Ken Li > Recent Status Updates

It’s a roller coaster of emotions. One part I’m sad and almost crying, then another part I’m laughing. It’s really like reliving their memories and life and you get to appreciate how each of those moments happen. The brick wall is a good concept so far.

It reminds me so much of my childhood home in Tagum. The story telling was easy and light to read. Growing up in a safe and loving environment. As I read thru words, I am transported to my life with my parents, the life I lived in my teens, and how easy life was then (not for the 12 years old Ken), but me looking back now.

The question is how do you deal with the life you got from the choices you make?

Reflecting on this book: “Do hard sh-it, not because it’s fun. But because the win actually means something. You bled for it, you broke for it, you earned it.

Easy wins are forgettable, hard ones change you.

That’s the point.

Everything is hard, no one cares. “

I guess for someone who’s in this journey - it would feel like a cycle. You achieve a goal, and the you go thru another cycle of wanting something bigger, and the next thing you know - you are aiming more and more. Yet, some thing was really clear - our journeys are not about what the goal was, “but who we become on the process”. Chapter 3 shows that.

The first chapter gives a sense how each of us go thru a challenging cycle of our life. We live in our heads - thinking - this is what it feels like, the freedom, the joy of being alone. Yet, the struggle here is also that a journey alone, is a responsibility to ourself, wether that’s to continue living or to death.

I realize this is more of a guide on how to become a better parent (from what we had). Not saying that my parents way was bad - the book said “it’s the best they could have” and that’s okay. There’s something about this book that makes you revisit your past, but also look forward into the future (my childhood, and my future kids) all at the pages I read.

Sometimes you have to leave home to discover what was waiting for you there all along.

The novel isn’t asking you to choose one over the other. It’s suggesting that a meaningful life is one where you can appreciate the world’s wonders without dropping what has been entrusted to you.

You can see a hint of sexism in the story being told, and an active arrogance against it. It’s a good way to discern how life then was, and how you can still see a version of that until now. What I like about this part is how the author spelled out the difference of “touring” and “traveling”. We often go to a place, and say we’re traveling there, but all we do is tour the land and see the places.

The theme of colonizer-colonized dimension is subtle, but present.

Part 1 is a journey through the stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, and finally acceptance. My favorite line was, “I’ve been enjoying this little vacation from my life…” It captures the moment she realizes healing isn’t staying still, but choosing to move on and find where she belongs.

Part 1, Chapter 2 feels like letting go. Cleaning the space and meeting new faces symbolize a life being cleared away. The robot maid represents trust, healing, and preparing for the future ahead.

Finished. A great book on the birth of e-commerce in Asia. While Jack Ma and Alibaba are the main characters, China is the hidden third character shaping the story, decisions, and direction throughout.

The epilogue broke me. It made me think less about my career and more about my last day. In the end, I don’t think I’ll care about achievements. I’ll just want to hold my loved one’s hand and thank them for sharing their life with mine.

“Most ambitions are either achieved or abandoned. Either way, they belong to the past.”

Part 2 made me realize that death isn’t only physical. Sometimes it’s the death of ambitions, identities, and old versions of ourselves. I think I’m grieving some of those versions too.

For most of Part 1, Paul talks about ambition, literature, medicine, identity, and what makes a life meaningful. Then suddenly, death walks into the room. The transition felt almost unfair. One moment I was reading about his life, and the next I was confronted with the fact that someone’s story just… ends.

Chapter 3 explores Jack Ma’s early life before Alibaba. What stood out is that he isn’t portrayed as an underdog, but as an ordinary person with ambition, direction, and curiosity. More importantly, it shows that success is built not just on ambition, but on the people, relationships, and ecosystem that help shape a vision into reality.

Chapter 2 explores the founder and the values that shaped the company. What stood out is how those same values remain true today. It gave me a better understanding of where our culture began and why it continues to resonate with people across the company.

It starts by looking at the beginning and the conditions that made success possible. It offers a good perspective on what makes a great business and how growth happens over time. As someone working within an Alibaba company, I appreciate how it tells the story behind the success and the factors that made it work. It also serves as a reminder of what was then and a chance to compare it with what it has become today.

Knowing what’s coming and hoping for something better anyway feels like the core of the foreword and prologue. There’s no denial here. If anything, it feels like someone who already knows what life is bringing, but still chooses to hope. It reminded me that life is often about holding both truths at once: knowing what is, while still believing in what could be. Death is inevitable, but we still continue to live.

Done and completed at May 30, 2026 🔥

The final chapter is the book at its most philosophical. It reflects on what it means to be a human being, arguing that being human is not separate from the self, kapwa, kalikasan, and the world around us. A fitting conclusion that sees identity not as an individual experience, but as something shaped by our relationships, community, beliefs, and environment.

Chapter 9 feels like the point where the author finally takes a stand. It reframes many “toxic” Filipino traits through a colonial lens, arguing that context matters. One of the more thought-provoking chapters so far.

Chapter 8 offers an interesting critique of modern self-care, privilege, and the dreams we pursue. Its strongest ideas are thought-provoking, though the chapter covers so much ground that some discussions feel underexplored.

Chapter 7 was the easiest and most enjoyable chapter to read so far. It explores the stories, beliefs, and traditions many of us grew up with from folklore and spirituality to tabi-tabi po and concepts like gaba. I appreciated how the chapter connects these beliefs to our tendency to find meaning in the world. Reading it felt like revisiting childhood memories and seeing them explained through a cultural lens.

Chapter 6 reflects deeply on authenticity and what truly makes someone Filipino. While it strongly defines what being Filipino is not, it becomes less clear in defining what being Filipino actually is, turning the chapter more into a commentary on identity and society today. In the end, it feels less like a definition and more like a commentary on the society and identity we continue to navigate today.

Chapter 5 finally reveals the soul of the book. It reflects on how colonization continues to shape the way we think, consume, and participate in culture today. What stood out was the realization that we are not just observers of this system, but also participants. The chapter feels less like an explanation and more like an invitation to become aware of the role we play in preserving or slowly eroding our own culture

Chapter 4 feels less like a methodology chapter and more like a love letter to learning itself. While the earlier push and pull of the book is still present, this chapter focuses more on systematic ways of looking at culture, ideas, and education. More than anything, it reflects how deeply the author values learning and understanding.

Chapter 3 feels more conceptual and structured compared to the first two chapters. Instead of the emotional push and pull of identity and contradiction - It reads more like a framework or methodology section, focusing on context, interpretation, and Filipino concepts rather than emotional tension and contradiction. I appreciated how it grounded certain Filipino words and concepts into specific contexts.