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.
That said, there are things I feel I still need to lay out clearly for you, so you don’t spin your wheels for nothing. That’s part of my responsibility. This way, you’ll understand what’s actually happening right now, and what you should be doing about it.
First, let me distill the core points I’ve shared before:
1 — We are positioned as the world’s largest manufacturing and supply nation. The objective reality is that the vast majority of major countries outside are also mired in soaring prices and economic turbulence. Those who once spent lavishly have slowly withered into penny-pinching, day-by-day living. Naturally, nobody has it easy right now.
2 — The pandemic (the “big flu”) essentially triggered a whole cascade of problems ahead of schedule. Once those three years passed, everything piled on at once, leaving everyone’s morale somewhat deflated. There’s no getting around that. All economies have their own cycles. This isn’t fundamentally a money problem — we have plenty of money. The real issue is that people have temporarily lost the fiery confidence to “borrow big and bet on tomorrow.”
3 — Since those outside are barely keeping themselves afloat, all kinds of antagonistic sentiments have surged. We can’t be the first to show weakness — that would only make things harder. So everyone’s holding their line. That said, barring surprises, the situation will gradually ease. Several new trade frameworks are actively being pushed forward, all aimed at working out cooperative arrangements as soon as possible.
4 — Our own real estate and the accompanying infrastructure have also had to pump the brakes, for objective reasons. The foundational development is largely complete — there’s no need to saddle local governments with even more debt. But this has sent the “once-king-of-all-industries, Real Estate Big Brother” straight to the ICU, dragging down plenty of its upstream and downstream dependents along with it. There’s no other way — it had to be done. Endless expansion would have only led to a far more catastrophic implosion.
Bottom line: until the external environment eases and a powerful new economic engine emerges, temperatures can only rise slowly. Don’t expect to wake up one morning and find that spring has arrived overnight.
Personally, I don’t think things will get as bad as some pessimists claim. If anything, I think the problem isn’t that serious. Cycles — once this period passes and the global order resets, new prosperity will come.
But whether you’re pessimistic or optimistic, there’s one thing everyone agrees on: during this waiting period — which could be as short as six months to a year, or as long as three to four years — you can’t just sit on your hands and do nothing.
I’ve combed through some of the advice I’ve shared before. At the risk of repeating myself, let me refine it one more time:
1 — Networking
These past two years are a golden window to rapidly strengthen ties with elders who once did well. Especially those who were once in their prime but are now on the decline — they’re the ones most worth reaching out to with genuine goodwill, building the kind of friendship forged in hard times. Don’t expect them to hand you wealth. What you’re really after is their battle-tested experience. If you can absorb seventy or eighty percent of their wisdom, it’s already more than worth it.
Pay special attention to core connections — especially group-buying organizers, local lifestyle influencers, and the like. Get to know more of them; the returns can be remarkable. And don’t be like some people who think a few kind words will do it. Everyone’s sharp these days. Generous gifts are the real ice-breaker.
2 — Asset-light business
It’s crystal clear these days: if you’re going to do business, do asset-light business — the “borrow the chicken to lay eggs” type, the “strike from a distance” type. A bit more grinding is fine. Just never, ever put your last reserve of capital on the line and let it become someone else’s operating cost. Don’t be that foolish.
And don’t take on any large debts — none whatsoever — except perhaps a straightforward essential property. Otherwise, junior white-collar workers maxing out credit cards, middle-aged folks taking out business loans — these are things I consider genuinely dangerous. Unless your family has the financial strength to catch you if you fall, being forced to downgrade your spending is nothing to be ashamed of.
3 — Build a backup income
If you’re the primary breadwinner in your household, please — make absolutely sure you have a backup plan. That means having an alternative income stream besides your current salary. For example: a community group-buying IP, a medical aesthetics referral IP, a lifestyle content IP, a parenting IP, a relationship psychology IP, a jewelry and beauty IP.
Don’t let yourself be a consumer all day, spending money. Become a producer — someone who generates a compounding effect. It’s not that hard. How many single mothers in my community are already pulling in twenty to thirty thousand a month through community and lifestyle IPs? All it took was hard work. Difficulties were overcome, one by one. Why can’t you do the same? There’s no reason you can’t.
4 — Respect compound interest
I myself didn’t develop a real reverence for the “compound interest effect” until after I turned thirty. You could even say that fifty percent of the first 100 million in my life came from an initial 1 million — because that 1 million opened everything up for me in terms of understanding, perspective, and experience.
The current environment is actually a great time to optimize your asset structure. There’s nothing more to say: putting your property in the right location will produce returns that absolutely dwarf what ten white-collar workers earn grinding away for ten years.
I’ll say it again: good assets are worth more than gold in prosperous times, and in lean years, they keep you alive. Bad assets? You’ve seen it these past two years — they just keep falling, grinding down your mindset and your will to fight, and you can’t even offload them. I warned about this three or four years ago. Yet people still come asking me whether to buy property in some small third-tier city.
5 — Hold steady
Hold steady. Truly internalize this phrase: “Not falling behind is already a great success.”
My own mindset has been remarkably calm these past two years. No urgency. I don’t panic because overall income is down. I don’t panic because assets have shrunk. I don’t panic when things don’t go smoothly. There’s nothing to rush. In good times, money comes fast and success rates are high — we enjoy those blessings. In hard times, money comes slow and things are harder to get done — we endure that hardship too.
The highest good is like water (上善若水). Even heroes must bow to circumstance. It all comes down to knowing how to read the moment. Since we can see things clearly, we wait. In the meantime — exercise, read, drink tea, enjoy life. Isn’t that good enough?
Finally, as for what I should write next — feel free to share your ideas in the comments. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.