Psychology

Influencing Human Behavior Like Training a Dog Shaping is a learning procedure. In this learning procedure, initially, rewards are given for any behavior similar to the target behavior; then, the standard is gradually raised, and rewards are given only for behaviors that are increasingly similar to the target behavior; finally, rewards are given only when the target behavior actually occurs. Some teachers apply this instrumental behavior shaping method in daily teaching. For example, when training students to think about problems, initially, regardless of what answer the student gives, the teacher gives verbal praise for the behavior of raising their hand bravely; then, rewards are selectively given for increasingly better answers. ...

Hitler’s Propaganda Philosophy The audience’s capacity for reception is extremely limited; they grasp very little. Furthermore, they are highly forgetful. Given this, effective propaganda must be concentrated on only a few key points and must definitely be presented in the form of slogans, until every individual understands the meaning of that slogan. To sacrifice this principle in pursuit of comprehensiveness is to inevitably doom the effective propaganda effort, as people cannot digest or retain what is presented to them. ...

The Only Normal Source of Wealth Must Be Production The core reason why the vast majority of people fail is not because they don’t engage in production, nor is it because they never accumulate, but rather because they fail to accumulate for a sufficient period of time. Consequently, the amount of money is insufficient, and thus, they fail to acquire or master true wealth. Life should be centered around production. Everything else, no matter what it is, must be ranked after it. Nothing is more important than production—at least, until basic necessities are met. ...

Throughout my investment journey, I have come to trust the S&P 500 and consider it the core of my wealth storage. By understanding the US Constitution, the free society, and the powerful military behind it, I believe that the S&P 500 represents the strongest companies and the most stable economy in the world. Here’s why I made this decision and the thinking behind it: The US Constitution and Free Society are the Strongest Guarantees I firmly believe that the US Constitution and the free society structure are among the most valuable assets in the world. The rule of law and the powerful military, particularly the aircraft carrier, provide a unique guarantee for global investors. If the US Constitution protects investors’ rights and the economy relies on the free market, it will provide a solid foundation for my chosen assets. ...

People Dislike Hearing Bad News or anything that contradicts their existing views and conclusions. Therefore, if certain things might be painful, the human brain will start to act, trying to deny reality. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel laureate, believes: “(People often don’t even want to invest) the minimum effort to genuinely figure out what they did wrong. This isn’t accidental; it’s because they simply don’t want to know.” Everyone Avoids We all invent stories for ourselves and avoid the facts. Even if you spend a lot of time studying behavioral economics, your skills might only improve slightly. You will always make mistakes. People often ignore or refuse to acknowledge the faults of those they love, and tend to distort the facts to accommodate them. ...

Any Form of Prediction is Merely Speculation Investing is a probabilistic activity, and decisions made in a very rational manner sometimes result in poor outcomes. Even when decision-makers formulate a perfect plan and implement it smoothly, unfavorable results can still occur. However, in the long run, focusing on following the correct process, rather than any specific intermediate result, is always wise. Whenever you want to buy a stock, someone is selling… so, you are forced to frequently ask this question: “Why am I the correct side in this transaction?” ...

Deeply ingrained beliefs are not something that can be awakened by mere words. Even abandoning medicine for literature cannot save the Chinese people The two most difficult things in this world are: first, putting other people’s money into your own pocket; second, implanting your own thoughts into others’ minds. The first thing affects people’s interests, while the second affects their soul.

More than huge returns, the safety of wealth is paramount. Extreme success largely depends on luck. Investing and wealth management isn’t entirely based on luck. It might be a bit like playing cards—there’s a significant element of luck, but also a certain level of skill. Personal financial investment is largely related to psychology. Investment behavior is strongly related to a person’s past experiences, because past experiences influence one’s psychology. Chapter 1: No One Truly Loses Their Mind Over Money In the United States, the lowest-income families spend an average of $412 annually on lottery tickets, which is four times the amount spent by high-income families. 40% of Americans cannot pull out even $400 when they urgently need money. This means that those who spend $400 on lottery tickets are essentially those who cannot produce $400 when they need it most. They are betting the $400 that could provide them with security on a chance of winning that is only one in a million. ...

