【Student Question】
Master Chi, hello. I’d like to ask you about something that has troubled me for a long time.
Why is it that sometimes we clearly know a certain action will do us more harm than good — yet we keep doing it anyway?
A few examples:
Say I have no appetite in the morning. I eat snacks for breakfast instead, and now my stomach is upset. I’ve been through this before, and I know the long-term consequence is physical discomfort — so why do I still choose it?
A New Year’s Message — Two Pieces of Advice
First Piece of Advice: Investment is a means, not an end. Hold off on large investments for now — whether in education or in projects.
Why? Because the economic situation is still unclear. What looks like an opportunity today can flip the moment policy shifts.
That opportunity could instantly become a trap.
You need to be able to wait. To endure.
Just speaking off the cuff here. This is only for those brothers and sisters who can actually read the big picture.
1.
People have been asking me to weigh in on this: should you back the pro-opening side or the lockdown side?
Honestly? I’m with neither. Because if you’re past 30 and you still think this debate is about right versus wrong, that tells me one thing: you fundamentally don’t understand the rules of the game on this land.
Everyone has felt the weight of this year in their own way. There’s no point saying much more about it.
But warmer days ahead — that much is certain. It just won’t happen overnight. The transition needs time to unfold gradually, giving everyone a chance to mentally prepare, and giving society and the healthcare system time to get ready as well.
The truth is, the bigger the ship, the more time and preparation it takes to change course. That’s simply unavoidable.
The World Cup is a grand feast of entertainment — it only gets truly interesting when everyone joins in the spirited discussion.
I move through all kinds of circles, so unusual stories find their way to me constantly.
The strangest one still dates back to the 2014 World Cup. The night before the Brazil-Germany semi-final, a friend of mine named Old Zhao had a dream. He dreamed of Brazil’s crushing defeat and Germany’s overwhelming victory — the entire pitch swathed in waving German flags.
Never forget — we are each just a small part of this vast world. No matter how hard you strive as an individual, you must still move in alignment with the greater tide of events.
So “waiting with stillness” is exactly the right move.
Beyond that, do your best to align yourself with elements like “tier-one-plus cities, emerging industries, and quality assets.” Ten years from now, that alignment means a major leap to a higher tier of life.
1 - A new round of natural selection has already begun — don’t blame society for being cruel. This is an ecological mechanism as old as civilization itself.
Sometimes I look at certain people in their 20s and 30s, and I can only shake my head. Some people are poor for a reason — and it’s entirely fair.
Young, yes. But their capabilities are shallow and narrow. And yet they feel no urgency, convinced that youth is on their side — not realizing the water beneath their feet is slowly rising. They won’t scramble to learn to swim until it’s already at their necks.
Last night’s events — I believe you all witnessed them. And like you, my feelings are complicated, a tangle of emotions I can’t quite sort into words.
But feelings are feelings. Reason must never be abandoned — especially when it comes to matters of national importance.
My readers, on average, are without question the most thoughtful audience anywhere online. So I trust that you have the rationality and wisdom to follow where I’m going with this.
Today’s article is a Q&A — short, but important.
Because it answers the greatest anxiety that may have been occupying your mind lately: “If the days ahead don’t go well for me, what should I do?”
Read this article through to the end, and you’ll find your answer.
Student Question:
Master, I am a middle-aged reader, and these days the pressure I feel is truly immense. I’ve come to seek your guidance and find some relief for this heavy, suppressed heart of mine.
I’m writing this article because I’ve discovered that far too many people have lived the better part of their lives without ever grasping how society actually works. If you never get clear on this, the suffering ahead of you will be enormous. At best, you’ll drift through life in a fog, living small. At worst, you’ll become a cautionary tale.
But the most devastating consequence? You’ll miss every major opportunity the next five years has to offer — again. You’ll stand on the sidelines, watching people who are only slightly more perceptive than you devour every windfall the era has to give.