My Story

Before my son Reyon was born, we lost three children.

One stillborn. Two miscarriages. My wife was almost 40 when she finally carried Reyon to term. After everything we’d been through, we understood exactly how precious he was.

We named him Reyon, “gift from heaven” in Sanskrit. His Chinese name, 乐恩 (Lè ēn), means “happiness and gratitude.” That’s how we hope he grows up: happy and grateful by nature.

And we decided he wasn’t going to grow up the way we did.

The Decision That Changed Everything

If you’ve never lived in Singapore, it’s hard to explain the pressure. It’s a world-class city. Safe, efficient, wealthy. But underneath that polish is an education system built on competition. Fear of losing. Fear of falling behind. Fear of not being good enough.

Both my wife and I went through it. We came out stressed, competitive in ways that didn’t serve us, measuring our worth by external markers.

Here’s the thing most people don’t know: in Singapore, the government school system is compulsory for citizens. Opting out isn’t really an option. If we stayed, Reyon would have no choice.

When we found out we were finally having him, after years of loss, we asked ourselves one question:

Do we want Reyon to grow up the same way?

The answer was no. Not after everything we’d been through to have him.

Why Chiang Mai

My wife and I have been together since 2008. When I looked back at our relationship, I noticed something: the happiest times we’d ever had were when we were traveling.

Thailand. Taiwan. These were the countries we kept returning to, year after year. Thailand especially. We’d visited almost every year.

So I asked her: “What if we could live every day like we’re traveling? What would that feel like?”

That question unlocked everything.

Chiang Mai specifically made sense for multiple reasons. There’s very little real nature in Singapore. It’s a city-state, efficient but concrete. I believe nature plays a big part in a child’s development.

But it’s not just the nature. Chiang Mai is rated one of the safest cities in Asia, ahead of Singapore, actually. The culture here is kind. People help one another. It’s a gentle Buddhist culture, less dog-eat-dog. More bound by kindness than competition.

So we sold everything. The flat. My motorcycle. All the devices. Everything we’d accumulated in Singapore, gone. We packed what mattered and made the move.

Coming from a traditional Asian family, this wasn’t easy. My parents wouldn’t just pick up and move to another country. But someone had to go first. Someone had to prove it was possible, not just talk about it.

That someone was me.

Finding My Path

At 18, I went into National Service like every Singaporean man. Infantry.

Before that, I was rebellious. Gaming, hanging out with friends, no direction. I didn’t know what I wanted.

The army changed that. It grounded me. Gave me discipline. And somewhere in that process, I discovered technology.

Computers were expensive back then (this was over 20 years ago) but I was hooked. After NS, I worked as a motherboard specialist for Gigabyte and MSI, building custom PCs, deep in hardware. I loved understanding how things actually worked.

I tried other paths too. Door-to-door sales. Network marketing. I was actually good at it, but I hated what it did to friendships. It felt like turning every relationship into a transaction. So I stopped.

I tried a lot of things before finding my path.

The Corporate Years

I spent over 15 years in the corporate world. Delivered projects for clients like Disney and Sony. Promotions collected.

I learned a lot. How to deliver under pressure. How large organizations actually work: the politics, the processes, the glacial pace of change. I once worked at a company with more than 18 nationalities. You learn a lot about humans when you’re surrounded by that much diversity.

But I also learned something else: custom work doesn’t scale.

Every project was bespoke. Every client needed hand-holding. The moment I stopped working, the income stopped. I was building someone else’s dream, trading time for money, and calling it a career.

The Pivot

I left corporate and tried building my own things. An ad agency running Facebook and YouTube ads. Affiliate marketing. Even an app development company at one point.

Some of it worked. A lot of it didn’t.

I also ran two faceless YouTube channels for over a year. Hired a team for hand-drawn animations. Professional voice actors. High production quality. The videos were good, but the niche had low CPM. Costs exceeded revenue. I followed Alex Hormozi’s advice: give something a full year before you know if it works. I did. It didn’t. But I learned the YouTube game inside and out.

What most people don’t know is that I’ve been using AI tools for years. Not since ChatGPT, since before that. GPT-3 for creative writing work for clients. I was an early Midjourney user, back when it was still in beta. This wasn’t hobby experimenting. It was real production work.

Same with automation. I started with Zapier and Pabbly, then learned Make.com when it got popular, then moved to n8n for more power. Always upgrading tools as better options emerged.

So when AI automation became “a thing” in 2023, I’d already been in both lanes for years. AI and automation. Running separately. Now they’ve merged.

Then COVID hit in 2020. And it hit me hard. Not the virus, but the realization. I watched billion-dollar companies like Singapore Airlines get grounded. Entire countries locked down.