You hold reverence for natural law, he worships authority— This is a difference in worldview; You stand by conscience, he stands by the strong— This is a difference in values; Your effort is for an ideal life, His effort is to be superior to others— This is a difference in philosophy of life.

1 - Understanding human nature People are, above all, interested in themselves. Yup. Sorry. No matter who you are people will always be a thousand times more interested in themselves than in you. No judgment here. People’s actions are governed by self-interest. In every human relationship, your counterpart will always think or ask themselves “what’s in it for me?” Remember this question “What’s in it for me?” By the way, you’re asking this question in all your interactions too, consciously or subconsciously. ...

Power Law 1: Never Eclipse Your Superior’s Brilliance While trying to please them or leave a deep impression, do not overtly display your talents, lest it backfire—triggering their fear and anxiety. Power Law 2: Never Trust Friends Too Easily; Learn to Utilize Your Enemies If you hire a former enemy, they will be more loyal than a friend because they will be more eager to prove themselves to you. Beware your friends! They betray you faster because they are more prone to developing jealousy. They will also be spoiled and become tyrannical. Power Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions ...

Hello everyone, and welcome to the final episode of Deep Love for Wealth (or “Deep Love for Playing Wealth,” depending on context, but “Wealth” sounds more natural for a finance/self-help podcast). I’m JS Jingshu. As for what the future blog or other content will be, I’ll save that for the next episode—the first episode of the new podcast. Since this is the last one, I’m just going to go crazy. I’m giving up on the “Lin Blogger’s face” (a reference to a specific persona/brand) anyway; I’m not doing it anymore. So, I want to say something that I’ve always wanted to say: “The Academic Cat is Toxic.” Today, I don’t want to play around with non-judgmental, or, sigh, benevolent speculation in these mind-body contexts. Because if I hold that idea, of course, it’s not wrong, but my words just won’t make sense, and this sentence will never be fully articulated. ...

Victory achieved through military means cannot be lasting; the defeated will eventually retaliate. This kind of victory has occurred many times in human history, but sooner or later, it will turn into a grave disaster—because the victory obtained through force itself plants a seed of failure in the future, and the arrival of this failure is merely a matter of time.

Fear and anger make them lose their ability to think. They start to become particularly good at doing absurd things that harm their own interests. So, the first thing you need to learn is how to control these two emotions. +++

In times of disagreement and conflict, the one who maintains composure is the strongest. Only this person can master the situation, and calmness is the only way to prevent the tension from escalating.

“Being contrarian and making judgments will never be effective,” the sage commented, “on the contrary, it will only exacerbate conflict. Yet, this is something that every person trying to soothe others does subconsciously.”

Asking someone a question is giving them a chance to speak The Cycle of Refusal and Explanation When someone refuses our request, our immediate reaction is usually to explain why they should accept our proposal. If the other party doesn’t choose to concede, we often continue to explain or present more arguments. We try to force acceptance through our own explanation, and the other party is doing the exact same thing. This is like a conversation between two deaf people: “No, because…”, “Yes, because…”, “No, because…”, “Yes, because…”, endlessly. ...

We are always eager to explain to others why they are wrong, but what we should actually do is show interest in other people’s viewpoints, and this also serves our own interests. When others reject one of your proposals, you first need to show interest in the reasons behind it, and your attitude must be as sincere as possible. You can ask, “Why do you disagree?” and then listen attentively to their answer. Their answer is like a gold mine, containing many pieces of information worth considering and leveraging. That is the secret.

Avoid getting caught in the cycle of explaining, threatening, and personal attacks. Step One Calming Your Own Emotions. When we feel an urge to attack the other person internally, we need to try our best to suppress it. For example, we can achieve this through several methods mentioned in the story: Correcting misjudgments of the facts; Distracting yourself through deep breathing; Or simply restraining the fist you want to throw; Or any other method that might be effective. During communication with others, every time you feel this urge reignite internally, you must review this step in your mind. Completing this step only takes a few seconds, making it perhaps the most difficult and most important step. If you don’t have the urge to attack the other person, that is naturally better. You can then proceed directly to the next step. ...

The less you want something, the less you’re thinking about it, the less you’re obsessing over it, the more you’re going to do it in a natural way. The more you’re going to do it for yourself. You’re going to do it in a way you’re good at, and you’re going to stick with it. The people around you will see the quality of your work is higher.