Master of Puppets: Cut the Strings, Build a System
Master… Master!
I was fresh off the set at Money Talks with Cathy Yang of TV5, trying to make sense of this fuzzy, flatline of a Market—corporate earnings limping in at +5%, inflation cooling like it finally got the memo, pressure on interest rates easing. On paper, it looked like a sigh of relief.
But that’s not what I felt. Not in the studio. Not in the streets. And definitely not in the markets. Watch full interview here
What I felt was something similar to static electricity in a gasoline station.
No one’s panicking. Not yet. But they’re close.
People are holding on—but not to conviction. Just to tension.
The kind that coils in your gut right before the wrong decision.
And right then, on the drive home, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” blasted through the speakers like it had something to say about all this.
“Master… Master… You’re pulling your strings, twisting your mind and smashing your dreams…”
Yeah. That.
That’s the market on most days. It doesn’t whisper. It yanks. It manipulates. It provokes. It feeds you a drip of adrenaline until you can’t tell the difference between an impulse and a plan.
One red candle and your so-called strategy collapses into a pile of vibes and regrets. One headline and you’re doomscrolling, not decision-making. I’ve seen it too many times. People with MBAs, CFAs, and million-peso accounts reduced to wide-eyed passengers in their own portfolios.
And let me tell you—intelligence is no defense. I’ve watched smart people get absolutely wrecked. Not because they didn’t know what to do…
But because they didn’t have a system.
Or worse: they did. But couldn’t stick to it when the volume got turned up.
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
This market doesn’t give you a green light or a stop sign. It’s stuck in a strange middle ground.
Earnings are soft. Inflation’s easing. Tariffs are back in the headlines. Foreign inflows are flickering—but definitely not flowing.
When I ran it through my G.R.E.A.T. Filter—Growth, Rates, Earnings, Adverse Risks, and Trends (in foreign buying)—it came out Neutral. And Neutral doesn’t mean “do nothing.” It means: stay balanced, stay selective, and don’t mistake confusion for opportunity.
This is a stock picker’s market. And not everyone is built for that.
Forget Forecasting. Focus on Filtering.
Before I built one, I didn’t have a real system either. I had instincts. Some research. A bit of experience. But nothing that filtered the chaos before it got to me.
That’s why I built the SIF System—not to look good on paper, but because I was tired of reacting.
It starts with industry screening. Not every sector is worth your attention. I use the BARES checklist to find business environments with high barriers to entry, abundant suppliers, stable regulation, few substitutes, and manageable competition.
Then comes financial filtering. I run names through the POLIN filters—Profitability, Ownership returns, Leverage, Interest coverage, and Near-term liquidity. If they don’t pass at least three out of five, I move on.
Next: fundamentals. The part most people rush through.
Management—who’s running the company?
Risk—are the inherent risks manageable?
Valuation—are we overpaying?
Once I’ve narrowed it down to 10–15 ideas, I apply my JT Criterion—a scoring and position-sizing process that builds a focused, conviction-weighted portfolio. Five to seven names. No guessing. No fanfare. Just clean.
And in markets like this? Clean wins
Obey your master
This is the part no one talked about when I was starting out—at least not in finance circles.
You can have the best research, the best framework, the tightest risk controls…
But if your nervous system is fried, none of it will matter.
Lack of sleep. Too much caffeine. Too much screen time. Stuck in fight-or-flight?
You’ll override your process. You’ll panic-sell. You’ll revenge-trade.
You’ll second-guess your entries. You’ll bail on the good trades and force the bad ones.
You won’t be thinking. You’ll be reacting.
Overreacting.
Not because you’re weak. Because you’re human.
Because investing isn’t just logic. It’s state.
I’ve seen billion-peso portfolios torched by unregulated emotion.
I’ve seen it happen to smart founders managing their personal capital.
And I’ve seen it in myself—especially before I learned to train the state I was making decisions from.
And I’ve seen regular investors win quietly—simply because they didn’t flinch when others did.
Clarity doesn’t start in the market. It starts in the body.
Your nervous system is your operating system. It’s the pathway through which we experience and respond to the world, shaping our perceptions, reactions, and overall well-being.
Regulate your nervous system—and you restore your edge.
What does that actually look like?
You don’t overreact.
You don’t check your portfolio 37 times a day.
You pause. You process. You act with intent.
Calm Is a Position
And no—I don’t mean Zen retreat, whispering-affirmations calm. Ohm. Nope.
I mean: Regulated.
Responsive—not reactive.
Able to sit in discomfort without flinching.
Able to make decisions without needing the market to agree with you immediately.
That’s nervous system regulation.
It’s not a trend. It’s biology.
You don’t need a monastery. Just a few non-negotiables. Start here:
4-7-8 breathwork before you trade or when anxiety shows up out of nowhere: inhale 4 counts, hold 7, exhale slow to 8
Midday screen breaks to reset your input loop
Nature walks. Movement. Get primal.
Deep sleep. Boundaries. Real rest—not doomscrolling
Once I started practicing—even imperfectly—everything else sharpened:
Patience. Resolve. The ability to stay in the trade without needing it to perform right away.
This kind of composure is buildable.
And once you’re there, you start seeing the market differently.
Less like a threat.
More like terrain.
Blinded by me, you can’t see a thing
That’s where it all lands for me.
The market will always be loud. The headlines won’t stop. The volatility won’t slow down just because you’re tired of it.
But if you’ve built a system that filters the chaos—and a regulated state that lets you move cleanly through it—then you’re not a puppet.
You’re not being pulled.
The SIF System gives you clarity on what to own.
Nervous system mastery gives you clarity on how and when to move.
Put them together—and you stop reacting like a deer in headlights.
You start positioning.
That’s real resilience. Not hype. Not hustle.
Just structure and state, working in sync.
Not so much to master the market.
Just to stop letting it master you.
See you at the next level.