Students often ask me how to improve their professional abilities — is there some shortcut they can take?
I’ve thought about it, and honestly, the paths are few:
- Read relentlessly
- Work relentlessly
- Keep your body strong
That’s it.
For ordinary people without exceptional talent, there’s no special formula for growth. Those legendary stories you’ve heard? They’re written for geniuses — they have nothing to do with us. The only path to success is constant grinding: accumulating experience and building mastery.
Eventually, you become the oil vendor in your field (a figure from Chinese classical literature who, when asked the secret of his perfect pour, replied simply: “nothing but practiced hands”).
Ordinary people are roughly equal in intelligence. The difference lies in how they learn.
Many people don’t realize it, but their effort and diligence stay stuck at an extremely low level of repetitive labor — which is why they work themselves to exhaustion and feel like they’re getting nowhere.
A lot of what people assume demands high intelligence — data analysis, investment decisions, industry research, financial management, programming — actually requires far less raw intellect than you’d think. Especially in business. These are all highly repetitive skilled trades.
The defining characteristic of the business world is: don’t reinvent the wheel. Use the wheels that already exist, and run as fast as they’ll carry you. That’s the highest-leverage approach.
So when it comes to building wealth — as long as you’re not chasing billionaire status — stay on the right track with the right methods, and living comfortably is entirely within reach. No doubt about it.
After all these years, I’ve arrived at a truth that is both strikingly simple and deeply ironic: people who genuinely love their work, who have real career ambition, are extraordinarily rare.
Everyone wants a promotion and a raise. Very few are willing to actually sacrifice much to get there.
I used to tell fresh graduates all the time: write a daily work summary. Record what fell short, what improved. It doesn’t have to be long — even just noting one thing you said that didn’t land right, and thinking of a better way to say it next time. That’s genuine progress.
Two hundred words a day. How many people can keep that up?
Very few.
Of course, I’m not saying work is the most important thing in life. I’m saying: if you truly apply yourself — if you really put in the effort — surpassing most people is absolutely within reach.
There are no shortcuts in this world. The legends you admire were built on solitude, monotony, tedium, and repetition. Those who can endure it rise above. Those who can’t fade into the crowd.
In all my years, I have never once seen a person who loves their work, takes it seriously, and keeps learning — end up doing poorly. Even when luck isn’t on their side, these people’s income and standing sit well above the average.
Study steadily. Work earnestly. What’s meant to be yours will come. There’s truly no need to rush.