Just last Sunday evening, I was invited to an old European-style villa in the Wutong district, where I gave a down-to-earth talk on classical Chinese wisdom to a gathering of traditionally defined “high-net-worth” individuals. We discussed Feng Shui, Chinese metaphysics, Chi fortune (气运), and more — and I had the pleasure of meeting many new faces.
But none of that is what compelled me to write this article.
What truly moved me to share was a spontaneous speech I gave that evening.
Why did I speak spontaneously?
Because when I walked into that century-old mansion — a place that had once housed countless luminaries, now renovated to the exquisite standard of a private museum — what I saw were furrowed brows on a room full of wealthy people.
Despite the luxury cars and designer clothes. Despite the diamond jewelry and gleaming watches. Despite the Dom Pérignon rosé flowing freely in the living room, and the occasional well-known veteran entertainer mingling among the guests.
That night, the brows in that room were not as relaxed as they had been at gatherings six or seven years ago.
So I took a five-minute pause and shared a few words with the guests present:
Many people carry a fundamental misunderstanding — that a “good life, good fortune, good destiny framework (格局)” means being able to make big money, over and over again. To seize one wave of opportunity after another, growing your net worth like a snowball rolling downhill, until it becomes something enormous.
But in reality, as someone who has spent years in the field of Chinese metaphysics, who has read countless destiny frameworks and witnessed the rise and fall of countless lives — I can say this with confidence:
Good life, good fortune, good destiny framework is not, at its core, about great wealth and status. It is about peace and ease (平安顺遂).
So what does peace and ease actually mean?
平 (Peace) — life flowing calmly and steadily. Every day, every matter you handle, stays within your control. Grounded. Settled.
安 (Safety) — passing through life unscathed. No sudden devastating news. No unexpected calamity. The people who love you, and the people you love, remain healthy and whole.
顺 (Flow) — your efforts and striving move with the current of fate and the times, ultimately arriving at results you can be satisfied with — rather than fighting against heaven, against destiny, against the tide, and running yourself into the ground.
遂 (Acceptance) — meeting whatever happens, good or bad, with equanimity. Treasuring every good thing. Facing every difficulty squarely and handling it with care.
When you can live this way — with peace and ease — you begin to realize: money matters, yes. But it is not the most important thing.
Everyone in this room tonight is, in the traditional sense, a boss. Everyone here commands serious wealth by any standard measure. And so you can feel it more deeply than most: there is no bottom to the act of making money.
When you’ve earned 20 million this year, you need only look around this room to see people earning 200 million. And when you’ve reached 200 million, you’ll notice several veterans and rising stars in this very room clearing 2 billion.
And then comes the suppression. The fear. The anxiety. The feeling of being left behind, discarded, unable to find solid ground.
But have you noticed? The people earning more than you — do their faces, their eyes, carry much ease or lightness either?
It turns out that all you truly need is your health. To manage your work normally each day. And then to sit down for a happy, unhurried meal with your family and friends.
A life without illness or disaster, without worry or resentment — that is the most comfortable, the most fortunate state of all.
I won’t use this moment to comment on the broader environment — there’s little point in that. Everything moves in cycles. After forty years of surging, roaring tides, what follows is necessarily a long, gentle warming. That is simply how it works.
So in times like these, to fix your eyes only on money and lose sight of life itself — that is a mistake.
Because no matter the era, life is the eternal theme. A little turbulence, a little ups and downs — it doesn’t matter.
As long as your days can be lived with peace and ease — simple porridge and pickled vegetables, the ordinary rhythms of daily cooking and living — those are good days.
And in this environment, to live such good days is to have a good life, good fortune, and a good destiny framework.
Don’t you think?