The Primary Question

“What I really need is to get clear about what I must do, not what I must know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every act. What matters is to find a purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I shall do; the crucial thing is to find a truth which is truth for me, to find the idea for which I am willing to live and die.”
– Søren Kierkegaard

Dear reader, The British Olympic rowing team had not won a gold medal since 1912, when the Leander boat club beat their fellow British boat from New College, Oxford in Stockholm. During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 88 years later, no one expected an outcome of any note. But then they shocked the world by winning Olympic Gold. How? By asking one simple question:

Will this make the boat go faster?

That one simple Primary Question changed everything, and catapulted them into the history books. They filtered every decision they made through that one question. “Should we have this rower in our boat?” “Should we go out to the pub the night before morning training?” “What should our race plan be?”

This seems like such a simple strategy. An almost painfully obvious question to ask. And yet, you can easily imagine how most teams get distracted by all sorts of things that don’t directly relate to their key outcome: after all, the objective is to win races, and you win races by having a faster boat.

There is a psychological strategy known as implementation intentions: to have if-then strategies planned out in advance. For example, a marathon runner might decide that they will only quit if they completely lose their vision – otherwise they will continue. While this might sound extreme, the point is simply to pre-set a benchmark for failure, and create an action plan if it should arise.

If you don’t decide in advance the conditions under which you will stop, you will quit prematurely. The Navy Seals have a rule: “When you think you’re done, you’re really only 40% done.” The point being that we always have so much more to offer than we believe.

Having a clear Primary Question provides a powerful focusing effect. The clarity of the desired outcome, combined with visualising the process required to get there, creates a profound implementation intention. “Should I slack off during training today?” Will this make the boat go faster? “Should I eat that doughnut?” Will this make the boat go faster?

While this type of thinking might seem extreme, the real question is: “How badly do you want to achieve your goal?” If you do, then there are no excuses. The only question is: Will this make the boat go faster?

There are a bundle of nerves at our brainstem known as the Reticular Activating System (RAS). The RAS helps us filter out unnecessary information so that only the important stuff gets through. This is also why when you buy a new car, you suddenly see that car everywhere on the road. Having a clear and singular Primary Question focuses your brain on the outcome you want – and when you are that focused, solutions will arise.

The question is: Would you want to compete with someone who has such a clear, focused, and singular mindset? Who filters every decision they make, and responds to every challenge, through this mindset?

Here at Fusang, our Primary Question from now until Christmas is simple:

Will this make it easier for clients to make their first trade?

As Asia’s first fully licensed digital asset exchange, we are truly excited about the potential of allowing digital assets of all forms, including securities, to be traded by investors from all over the world. We have the unique ability to list public companies through digital IPOs that will revolutionise the way that companies raise money and align interests with their clients: by turning stakeholders into shareholders. Combined with our institutional custody infrastructure, this represents the first time that global investors can access the digital asset markets in a secure, compliant, and convenient manner.

By focusing on this Primary Question, we will ensure that our clients’ user experience is always top priority. We truly believe that if we focus on fulfilling our clients’ needs, instead of focusing on short-terms gains for ourselves as a company, we will ultimately do extremely well. As an exchange, it is too easy to get caught up building things that don’t directly fulfil that end goal of making it easier for clients to trade – which is after all the fundamental purpose of an exchange.

We believe that all clients want a lower-friction experience; smoother and quicker onboarding and processing of KYC/AML; easier payment and transfer options; and of course a selection of the most exciting companies and assets to invest in. These are the unique promises of the digital asset revolution.

Fusang is excited to embark on this voyage with you.

Yours Sincerely,
Henry Chong