That’s when everything clicked: building your own thing isn’t just a nice idea. It’s the only real security.

In 2022, we made the move to Chiang Mai.

When Reyon was born in 2023, I made a decision that surprised everyone: I stopped. Completely. I took 7 months off. No work, minimal business activity. Just to be present for my wife and son. After losing three children, I wasn’t going to miss a single moment of finally having one.

I told my wife: “You deserve to be a full-time mom if that’s what you want. I’ll handle the finances.”

She took me up on it.

During that time, I noticed something happening in the world: AI was changing everything. The tools I was using in 2019 became obsolete by 2021. Things that used to take teams could suddenly be done by one person with the right systems.

My friends, colleagues, classmates who’ve known me for 15-20 years, they started telling me my eyes light up when I talk about AI. They say they’ve never seen me this passionate about anything.

They’re right. My heart is really with AI. I use it every single day. I don’t experience this as work. It’s building with passion, regardless of how hard it gets. I feel energized, not drained.

I still take on select creative projects. Just a few hours a day from home. It gives me the flexibility to build what I actually care about.

What I’m Building Now

Today, I build AI-powered systems for businesses. My main focus is Revenue OS, a productized system for B2B agencies that stops them from wasting the leads they already have.

But this site isn’t really about that.

This site is about sharing what I’ve learned. The AI tools and workflows that actually work. The business lessons that took me years and multiple failed businesses to figure out.

This is my fifth business, my fourth registered company. I’ve tried many things. I’d rather try and fail than never try at all.

I believe AI won’t replace humans, but it will replace humans who don’t use AI. I’ve been saying this since before it was trendy, and I’ll keep saying it because it’s true.

The Philosophy

I don’t preach, but I do have beliefs that shape how I live:

Know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Is it just for money? For status? Or is it for something bigger? Your family, your freedom, your contribution to others?

We have a choice in how we react. Nobody can make us angry. Nobody can make us sad. Those are reactions we choose. Why give that power to someone else?

Time is the most important measure. Everyone, rich or poor, powerful or unknown, has the same 24 hours. Time waits for no one. Life is impermanent. Change is the only constant.

I wake up grateful. Not in a performative way. Genuinely grateful for what I have. My family. My health. The freedom to build.

Health is non-negotiable. A few years ago, I had my own wake-up call. Long hours, neglecting my body, not taking care of myself. It caught up with me. I won’t go into details, but it was a wake-up call.

Around the same time, I saw health challenges in my family. It made me ask: as a son, a husband, a father, what happens if I get sick? Who takes care of the people I love?

That’s when I got serious. I track every single meal. Calories, protein, carbs, fats. Everything. I focus on fitness to have energy, to stay strong, to keep up with Reyon as he grows.

At my age, I can’t take health for granted. It’s my responsibility to stay fit for my family. To be there for them. Not just financially, but physically. Present and strong.

This isn’t vanity. This is duty.

Why I’m Here

One of the reasons I chose Chiang Mai specifically was the opportunity to help.

During COVID, I saw news about children in Thailand suffering during the lockdowns. Not having enough to eat. Struggling in ways that kids in Singapore, a first-world country with robust social support, simply don’t.

I was already donating monthly and volunteering weekly in Singapore. But I realized the same effort here could make a bigger difference.

Now I’m here. I work with nonprofits supporting Myanmar refugees. I visit orphanages. When the floods hit Chiang Mai, I helped with relief efforts. I raise donations from my contacts back in Singapore.

I can build my business, raise my family, AND contribute to something larger. Kill many birds with one stone.

It keeps me grounded. Reminds me there’s more to life than business metrics and revenue targets.

What’s Next

My goal is simple: complete freedom.

Freedom means I can do whatever I want, any day, any time. Bring my family traveling. Spend time with Reyon. Work intensely on something I care about. Or not work at all. Living every day like a Saturday.

• Revenue coming in whether I work or not
• Time for my son as he grows up
• The ability to travel, explore, and keep building

I’m not interested in venture funding or building a 100-person company. I want to stay small, stay focused, and own my time.

If you’re on a similar path, building with AI, trying to escape the time-for-money trap, figuring out how to create real freedom, I’m documenting the journey here.

Not as someone who has it all figured out. But as someone who’s been building for years, failed multiple times, and is finally seeing what works.

The People

No one builds alone.

My wife trusted my vision when I said “let’s sell everything and leave.” She didn’t doubt me. After years together and everything we’d been through, she believed in the plan.

My son Reyon, almost 3 now, is the reason I care about any of this. I want him to grow up happy and grateful, just like his name suggests. I want him to see that you can build a life on your own terms. That you don’t have to follow the template.

This page will evolve as I do. The story isn’t finished. I’m still writing it.

If any of this resonates, see what I’m building.