Recently, while reading Beneath the Wheel by Hermann Hesse, I noticed a pattern in his writing—one that became impossible to ignore. In just thirty minutes, I came across these phrases:

• …Agony and ecstasy…

• Unfelt pleasure and a guilty conscience

• Sweet suffering

• Joy laced with fear

• Attractive yet intoxicating

• Anticipation with worries

• Euphoria, followed by exhaustion and pain

Why does he keep placing two opposite emotions in a single sentence? Maybe he’s not saying that a good life is about reducing pain and increasing happiness. Maybe he’s telling us that life is a constant mix of both—that we must accept their coexistence and, in doing so, come to know ourselves better.

In investing, one thing I have come to believe deeply is that knowledge, connections, credentials, and information are less important than mastering my own emotions—facing both fear and desire without being consumed by either. When markets are overflowing with euphoria, I have to chat with fear. When everyone believes all is lost, I borrow the strength of desire.

Hesse, a German writer, was influenced by Eastern philosophies, including Buddhism. Perhaps that’s why, instead of seeing opposites as being in conflict, he saw them as necessary contradictions—two forces that must exist together.

My business partner, with whom I share the fate of our company, was born and raised in Queens, New York, with deep Italian-American roots. I bring influences from Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Together, we bridge the gap between the U.S. and Asia, blending their strengths to build the best investment firm possible. Like Hesse, we aim to turn contradictions into something greater—something like Hesse’s masterpiece.

A path can only exist if there is something on either side of it. Maybe life, too, is a path we walk—where pain and hope, fear and desire, the founders we invest in and the investors who invest in us, the company’s success and the well-being of our team all coexist. By balancing between both sides, we create and walk our own path in life.