exclusively private and tapered off about a year ago as I approached a state of healed.

After a yearlong hiatus from writing, I've returned to it. This time I'm not looking backward and patching up my heart, I'm looking forward and I want to share what I see. My return to writing and my desire to share can be summed up in the following few reasons:

1. Perspective: from some combination of hard work and a sprinkle of luck, I've had the opportunity to work on some incredible projects – advising on investments in large public companies, and even the acquisition of the Boston Celtics – while creating a culturally rich lifestyle – I live in Taiwan, work less than 40 hours a week, and am an avid student of Chinese language and culture. I see my experience as straddling two worlds: one foot near the pointy end of industry (but not the cutting edge), and the other foot in a small sliver of the Sinosphere. Personally, I enjoy reflecting on these two niches, but I also believe others will find them engaging.
2. Publication: publication of work (whether printed in a national newspaper or scribbled on a piece of cardboard and tacked to the local bulletin) facilitates a higher quality product and a greater sense of ownership. Publishing is carving work into the concrete of a public sidewalk; the work is for all to see and cannot be rescinded or edited. A public venue like this promotes the exchange of ideas and gives me an opportunity to approach the work as a member of the audience. Once it is published the work no longer belongs to me; it belongs to the people.
3. Projection: in the last decade of my life I have been very quiet about my opinions. I either had nothing to say or I was too scared to say it, mainly for fear of being labeled wrong. I no longer believe silence is the right course. Among a cacophony of loud voices I want to be a small but rational one. My opinions aren't going to change the world, but speaking them aloud may embolden others. More importantly, my heart is full of unconditional love for every human on this planet, and I hope that shines through in my writing and infects my audience.

I'm excited to write, and I'm excited to share it with you. I look forward to seeing how far this project will go. Thanks for joining me on part of the journey.

About the author: My name is Andreas and when people ask, I normally introduce myself as such. When I lived in America it was clear that most people had never encountered this name, and I often heard: "Did you say Elias?" or "Andrew?" in return. So, I tried for a while to introduce myself as Dre, which is what my family and friends call me. I've learned that name is also too unusual, or perhaps I am too unlike Dr. Dre for whom the moniker is well-known.

Now that I live in Taiwan, I never introduce myself as Andreas. The Taiwanese speak English fairly well, but any name with more than two syllables quickly ties their tongue in a knot. So I usually offer my Chinese name, 小安 (Little An). 小 (little) is a common prefix for Chinese nicknames. I have since discovered that 小安 is commonly a woman's name. My misadventures in naming continue.

Why am I saying all this? Well, it's an introduction to the idea that I prefer to not sign my work with a byline (although it's painfully obvious that the address of this website is my name, but I already bought the domain so kick rocks!). Opinions are fluid; they should change often as new information is incorporated. The Andreas I was at birth is not the Dre I was ten years ago is not the 小安 I am today, so even if the name on the page is still mine the idea might not be anymore. Therefore, I'll just cut out the name. If you want to know what I stand for, the best way is to meet the real me. This project doesn't represent the current iteration of me, it is more like a reflection of my past.