I can say this with full responsibility: the vast majority of mediocre and poor people have no concept of a force that exists in this world called “accumulation.”
And precisely because they don’t understand it, they spend their entire lives chasing fleeting opportunities.
The result? They don’t catch a single one — and they’ve wasted the best years of their life in the process.
A truly smart person, even starting from absolute zero with nothing to their name, will from the very beginning choose a city that suits them — and commit to that city as their primary battleground for the next decade without wavering.
Take root there. Grow wild and fierce there.
Treat every work opportunity as a training ground, drinking in its nuances and mastery with insatiable hunger.
Then cherish every meaningful connection and every person you encounter along the way.
Through small favors and deep loyalty, carefully cultivate those relationships — and gradually become a significant figure within your inner circle.
After years of this kind of deep accumulation, these resources will ferment and return to you in exponential multiples.
They won’t just become wealth — they’ll become the leverage that helps you climb to greater heights.
The one thing you must never do is be the kind of worker who seals themselves inside an office cubicle day after day.
Because they’ve committed the cardinal sin of breaking open a life: from the very start, they’ve cut themselves off from the social fabric of the city they live in.
Deep down, they never planned to stay in that city long-term — so naturally they build no foundation and forge no connections.
The result? They grind until 40 and they’re still drifting, without even a handful of meaningful social ties to their name.
When trouble hits, heaven doesn’t answer, earth doesn’t respond. Everything has to be done the hardest way — queuing, asking, waiting to be called upon.
Life efficiency is brutally low. And at every turn, someone is taking advantage of them.
There’s no way around it: when you have no reliable friends, no one to consult, no one in your corner — this is exactly what happens.
I’ve said before: the best way to identify a middle-aged failure isn’t whether they have money.
Because that money might have come from spending down their parents’ inheritance.
The real test is whether they have direct social relationships — connections that can solve real-life problems across health, education, career, and society.
If they can’t handle a single thing, can’t reach a single person for help — well, that settles it. Definitively mediocre. No escaping it.
Odds are, they’ll accomplish nothing of significance in this lifetime.
So remember this: learn to see yourself as a seed with fierce, unyielding vitality.
Learn to choose a city that suits your nature, and treat that city as rich, nourishing soil.
Work hard to drive your roots deep into every direction that city has to offer.
Let yourself form genuine friendships with every person worth knowing. Let yourself collide with every opportunity worth attempting.
Learn to become one with your city — breathing together, sharing interests.
No matter where in the world you look, the people who truly build great wealth fortune (财运), meaningful accumulation, and rich life resources are, without exception, those who have developed their social foundations.
When you become that kind of person, it will suddenly dawn on you why, in Master Chi’s view, wealth fortune doesn’t even rank in the top three most important factors in life.
Simple: pure wealth fortune, without a solid social foundation, means even if you earn it — it’s fast money. You can’t hold onto it.
The reason is that without a powerful social foundation, you have no mechanism to keep that wealth operating across law, investment, and ongoing management.
But if your social foundation is strong? Even starting from nothing, you have nothing to fear.
Your connections bring you small opportunities. Small opportunities bring you the wealth to start turning things around. That wealth becomes the capital to expand your social world. And that expanded world brings you the people who generate more wealth and all manner of support.
This is the true mindset that allows a person’s life pattern (格局) to expand into something great.
I remember a middle-aged man who once asked me: “Master, I’ve spent everything I had. How do I make a comeback?”
My response: Your wealth fortune was never stable to begin with — money flowing out like water is normal for you. But your career and social palace are exceptionally strong. Regrouping is only a matter of time.
You need to understand: wealth is just the fruit. Your social foundation and personal capabilities are the roots that draw in the nourishment.
Most people never grasp this — so they foolishly chase wealth fortune their whole lives and never find it.
Honestly, weak wealth fortune just means smaller everyday cash is harder to come by.
That’s fine. A strong social foundation plus strong personal capability — that is the true basis for creating great wealth.
And I have seen far too many people with modest everyday cash flow who nonetheless hold deep net worth and solid family wealth.
So let me ask you: what you’re actually lacking — is it small cash, or is it great wealth?
At that, the middle-aged man’s eyes instantly lit up with fierce ambition. And sure enough, years later, he rebuilt his family’s fortunes.
I’ll leave the same question with you, reading this tonight.
Answer me honestly: what you’re lacking — is it small cash, or is it great wealth?
No lying. Answer truthfully.