You — don’t you dare give up on yourself or hang your head in defeat just because you weren’t born into privilege, didn’t receive a good education, or didn’t start life from a strong position. Master Chi has encountered an extraordinarily wide range of people, and I am genuinely confident saying this: the art of playing your destiny cards well has very little to do with where you came from.
In this world, there are plenty of people born into humble circumstances who nevertheless reversed a terrible hand and made something of themselves. First-generation heroes who built everything from nothing — haven’t we all seen enough of them by now?
The real danger is those who claim to be “wholeheartedly desperate to improve their life pattern (格局), yet have never had the opportunity” — but whose core is lazy, slothful, and insufferably arrogant. That is what truly forecloses a person’s future.
Forget about others for a moment. Let’s talk about you, right here, right now. In your hands you hold a piece of “immensely abundant wealth” available for investment. That wealth is your youth.
Of course, how you invest this “still-abundant wealth” is a matter of enormous importance. And the single most important principle is this: you must learn to abandon the flashy and embrace substance.
What is “the flashy”?
You need to understand that in this world, many ideas and bodies of knowledge are actually “extremely harmful to your progress.” Things like sharp social critique, cold-blooded dissections of marriage, one-sided views of the world — these mostly fall into that category.
Undeniably, these topics are genuinely interesting. Master Chi himself sometimes writes articles on exactly these kinds of subjects. Sharp wording, fresh angles, flowery rhetoric — they all deliver a feeling of “intellectual superiority” while you’re reading.
But for you, who are still in the climbing phase right now, these things serve very little purpose. What actually happens is that you absorb a few biting observations and clever tricks, and a nameless arrogance begins to take root in your heart. Your words earn you applause from some group. Over time, you develop the illusion of “Look how insightful and talented I am!”
An illusion — because you will not earn a single penny from it, gain any good fortune, or grow your abilities even one bit. Yet you believe you’ve “gotten stronger.”
Master Chi has a particular dislike for a certain type of person. Bring up finance, and they launch into an endless barrage, cataloguing every predatory scheme in the book. Bring up politics, and they flood you with conspiracy theories and “hidden truths,” fearmongering as if civilization will collapse tomorrow. Bring up marriage, and they have theories on human nature, family of origin, and spousal power dynamics — making you feel that getting married is an act of self-destruction.
Then you ask: so what do you actually do?
Oh. A low-ranking office worker with average income and an unremarkable family…
You must understand an iron rule: unless your thinking is powerful enough that people will pay real money for it — unless they will actually reach into their pockets and hand you cash — then no matter how grand or profound the topics you discuss, it is nothing more than amateur hobby talk.
For genuine insight, people willingly pay in real gold and silver. Only the restless and noisy clamoring earns perfunctory applause.
Look at so-called influencers online. Some genuinely earn substantial wealth. Others can only collect applause that never converts to anything. Which one do you want to be?
Learn to be a doer. Move from the virtual to the real. Do not waste any more time. The noisy arena of public opinion is not your final destination — you have a far wider world ahead of you.
What is “substance”?
Reading ten thousand books is no match for traveling ten thousand miles. Traveling ten thousand miles is no match for meeting countless people. Books, travel, and human connection — each costs exponentially more than the last. To master genuine substance, you must pay a genuine price.
So it’s not hard to see why most people today lack that sincere quality of “humbly seeking to learn.” In their view, this amounts to groveling and kowtowing.
The result, naturally, is that they stay forever entrenched in their small comfort zones. And they keep complaining they have no noble benefactor (Gui Ren). Please — does a Gui Ren owe you anything? Why should one come knocking at your door?
What they fail to realize is that they themselves have nothing to offer. If you want to gain real, substantive skills, how can you possibly do so without demonstrating sincerity and genuine effort?
Consider this: after entering the workforce, even young people from similar backgrounds quickly diverge.
One type gathers with other young people — huddling together for warmth, cheering each other on. This doesn’t amount to much. Very few who climb up will reach back down to pull others along, and the odds of succeeding with this peer-bonding mindset are extremely low.
The other type seeks out their elders. They set aside a portion of their modest paycheck, proactively invite them for tea or a meal, and — blushing but persistent — call to check in during holidays.
Which type of young person do you think will more likely succeed?
Without question, the latter. Elders have been through it all — they understand perfectly. And who doesn’t want to take a shortcut when one appears?
