The Life Truths It Took Me 10 Years to Comprehend

The Life Truths It Took Me 10 Years to Comprehend

1. The 9-to-5 Job: A Potential Shackle?

There's nothing inherently wrong with a job. To some extent, it provides us with a safe and comfortable environment and is a great place to learn basic knowledge. However, when you become the boss of your own business, you'll find that your potential is unleashed infinitely. After I quit my job and engaged in online business, my growth rate was explosive. I transformed from a simple salesperson into a versatile person capable of taking on multiple roles, such as community manager, accountant, bookkeeper, human resources manager, and account manager. This kind of growth is hard to achieve in a 9-to-5 job. If you're merely satisfied with an ordinary job, your development is likely to be greatly limited. Be brave enough to let go of that sense of security and pursue the career you truly desire in your heart.

2. Side Hustle: Unlocking the Second Curve of Wealth Growth

Although quitting your job to start a business sounds courageous, rushing into it without any income is likely to plunge you into despair and poverty, just like when I failed in my first entrepreneurial attempt 14 years ago. In fact, we can choose to start a side hustle after work. This way, we can balance the risks and rewards and test our entrepreneurial ideas. Over time, it's entirely possible for you to replace your regular job salary with the income from your side hustle. I'm very glad that I found a suitable side hustle and successfully developed it. You can do the same, starting with a part-time job and gradually accumulating experience and wealth.

3. The Secret to Success: Obsession and Concentration

When you study successful people, you'll notice that they all share a common characteristic – obsession. The reason why most people can't succeed is that they don't understand what it takes to be successful. When they encounter unexpected situations or difficulties in life, they give up easily. Or they lack firmness and enthusiasm for their own ideas. I spent 5 years interviewing top figures from various industries, including Olympic athletes, founders of unicorn startups, and military leaders. None of them achieved their goals in a mediocre or weak way. They were fully committed, never giving up halfway. This made me deeply realize that no matter what I choose to do, I must be fully devoted, even to the point of obsession. Just "giving it a try" or "trying hard" is far from enough. Your competitors may already be working harder than you. Only by being obsessed and focused, and desiring to achieve your goals more than most people, can you stand out in the competition.

4. Investment Insights from Bitcoin

Once, I bought Bitcoin and held it for 5 years, and I found that I made more money than my friends who thought they were smart and had investment properties. Although they were in debt and talked about complex real estate investment strategies, I achieved higher returns through a simple Bitcoin investment. However, the Bitcoin market has now changed. Large institutions and major countries are starting to get involved. Half of the states in the United States are even formulating relevant legislation to allow their citizens to buy Bitcoin. This shows that the value of technologies like Bitcoin is gradually being recognized because they possess true scarcity, which currencies, bonds, and stocks don't have. But I'm not suggesting that you buy Bitcoin. Instead, I hope you can delve into the ideas behind it, because the concept itself is really appealing (of course, this is not financial advice).

5. Free Time: The Real Wealth

On YouTube, we often see people showing off their luxurious houses and cars, and it seems that everyone desires to have millions of dollars. I once believed this too, but now I understand that money is not the real goal we're pursuing. Free time is the most precious wealth. With free time, we can slow down the pace of our lives. We don't have to rush to work anymore. We can spend more time with our children, partners, and families. We can also take leisurely walks or spend hours listening to our favorite podcasts and enjoying the pure moments. My former boss drove a Mercedes-Benz worth $350,000, but he was always busy with various meetings. He had to take the train to work every day, using every second to reply to work emails, and deal with all kinds of strategic adjustments in the company. I wouldn't want to go back to such a life, even if I were given a large amount of money. So, strive to build a lifestyle that gives you more free time. Escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the tranquility and relaxation in the countryside.

6. Relying on a Salary: Difficult to Achieve Financial Freedom

I used to work hard and save every penny, but I found that it's very difficult to become truly wealthy just by relying on a salary. The reality is that the growth of wages often can't keep up with the inflation rate, and enterprises don't have enough motivation to increase employees' salaries. In order to maximize profits, enterprises may even reduce employees' compensation and replace them with artificial intelligence. The wealthiest people are usually business owners. They either own their own businesses or hold a large number of shares in other companies. So, our goal should be to become business owners instead of merely being satisfied with a stable salary.

7. Being Busy: Not Something to Boast About

Those who always brag about being busy or use busyness as an excuse are really ridiculous. Some people even regard themselves as victims of "busyness syndrome" and act helplessly. But in fact, being busy is often a sign of failure in life. These people live blindly, not knowing how to arrange their time reasonably. They can't prioritize important matters and are easily distracted by various things. I compare busy people to heroin addicts because they don't realize that time is our most precious resource and are living a dangerous and meaningless life. In fact, as long as we're willing, everyone can concentrate and arrange their time properly. Being busy is just a lousy excuse that may eventually lead to tears, broken families, dismissal, or even divorce. It's really not worth it.

8. Be Yourself: The Key to Shining Uniquely

Once, in order to fit into society, I hid my creativity. I wore a suit and tried hard to pass various company tests to impress my bosses, even though these bosses might fire me at any time. I have many unique aspects. I like reading strange books, listening to unusual music, and being obsessed with things that others may think are stupid. I come from a unique family and am easily moved to tears by emotions. I'm also very interested in Asian culture, which is why I married a Chinese wife, even though some Australians opposed it. Later, my experience of writing online made me understand that our mission is not to fit into society but to stand out in our uniqueness. Otherwise, we'll just end up in the background, having to ask for permission for everything we do. So, be brave enough to be yourself. Being different is the best way to survive.

9. Business: A Psychological Battle for Self-improvement

In MBA courses, we learn some frameworks and methods to satisfy customers, and it seems that as long as we do these, we can become millionaires. But in my more than 10 years of business experience, customer satisfaction is not the only key to business success. If we solely take customer satisfaction as our guiding principle, customers may take advantage of us and drain our value. Truly mastering business means understanding human psychology, making use of human thinking patterns, understanding the common problems we all face, and having a detailed understanding of human desires so that we can help people achieve these desires in an ethical way. To build a successful business, we need to conduct clear A/B testing experiments and strive to be 1% better than before every time we make a sale or deliver a product. Over time, you'll become smarter, have a better understanding of human nature, and go through a period of intense self-improvement. As a business owner, the more you progress, the higher your income will be. Conversely, this can also explain why some businesses fail.

10. Reject Mediocrity, Pursue a Wonderful Life

There were some stages in my life when I deceived myself into thinking that I was living a good life. I was in a relationship with someone who was okay, but she wasn't the ideal wife or mother of my children. I worked in the banking industry. Although some days were passable, like enjoying free lunches, having coffee with customers, and having meetings with smart people, after 10 years, my job hadn't improved substantially. The learning curve had long stagnated, and I was just qualified to sell banking products to customers. This kind of complacent life made me mediocre. I thought I knew everything and refused to associate with many people because I didn't think they could do anything for me. But later, I finally realized that I couldn't go on like this. I quit my bank job and took up a marketing job, which became the catalyst for me to never look for a regular job again. "Settling for the status quo" will only make us waste the irreplaceable years of our lives. If your life isn't wonderful enough, be brave enough to change it. You have the ability to make it better.