Investment

A stock market crash is inevitable just like a winter blizzard that is bound to come. When the stock market crashed during Covid-19, the internet was filled with pessimistic predictions claiming it would be an eternal winter.

But Monica's parents' financial situation is getting better and better, isn't it?

Soon, I was 12. Everything was still the same; we still didn’t go on vacation by the sea. Mom and Dad kept saying that the business was affected by the “economic recession.” What they meant was that the domestic economic situation was the root cause of their financial problems. But I had a question: why, under the same economic situation, are my friend Monica’s parents’ finances getting better and better?

No equity, no path to financial freedom.

If one does not hold corporate equity, the correlation between personal input and returns will be extremely strong. For almost all salaried jobs, even high-paying professions like lawyers or doctors, time must be invested to earn the corresponding income. If you don’t hold company equity, you have no income while sleeping, no income after retirement, and no income during vacation. In short, the income is relatively fixed, making it impossible to achieve substantial breakthroughs.

The internet has massively broadened the possible space of careers. Most people haven’t figured this out yet.

You can go on the internet, and you can find your audience. And you can build a business, and create a product, and build wealth, and make people happy just uniquely expressing yourself through the internet.

Give people more multiple-choice questions, don't make them do judgment questions.

If you don’t give the other party a shared stake in two interests, they will assert their claim over your interest alongside those of others, and consequently dismiss you and leave.

Only by firmly mastering the reference frame can you achieve the best results.

Dig one pit and ask if you’ll jump; you say no. If two pits are dug, and asked which one to jump—the big one or the small one—you will most likely jump into the small one.

Acquiring wealth requires leverage. Leverage can come from labor, capital, code, or media.

We need to understand the difference between receiving equity returns and earning salary compensation. If you are compensated by renting out your time, even if you work in high-paying professions like law or medicine, the compensation you receive will be very limited, insufficient to allow you to achieve financial freedom. However, if you own corporate equity, you can receive passive income—meaning the company keeps making money for you even when you are on vacation. ...

Stop dividing people into rich and poor.

Stop dividing people into rich and poor, or white-collar and blue-collar. The modern dichotomy is between “those who utilize leverage” and “those who do not utilize leverage.”

Early retirement

Retirement is no longer sacrificing today for an imagined tomorrow. When you can live in the present and spend every day with inner fulfillment, you have reached the state of retirement.

Price your own time

Calculate the value of time using your hourly rate. If the time saved by spending money is worth more, spend it—don’t hesitate. To truly earn money, you must first believe in your own worth.

When I say "retirement," I don't mean reaching 65.

Whether by lowering your standard of living or by working hard to earn money, once you are free from financial worries, you can retire.