This beverage company saga has been flooding my feed for two days now. Honestly, I had no intention of weighing in — there are far more interesting things worth talking about with you all. But I couldn’t stand watching a sea of wrong answers online, delivered with such dead-serious confidence. It’s genuinely painful to watch.
Let me be blunt: 99.99% of what’s being said out there is pure misreading. From every angle — business, human nature, politics — all of it is wrong.
If you’ve already reached middle age, yet your career, your prospects, and your family life still show no signs of improvement — or worse, things seem to be getting harder by the day — then you need to read this article carefully.
This is a deeply restorative prescription, written to help you rebuild from the root up.
Drink it slowly. There’s no rush.
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After the economic turbulence of the past two years, I hope you’ve come to understand: those who once took shortcuts, back-alley deals, and risky paths have overwhelmingly come away with nothing to show for it. The wealth accumulated through shadowy means has, for the most part, proven impossible to keep.
Student Question: I’m currently a senior undergraduate student, interning at an internet company in an operations role. I’ve been at it for a while now, but I feel like I haven’t grown much during this time. My own thinking is that I’d like to get more exposure to the product side of things, but I’ve been stuck doing new media operations work. I’ve talked to the project team leader about it, and he told me that how much I gain from the internship is entirely up to me. If I want to break into more core work, should my first step be figuring out how to optimize the work I already have in my hands?
Let me share my personal view upfront: this morning’s eight bullets, though they failed to hit Trump, have in all likelihood dealt a fatal blow to the prospects of global peace.
Because of this event, Trump has a very high probability of locking up the presidency early. And the American hawks will use this moment to rise decisively.
Here is the logic behind that:
1. At 6:58 AM China time this morning, Trump was shot at during a campaign rally. The attacker failed — only grazing Trump’s right ear. Strictly speaking, this does not look like a staged event. The bullet did in fact hit his right ear, and had there been any slight variation, a shot to the center of the forehead would not have been impossible. The person Trump should thank most may well be his own habit of bobbing and swaying his head whenever he speaks.
I’ve always had a very clear picture of who I’m writing for.
First, ideally, readers should be 30 or older — below that age, it’s nearly impossible to truly grasp lessons that cut to the bone.
Second, ideally, readers should be middle class or above — at a management level or higher. Otherwise, they simply won’t have the depth of understanding to make sense of what I write.
If there’s a third threshold, it’s this: readers need to be strong enough to bear the weight of my insight-heavy, unapologetically gray wisdom — the kind that walks the line between righteous and ruthless.
Many people can sense the overall situation, but few understand the key reasons behind it — or know how to respond wisely. Some of this information is sensitive, so I can’t spell it out directly. But if you have a solid grasp of economics and macroeconomics, what I’m about to say will make complete sense. Note: I recommend saving this article for future reference.
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We have now officially entered an endurance race with the other side of the Pacific. They’re betting on one thing: that we’ll sacrifice our push into high-precision industries in exchange for short-term comfort, and simply cave.
Student Question: Hello, Master. I’m the department director who wrote in previously — I’ve asked you two questions before, and I appreciate your patient guidance.
In your earlier responses, you emphasized the importance of KPI, pointing out that resources should be concentrated on key tasks, that completing tasks consistently is how you build resources, and that tasks should be assessed by priority — handled actively or intentionally delayed. You specifically noted that resources should not be spread across all projects.
Student Question: You said the three core competencies for internet operations roles are: taking the blame, fighting for turf, and having thick skin. So what are the core competencies for internet product roles?
Master Chi’s Response: What I said was just a joke — it means that operations roles need to know how to compete for resources. (Product roles are the same way.)
Tech roles can achieve high income simply by focusing on improving their technical skills. (I’m not talking about technical management here — those who become managers are always a minority.) Even if the company collapses or the project disappears, someone with strong technical skills never has to worry about finding work. Technical ability can be quantified directly. Post your code on GitHub, and the whole world can see exactly what level you’re at.
Student Question: Hello Master, I’ve noticed that many job descriptions require candidates to have a keen sense and understanding of industry trends. For someone just starting out in a new field, how can they actually develop this ability?
Master Chi’s Response: This is genuinely difficult for newcomers. Understanding an industry requires long periods of accumulation and immersion. Here are some basic but reliable methods:
Study your competitors’ products and think through their development and improvement decisions. (Why did they add this feature? Why did they run this campaign? Why was a strategy used consistently in previous versions dropped entirely in the new release?)
Today I was talking with a friend about social sciences. Even though social science majors aren’t particularly in demand right now and can be tough to find work in, don’t ever make the mistake of thinking they’re useless.
If you want to make sound financial decisions, you need some understanding of political science and economics — to grasp how national policies affect your personal life, and how economic conditions evolve.