Moreover, when elders choose to give someone a leg up, they naturally pick those who “know how to handle things,” don’t they?
So don’t just tell me you have ambition. What does ambition matter if you haven’t taken actions that actually match it?
Take this example: in Master Chi’s community, there is a young woman who is already excelling in her career. Yet the moment she heard of an opportunity on a Saturday, she immediately booked a flight to another city — just to get a rough sense of what was there.
People like her deserve to capture every opportunity and advantage that others leave on the table.
Because most people operate like this: I want money, I want success, I… let me wait a bit… it’s getting late tonight… it’s almost ten o’clock…
It isn’t that their ambition falls short of their desire. It’s that desire alone simply cannot drive them into a state of genuine struggle.
Never mind distant examples — ask yourself: have you made the rounds with all the senior people in your immediate workplace? Not just your bosses — but those who entered the field only three or four years before you. Why haven’t you connected with them?
Honestly, isn’t it because you look down on them — because you think they’re unremarkable?
On this point, Master Chi must warn you: don’t be arrogant, don’t posture, and don’t dismiss people just because you’ve gained a little perspective. Especially — do not look down on your predecessors, supervisors, or superiors. If you haven’t reached their position today, there are definitely areas where you fall short. Never use the excuse “they’re only a few years older than me” to dismiss them. That is a grave mistake.
Although this mentality is mainstream today, mainstream thinking is often absurd and driven by emotion. The truth has always belonged to the few.
So open your contacts right now. Think: who are the five people around you earning the most money? Find them and push yourself — however uncomfortable it feels — to invite them for a meal or tea.
This isn’t groveling — this is sincerely pursuing the Dao, moving from the virtual to the real.
No matter how powerful the person, after a few meals together you’ll begin to understand their way of thinking. Even if not completely — for you, that is genuine, substantive growth.
The more time passes, the further you drift from your original circle, and the closer you draw to those above. Eventually you solidify a completely new rank. That is what divergence looks like.
This is the most essential principle in the realm of networking and human connection.
Don’t wait around hoping some towering figure will appear in your life. Equally, don’t dismiss those around you who have achieved even modest success as unworthy of your attention.
Your task right now should be to think clearly and identify three types of people in your circle:
1 — Those who know how to make money: people who genuinely earn through business and investment, even if not vast wealth.
2 — Those who know how to get things done: people who can sort out all kinds of tangled situations, even if they’re not powerhouses.
3 — Those who know how to work people: individuals with strong networks both inside and outside formal systems, even if they’re not famous.
These people, even if not greatly accomplished, are the standouts in your circle. Spend time with them, learn from them — you will benefit greatly.
What to fear most is this: after knowing someone for a while, you start to feel they’re nothing special — and dismiss them entirely.
Anyone who falls into this logical trap might as well prepare to sink for the rest of their life.
From the perspective of life pattern (格局), no one arrives at an enviable family legacy, marriage fortune, or wealth all at once.
There is one concept that is crucial — something Master Chi pays particular attention to when reading a destiny chart: “opening up the situation.”
“Opening up the situation” means this: when your circumstances are flat and stagnant, never just get stuck — waiting, sitting by the tree stump. Instead, methodically sort through every connection and resource in your hands.
Then keep reaching out and expanding. Put yourself into things that originally had nothing to do with you. Add value for others. Broaden your horizons by meeting all kinds of people. Help others purely for the sake of helping.
Over time, things start to get complex and tangled — but tangled is actually the most favorable situation for you. It means more connections and more opportunities are flowing your way. Isn’t that exactly how you “open up your situation”?
You cannot expect to accomplish something life-changing when you’re holding only two cards. With just two cards, you don’t even have the capital to sit at the table.
Your best path is through continuous accumulation — building relationships with people who may look ordinary on the surface but are deeply committed to their respective fields.
Then, at just the right moment, you become the only person who can bring all of their resources and capabilities together. And from there — that becomes the starting point of your rise.
(This is also the rising mode of the Tianji, Taiyin, and Tianxiang stars in the destiny chart — they don’t need to be outright leaders, but they can absolutely play the role of advisor and orchestrator behind the scenes, and benefit enormously all the same.)
But this kind of life pattern thinking is something most white-collar workers simply don’t possess. Their mindset is always: no profit, no involvement; no capital, no play; no big shot, no action.
And so — refusing to orchestrate, refusing to open the game, refusing to build deep expertise — the result is that they will forever and always be nothing more than a cog in the machine.