Yinson Cafe

I’m Yinson, your barista here at Yinson Cafe.

People usually introduce me as a singer-songwriter, a label that I find limiting. I prefer to go beyond such titles and share what I usually spend my time on instead.

𓍼 First of all, I Ponder A Lot

Sometimes overthink, actually. My mind just won't shut.

About Life: My Philosophy

This might sound morbid, but I frequently remind myself that an accident could happen at any moment, and I could be gone. Because of this, I value peace of mind and daily contentment over grand achievements or legacy. These thoughts compel me to live deliberately and focus on the present and the very near future. I never plan my life more than 9 months ahead to maintain maximum flexibility, and I don’t fear not having a clear image of where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing in two years.

But weirdly, I also think very long-term. I open my life planner at least 5 times a day, constantly evaluating every aspect of my life - from my financial status to my learning progress to my hobbies and interests. And ever since I was 18, I've put great effort into preparing myself mentally and financially for an uncertain future, driven by an underlying anxiety about living a day-to-day struggling life. Nearly every decision I've made up to this point is based on my belief in the compounding effect. My income streams are either passive or have low marginal costs. I've also never wanted a tattoo because I cannot think of any icon or phrase I am confident I will still love when I am 80.

About Feelings: Sensitive like hell

I never believe in the MBTI test. Yet, I would still take the test every time someone mentions it, almost as a guilty pleasure, just to prove my skepticism right, and my results vary each time (which only reinforces my doubt). Interestingly, there’s one question where my answer has never changed: 'Your emotions control you more than you control them.' I always select 'totally agree.'

I care deeply. My emotions often take the lead, guiding my thoughts and actions. I overthink almost everything, from the smallest details to the biggest decisions, constantly analyzing and re-analyzing. This means my mind is always busy, replaying conversations and scenarios, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. While this can be overwhelming, it also means I am deeply empathetic and truly invested in the people and things I care about. That’s why I value deeper conversations over shallow ones. It’s a constant balancing act, but it’s an intrinsic part of who I am.

𓍼 I Create A Lot

I Just Want to Make Lots of Stuff

I would say this is probably a byproduct of me pondering a lot and being sensitive. Also, I'm often inspired by others' work and feel a strong urge to create, with a strange confidence that I can match their quality.

I write and produce songs under the artist name Yinson Lee, design physical albums and my merchandises from scratch, shoot videos while traveling, write essays to express my emotions and thoughts, create websites, and as a result, build businesses. I don't work for others. Freelancing and committing to others' work drained me, so I decided to focus solely on my projects that I'm passionate about.

Though it sounds like I'm having a great time doing my own stuffs, there's also a lot of boring administrative work. Shooting videos on the road means late nights backing up footages and managing equipment. Making music involves perfectly timed promotions and royalties management to ensure the songs get the recognition they deserve and I receive all the royalties. Running this website, where I enjoy sharing stuff as if with a friend, also means that I need to actively curate every piece of information I encounter and like. Uploading any content to different platforms also requires multiple checks of descriptions and formats.

Honestly, I constantly feel like I have too much on my plate.

I Seek Maximization While Managing My Time

This is my proudest personal traits, which also happens to be my greatest weakness. I hate to waste a single hour. I strive to make the most out of everything in my life — whether it's my schedule, my travel plans, or my work patterns with others. I tend to schedule long travels to make my intercontinental flights 'worth it,' sometimes extending my trips to the point where I question, 'why am I here?' I often have so much on my plate and frequently underestimate deadlines, planning my schedule so tightly that it only works if everything goes perfectly, often leaving me extensively hoping for things to go smoothly.

While my approach often helps me achieve my goals and fulfill my passions, it leaves me with little buffer for unexpected disruptions. So if something goes wrong, I feel miserable. This issue is compounded by my working pattern, which leads to my next point.

I Work Alone

I struggle with delegating tasks, especially those requiring creative input or specific access to my accounts. Trusting others’ judgment and authorizing them has always been challenging for me. I also tend to get impatient when others don't understand my assignment, leading me to take on too much myself. Also, I would only trust agents and middle people after I have done enough homework myself.

