It’s the height of summer, so I’m writing a few heartfelt words for a casual chat — something to cool that inner fire of yours.
You may have noticed that over this recent stretch, I’ve been writing fewer practical how-to pieces and giving more space to these heart-to-heart talks.
The reason is simple: in the current times, calm and gentle reassurance is the most precious nourishment for the spirit.
As for making money and conquering the world?
No rush. When your energy is fully restored, when the broader environment gradually warms and new opportunities begin to stir — that’s when we advance, steady and grounded. And we’ll still be right on time.
So for now, at least, I don’t want to spend too many words convincing you to grind away at meaningless effort and drag yourself back into that spiral of anxiety.
Why bother? The tide of the times hasn’t risen yet — there’s no need to burn yourself out prematurely.
On the contrary, slowing your pace a little is actually the more important thing — it benefits you now, and it benefits your future.
Sadly, many people haven’t reached a certain level of maturity and simply won’t grasp what I just said.
So take a look around: who is truly anxious these days? Mostly people just a few years out of school — young people, average age under 35.
The root of their anxiety is entering the working world and suddenly realizing: why are there so few opportunities to chase? Why am I stuck in such a ruthlessly competitive society?
And so they lock themselves into a bizarre arms race, never stopping, never resting.
Others grind? I grind harder — all the way past midnight.
Others push themselves? I push harder — until my health markers come back abnormal.
If you think about it carefully, you know this can’t be the path to long-term growth. This is brute force, not clever strategy.
You’ll come to see that every stage of life is made up of alternating phases — periods of lying low and periods of charging forward. There has never been a path of relentless, unstoppable momentum without pause for rest and renewal along the way.
This is especially true for ordinary people. You must learn to advance for a stretch, then stop and reflect — where can you adjust, where can you optimize, where can you do better? Only after fully restoring your edge — body and mind — do you charge into the next phase.
So in this era, the courage to charge and grind is actually not what’s clever. The true wisdom — the most remarkable wisdom — is the ability to endure stillness and keep cultivating yourself.
Not long ago, a reader sent me a question. He wrote: “Master, I think I’m a complete failure. My family is entirely ordinary. It’s been seven or eight years since I graduated from university, and I’ve been a regular office worker ever since, with a decent but unremarkable income.
I have a simple girlfriend who likes watching anime and playing games with me in our free time, and a group of childhood friends I play football with every weekend. But I’ve never managed to make serious money, and it weighs on me — I’m frustrated and anxious all the time.
Am I the textbook definition of a failure? Should I be racking my brain right now to make money, to climb the ladder and strike it rich?”
I happened to have some free time that day, so I wrote back: Little brother, you are already quite successful. “Failure” has nothing to do with you — you just don’t know it yet.
From what you’ve described, I can see that in real life you are free from illness, your income is sufficient, your family is safe and healthy, and there’s no serious conflict within.
More importantly, you have a girlfriend who shares your values and a solid group of friends. None of you are perfect, but people listen when you talk, and you have people to laugh and play with.
You may not have struck it rich, and yes, you are utterly ordinary — but because of that, you can sleep in from time to time, enjoy a good meal, deal with no tangled social politics, and simply be yourself, completely free.
And most importantly, you have no destructive vices, no moral failings of character, and no illness.
With all of this, you are already genuinely happy — and by any real measure, you have already won at life.
As for striving and ambition?
Don’t worry. As long as you cherish your blessings and quietly build your reserves — accumulating depth before you strike — every single day you live is already a state of steady, grounded effort.
Those words are for you too — whoever you are, reading this right now.
So tonight, when you get home, I hope you give yourself a proper reward. Watermelon, cold beer, edamame, braised meat — any of those will do just fine.