This past week or so has had me flying between Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and New York — so writing longer pieces has been a bit difficult. Dear brothers and sisters, please bear with me.
Tonight’s words are meant to be just that — another late-night heart-to-heart between you and me. Mutual encouragement, mutual support. I want you to know: whether you’re alone or not, you have a close friend who is always thinking of you. [hug] [heart]
The greatest source of inner confidence in a person’s life has never been mountains of money stacked at home.
I’ve seen far too many so-called “wealthy second generation” types — and most of them grow more anxious as middle age arrives, because they know full well that for years they’ve been sheltering beneath their parents’ wings. At their core, they’ve always been soft.
Likewise, a polished appearance and a prestigious degree are shallow things. They have value, yes — but they’re not solid ground.
Your true source of confidence comes down to one thing and one thing only: how powerful is your ability to solve problems?
The more problems you’ve resolved — and the harder those problems were — the higher your value to society becomes. More opportunities will seek you out. More noble benefactors (Gui Ren) will recognize your worth. More wealth will draw close to you. More meaningful connections will find their way to you.
Only through this can you carry genuine confidence in your own life — and feel real security from deep within.
Look around: why do so many people in their thirties, forties, even fifties appear dignified and composed on the surface — yet still fall for laughably crude scams?
Why is it that when they face a real problem, they panic immediately? The moment they open their mouths, their naivety spills out — their shallowness, their ignorance of the world and how it actually works?
It always comes back to the same thing: the ability to solve problems is too weak. No matter how good your background, you can’t build a wall with mud that won’t hold.
So — don’t be afraid of hardship. Don’t be afraid of losses. Don’t be afraid of being pushed around.
You — yes, you — must remember this.
Never run from the lessons your fate puts in front of you. Don’t fear the long, grinding process. And don’t shy away from trouble.
If you back down and take the easy road now, you might dodge this particular lesson — but the same pit will swallow you again and again down the road.
Growth is, by its very nature, a bloody process. It is destined to come with tears and endless moments of feeling wronged.
The key is to take those painful moments seriously. After you’ve cried it out and felt the full weight of it, force yourself — in the quiet of the night, tucked under your covers — to ask honestly: Why am I this weak? Why am I this foolish?
And then: how do I learn from this, so I never fall into the same trap again?
That way, the suffering wasn’t wasted.
Life really is like a game.
The more experience you accumulate, the deeper your reflection, the better your equipment — the more capable you become at leveling up and taking on harder challenges.
And your ability to solve problems will only grow stronger.
This — and only this — is the one true path in life.