For example, in 2023 alone, I prepared myself by studying regulations and tax laws before I registered my company in the US as a foreigner. I taught myself video editing and color grading to bring my imagination of my music videos to life. Also, all my travels that year — from New Zealand to Japan to Switzerland and much more — were entirely self-planned. While these experiences have helped me learn a lot, I recognize this isn't the best approach and I'm still learning to to overcome my obsession with controlling everything.

𓍼 On My Leisure Time

I Actively Explore Content Rather Than Relying On The Algorithm

I hate when I find myself endlessly scrolling through social media, but I can't entirely avoid it. To combat this, I added a "Stop Scrolling, Watch This" widget to my phone's home screen, pointing to my curated list of blog posts and videos I've bookmarked. I'll click it when I catch myself scrolling again. I enjoy visiting personal websites with thought-provoking ideas and watching storytelling channels that deeply move me. (See my top recommendations here)

Learning is My Main Interest

I’m not saying this just to sound impressive. I can confidently say that at least 95% of the knowledge and skills I use daily now are self-taught from scratch. These are areas I have been deeply interested in and actively learning:

Creative Side:
-- Music Production (from Collaborating with Musicians all over the world, to Processing all the recorded audio files to industry standards for release)
-- Video Production (from Shooting to Color Grading)
-- Playing Jazz Piano & Guitar
-- Coding

Business Side:
-- Building and Operating a Record Label (from Releasing Music to Managing Royalties, Licensing and Taxes)
-- Selling Merchandise (from Designing to Producing to Shipping Globally)
-- Writing and Running Websites (from Designing to SEO)
-- Setting Up Online Stores

Personal Side:
-- Finance (from Investing to Taxes)
-- Credit Cards Rewards, Airlines Miles
-- Sending Cold Emails
-- Speaking Spanish
-- Self-guided Traveling

P/S: I exclude songwriting, singing and long-form writing (especially in Chinese, my native language) because they were never something I 'learned'. I've been doing them for as long as I can remember, and they have always just felt natural to me. However, they, along with the skills mentioned above, have served me well so far.

I'm writing this in mid-2024, and all the learning I've mentioned only started in mid-2021. I'm grateful for my relentless, intrinsic drive to learn. In fact, this is the main reason I decided not to go to college, despite receiving several offers from prestigious institutions. I take pride in controlling my own learning progress in fields that truly inspire me, as structured syllabi make me uncomfortable. I've found excellent resources on the Internet and honed my skills by producing and releasing my work, letting the market judge its value. I also enjoy connecting with fellow learners in various ways, without the need for group assignments, which I'm not particularly good at.

I Love Miles and Perks

When it comes to seeking good deals, I'm 100% freaking nerd. I love doing calculation and diving into the T&Cs, whether it's related to credit card policies, airline and hotel programs, tourist tax refund schemes, or retailer cashback promotions. I'm also confident to say that I'm real good at searching cost-effective flight tickets, especially from premium carriers like Singapore Airlines. Most of my recent travels have been planned around these great deals.

Once, I spontaneously flew from Malaysia to Sydney for a 4-day quick trip just to purchase a new lens and a guitar. This happened after I discovered that price reductions I would get from promotions, price-match policies, and the tourist tax refund would easily offset my travel costs. On top of that, this trip boosted my airline miles!! Trust me, I can never stop talking about my love of miles and perks.

𓍼 Other Less Serious & Weird Stuffs About Me

-- I hate driving, except when I'm the only car on the road. Traffic and others' careless behaviours (especially in Malaysia - if you know, you know) feel like a huge waste of time or a risk to my life. So, if I ever offer to pick you up, you ARE my friend.

-- I'm terrible with tools and mechanical tasks. I don't know anything about plumbing or electricity. I have a little trouble visualising space and scale. I've never finished building IKEA furniture or LEGO sets on my own. Although I enjoy the silky-smooth videos I shoot using a gimbal, I never really understood how to balance it before use — I just never GET it. People who can intuitively use tools and have a good 3-dimensional spatial sense seem to have a superpower to me.

-- I admit it, I’m spoiled. I've never learned how to sweep the floor or clean my clothes properly, and I’m deeply grateful for everyone who has taken good care of me, and I always will.

𓍼 And finally...

No... I don't brew coffee. Never once.