Self-Cultivation

Lately, many of you have been asking about entrepreneurship and starting side businesses. What’s the core of it all? Honestly? Both entrepreneurship and side businesses are inherently opportunistic. There’s nothing shameful about that — it’s simply the reality in front of us. All the entrepreneurship frameworks, all the struggles, all the hustle — when you strip it down, it starts because you don’t have much money. It’s being broke that forces people to get creative.

Student Question: Hello, I’m genuinely happy to have joined your knowledge community. I’m 32, female, ten years out of school — five years of finance experience and two-plus years as a corporate risk control specialist (not particularly skilled in that role; I’ve always felt finance suits me better, but I never followed through on getting certified). My company has been struggling these past two years, with salary cuts and layoffs. I’m now looking to re-enter the job market.

Reaching middle age, the days grow easier one by one — there is often time to simply enjoy yourself. The ultimate purpose of spiritual cultivation in the mortal world is self-evolution. Convincing others is difficult enough; better to invest that energy in educating yourself. Only by maintaining a constant awareness of yourself can you discover the limits of your own perception and shift the way you think. In middle age, you finally know what you want — rather than being nailed to the cross of life, struggling helplessly.

First — if you’ve been under immense pressure lately and feeling anxious inside, it means you haven’t spent a single moment of energy on “reading which way the wind is blowing.” In our world, this is a cardinal mistake in how one conducts their life. There’s a saying that rings true: in this life, you have to learn to read the sky before you eat. If you can’t even read the sky, then all I can say is — good luck to you.

“Can a child from an ordinary family — one who simply studies hard and buries their nose in books — possibly compete with the accumulated wisdom passed down through two generations of blood, sweat, and tears in another family’s tradition? Wake up. Some paths won’t be pointed out to you, and you’ll never catch up.” Those were my opening words when I was invited to speak at an education circle event not long ago.

Student Question Hello, Master Chi. I’ve been working in marketing for several years, and recently I opened my own brick-and-mortar store. But I’m facing a very real marketing problem — I find it genuinely difficult to develop targeted solutions that actually address the issues I’m dealing with. Even when I put together a preliminary plan and try to execute it, the results are minimal. I’d like to ask Master Chi: where exactly is the problem?

Student Question: Hello, Master. This year the pandemic restrictions have lifted. I thought transitioning from my previous career into entrepreneurship would be a real opportunity. But I severely underestimated how idealistic I was. My first venture ended in failure — a fresh-cut fruit shop. I thought the investment costs would be modest and just dove in headfirst — only to discover how little I understood about the market. Time and again, I found myself falling into traps.

Someone asked me: why do my articles aimed at waking women up always have such aggressive titles? Simple. Because I genuinely want the well-behaved, compliant girls to turn back and not click through to read articles that are far beyond their current worldview. There’s no need. Well-behaved girls should indulge in romance and sentimentality — they have no business blindly chasing ambition. Just like a herbivore should never force itself to grow the fangs and claws of a predator.

Student Question Hello, Master. I am 34 years old and currently serve as Section Chief of the Cadre Division at a municipal organization department. Compared to a township party secretary, which position is better? The reason I ask is that department leadership has called me in for a talk and wants me to go down to serve as a township party secretary. Do you think I should go? I feel like it might be a step down, but I also sense it could be bad to refuse. What do you think I should do?

Student Question Hello Master, I’ve been unemployed for nine months. I’ve tried three side businesses and failed at all of them. Street vending. Around the Lantern Festival, a close friend and I went to sell lanterns and balloons at a stall. The lanterns arrived too late — we missed the festival entirely. The balloons fell apart because I couldn’t figure out how to inflate them properly, so we gave up. Total inventory costs: 1,000+ yuan. Revenue: 500+ yuan. Net loss: over 500 yuan.