Messi’s snub of China was not a misunderstanding. It was deliberate — a declaration of allegiance, a statement of position, a pledge of loyalty. It reveals personal ambition and the clash of opposing camps.
The Argentines, in their pain and frustration, have chosen a path unlike any before — one actually tried across the former Soviet states in the 1990s. There is a specific term for it: shock therapy. We all know how that turned out. In the early stages, the internal economic spiral caused by currency instability and insufficient capital for consumption and production would be immediately halted. Argentina is a country rich in physical assets — to put it plainly, they have the resources. But the pricing power over those resources doesn’t belong to them.
Many people ask how to meet noble benefactors (Gui Ren). Let me give you the general picture.
First, if a powerful person notices you, beyond your excellent qualities or skills, the main reason is that you remind them of their younger self. They sense a similarity in temperament and disposition — a kind of inexplicable closeness, what people call natural eye chemistry.
Second, you know how to show genuine gratitude. Your words reach their heart, and you deliver results beautifully. When a noble benefactor gives you a small opportunity to test your capabilities, you give it everything you have, you don’t seek credit, and you’re not fixated purely on personal gain — you leave the glory for your benefactor. They see that you have a broad life pattern (格局), that you understand unspoken rules and know your place. Over time, they’ll start introducing you to their inner circle.
In communities dedicated to the dating woes of accomplished women in major cities, there is no shortage of what I call the “polished elite” — middle-class women with solid family backgrounds and impressive credentials: 985/211 undergraduates, top overseas master’s degrees, raised by families who invested enormous time and money in their development. They’ve put in the work themselves too — holding core positions at major platforms, using spare time to build side businesses, with cars, homes, and savings well sorted. Their looks and figures are above average. They don’t pinch pennies at dinner, they reciprocate gifts, they carry themselves with proper upbringing. And yet, they still can’t find the right person. The core reason: men at their level are simply too rare.
It only takes two steps to lock a person at the bottom of society.
Use fragmentation to erode macro-logical thinking ability. Use shame to erode participation. What we call being “locked at the bottom” is not a problem caused by class stratification — it is a requirement of class stratification.
Class stratification typically flows from the top down. When the top is blocked, nothing flows down. At its core, it’s about resources becoming overly concentrated in certain places, and the further down you go, the more barren the resources become.
Always iterate upward and keep growing. Not having a glamorous background or resume is nothing to fear. With clear goals and the drive to execute, there is always hope.
What should working professionals pay attention to? Projects you can be proud of — projects with a strong reputation across the industry. Former colleagues and upstream/downstream connections who trust and support you, and speak well of you. Transferable knowledge — through your work, can you walk away with insights that apply broadly across multiple fields at a higher level of understanding?
I want to remind everyone of something I’ve been clear about before: in today’s world, there is one thing more important — and more potent — than how you dress, how you decorate your home, or what accessories you wear.
That thing is your social media profile picture.
Your profile picture is the clearest window into your personal Chi field (气场), and it is the single most powerful focal point through which good fortune, good opportunities, and good people are drawn toward you.
Every year as the New Year approaches, my private contact information becomes impossibly busy — phone calls and private messages buzzing nonstop.
This is also when friends from all walks of life come to book readings with me, looking to understand what the coming year holds in store.
Just last night, a client I’ve known for years came to me in a rush, begging me to fit her in sometime after the Spring Festival — the sooner the better.
Count on your fingers — Spring Festival is truly just over ten days away.
And I believe this year’s Spring Festival will be something different. Because even though my articles haven’t been updating quite as frequently these past couple of days, I’m still receiving messages from brothers and sisters in the comments.
In those messages, anxiety, suppression, irritability, discouragement, and self-doubt are written between every line.
Of course, all things in this world operate through Yin and Yang in balance.
Live-streaming commerce hosts appear to be driving consumption — but in reality, they haven’t created any new market. They’ve simply seized existing market share.
That same market share used to sustain countless brick-and-mortar shops and their employees, supporting stable livelihoods for many people. The winner-takes-all Matthew Effect of top-tier streaming hosts has instead triggered mass unemployment.
Merchants find themselves losing money just to stay in the game — but they have no choice but to play along. Consumers find shopping more cumbersome than ever, forced to sit through livestreams or pay more elsewhere. Workers find fewer local jobs available — positions that could have offered stability in a smaller hometown city have evaporated, leaving people no option but to uproot their lives and migrate for work.
People often ask me how to improve their professional capabilities — whether there’s some shortcut they’re missing.
I’ve thought about it, and honestly, the paths boil down to just a few:
Read like your life depends on it Work like your life depends on it Take care of your body That’s it.
For ordinary people without exceptional talent, there’s no special growth formula. Those legendary stories you hear? They’re written for geniuses — they have nothing to do with the rest of us.