1 - The reason so many people repeat a life of grinding hardship their entire lives comes down to one thing they’ve never understood from beginning to end: big money isn’t something you “earn.” When your abilities reach a certain level and you use those abilities to sit at the right table, you receive your share of what’s on that table.
What I just said is essentially a direct revelation of the wealth-building secret behind 99.9999% of high-net-worth individuals on this earth — but I’ll bet that very few people who read it will truly understand it.
2 - Precisely because so few people grasp this, the vast majority — their so-called hard work and struggle — amounts to nothing more than showing up day after day at entry-level positions, performing highly repetitive tasks that can be replaced at any moment. Call it “piecework.”
Sorry to say it bluntly, but no matter how sophisticated the piecework, the outcome is always the same: a meager, forgettable paycheck.
As an adult entering the working world, the single most important thing you must do first is learn to distinguish: which activities look busy but offer you zero long-term benefit — the piecework; and which activities appear slow to reward but ultimately build into massive returns — the career.
Piecework and career. Know the difference.
3 - The more shortsighted, impatient, and unsuccessful a person is, the more likely they are to borrow a large sum of money and throw it at a business they know almost nothing about, gambling on a single move to strike it rich.
Take note: for nearly every person who comes to me for a destiny framework (格局) reading, my first order of business is a clear warning — do not put even a single yuan of capital into anything that exceeds your knowledge and experience.
The business that will truly make you money is one you know inside and out — one where you understand every step of the process, every contingency plan, the root of every problem, and can handle every complication with ease.
Put another way: chasing quick riches will hurt you. Mastery is what generates wealth.
4 - I have a strong aversion to people who come to me for a destiny reading driven by urgency, anxiety, and a blind hunger for fast money.
Whenever I encounter someone like that, I calmly decline and tell them: every source of quick money on this earth carries an enormous backlash. It will eventually cost you — legally, morally, or in terms of your fortune cycle (运势).
True legitimate wealth always comes slowly, steadily, and step by step. It feels like breaking new ground on a barren field — every task is demanding, but every task is completed with solid footing, and each step forward is clear and deliberate.
From sweat-soaked digging, to the patient toil of sowing and tending, to the final harvest.
You’ll find your emotions growing calmer. There’s none of the manic agitation of a sudden windfall. Slowly and naturally, you arrive at the legitimate wealth that is rightfully yours.
That is the direction I will guide you toward — and the only path I hope you’ll walk.
5 - In this era, never entertain the thought: “I’ve decided I’m going to get rich! So I’m going to quit cold and go start a business!”
Many of my brothers and sisters at companies and large firms face an awkward dilemma: there’s a good entrepreneurial opportunity out there, so should they quit and start from scratch?
Here’s my unified answer: please recognize the reality of this era. If you currently have a job that keeps you fed and housed, that is already a solid foundation.
So for new opportunities outside, first find every possible way to squeeze your weekends, rest days, and free time — get involved, contribute, and help. Only after you see concrete, tangible returns should you consider switching ships.
The same applies to most ordinary people. Don’t tell me your job is too stressful to free up even a sliver of time.
Let me put it this way: learning to coast intelligently at your job and carve out time for yourself — that is itself a test of capability. If you can’t manage that, then honestly, you have no business leaving the salaried workforce.
6 - I once said this: over the years, many of the brothers and sisters who came to me for destiny readings achieved excellent financial results and material rewards within four or five years — ultimately reaching financial freedom.
I want to distill one more lesson from this: nearly every person who reaches financial freedom shares one defining trait — they possess both wisdom and courage.
Pure wisdom alone leads a person to overthink before acting, getting tangled up in endless second-guessing before ever starting, ultimately achieving nothing.
Pure courage alone leads a person to be blinded by the prospect of gain, never reviewing, never reflecting, never strategizing — just charging forward recklessly, with predictably poor results.
What does wisdom-and-courage combined look like?
It means channeling your precious intellect and mental energy entirely into “how do I do this well” — and then sustaining that focused, exploratory state with optimistic, high-spirited momentum over the long term.
7 - I’ve never believed that “making serious money” is a goal you need to steel your resolve for, whip yourself toward relentlessly, and then finally reach.
I’m not one for exaggeration, but speaking from my own experience and that of every friend in my circle with substantial net worth — what truly brought us to this level was, quite simply, long-term lifestyle habits.
What do I mean?
A genuine willingness to actively notice and turn over the small, fleeting opportunities around you. Even if an opportunity is just something a friend casually mentioned in passing — a tiny, trivial thing — you let it turn over in your mind.
At the same time, you don’t scare yourself off with excuses. Once you decide to pursue something, even starting from the smallest detail — getting involved, contributing, nudging it forward — all of that counts.
For instance, I have extensive business, network, and capital resources across Jiangnan and North America. I’m happy to connect those resources to worthwhile small opportunities and see what happens.
Some experiments don’t pan out — fine, move on. Some turn out well — then make your interest in the returns clear and direct, and scale up the investment.
As for whether difficulties will arise along the way — of course they will. That’s not even a question. Human value is demonstrated precisely in solving difficulties.
Don’t be afraid. When you hit a wall, circle around it — coordinate, compromise, handle, adapt, dissolve. You’ll always find a way through.
8 - The more urgently you want to get rich, the more you need to slow down and settle in.
Learn to use your knowledge and abilities to help — generously, without agenda — the people who deserve it. Then slowly review: what details could you have handled better? Your interpersonal skills, your response to situations, your professional depth — and so on. Deep in the quiet of night, night after night, maintain this habit of careful self-reflection. This is how inner mastery is built.
Then keep repeating this kind of investment, and gradually begin to claim fair returns — money, connections, reputation, and more.
Take all of the above and treat each one as a card in your hand. Learn to play the right card in the right situation, and keep letting those cards bring you better, more valuable new cards.
Throughout all of this, never cross the line into legal or moral violation. Beyond that, simply keep investing — and do every single thing well.
Sustain this for five years, and you’ll find — almost without noticing — that you’ve quietly built a name for yourself in the world.
If you have the discipline to sustain it for ten or twenty years, you’ll look back one day and realize: the boat has already passed ten thousand mountains. The river of legitimate wealth — flowing through your reputation, your assets, your network — will be converging toward you, steadily and without end.
One final line to close: if what you want is fast money, please stop reading my articles.
But if what you seek is legitimate wealth that arrives gradually and rightly, then I, Master Chi, am willing to offer you clear and precise guidance based on your destiny framework (格局).