5hows or RynW4+1

Reasons and Examples

by Shuzhimi@RynW1988

2025.04

Table of Contents

- Cover Page Prologue 0. How to Truly Live P5

- Appendix The Track P16

- Appendix The Code P17

- 1. How to Manage Wealth P18

- Appendix On Moutai, Tencent, Financial Data, Growth Investing P29

- Appendix Typical Beginner Operations Cheat Sheet P33

- Appendix Rolling Averaging & Bottom Fishing P35

- 2. How to Reach the Shore P38

- Appendix On Contrarian Investing P50

- 3. How to Maintain Position P52

- Appendix On Real Estate, BTC, Quantitative Trading P59

- 4. How to Make Things Happen P64

- Appendix ByteDance Style P77

- 5. How to Predict the Future P78

- Appendix The Prediction P93

- Appendix How to Give Back P95

- Back Cover Epilogue Why Write 5hows? P96

Author's Note:

"Those will and grace,

Those imagination and magic.

Those dignity and journeys,

Those mortals and towers."

Cover Page

How to Manage Wealth, How to Reach the Shore, How to Maintain Position, How to Make Things Happen, and How to Predict the Future

This work is hereafter referred to as "5hows" or "RynW4+1"

by Shuzhimi@RynW1988

Acknowledgments

1. My Wife: The greatest investor I have ever met.

2. Wu Yuchen: Teacher Wu is why I wrote this. You lectured on "How to Cultivate Willpower" in the math competition public group; I lectured on "How to Manage Wealth" in the investing public group. Serendipity.

3. The Man: This work began creation in your birth month. Thank you for bringing a new kind of beautiful possibility into this world.

4. Editorial Committee:

- Editor A: Thank you Shuzhimi@xibo, for your model essay, structural suggestions, and the encouragement of "share it as you heard it too." These three elevated this work to a height not originally its own — collective contribution no less than e⁻¹.

- Editor B: Thank you Shuzhimi@Christine. "Understandable without studying curve theory" is the gold standard for a good article.

- Editor C: Thank you art editor Shuzhimi@Chaney (Art Editor). Color theory is elite knowledge; your counter-intuitive questioning approach was used extensively throughout.

- Editor D: Thank you Shuzhimi, for your logical talent and original spirit — contribution no less than e⁻¹. You are one of The Elite. Thank you for trusting "4+1" as you trusted "9+2"; neither has been written by many before. The former has a higher proportion of strictly true propositions; the latter is more powerful in practice.

- Editor E: Thank you Shuzhimi@swire, for you as a hundred-millionaire helping with formatting — reminds me of those years when we in finance all formatted documents beautifully.

5. Every friend who has ever inspired me: Without your points and enlightening, this work could not have been completed.

Prologue: The Non-Elite Track and The Elite Track

0. How to Truly Live

Lifetime is a theme park pass — you always try to visit more parks than most

by Shuzhimi@RynW1988

It is generally held that life's pursuit is reaching places and states never before attained, whether materially or spiritually. Each achievement and experience can be viewed as a different theme park.

0.0 Research Purpose and Scope of 5hows

0.0.1 Assumes readers believe in common sense, respect logic, love learning; does not assume initial resources or expertise in natural sciences or (hereinafter /) social sciences; the technique for accomplishing these five things well

0.0.1.1 Assumes the reader "has interest in becoming wealthy and is willing to learn necessary related information," discussing two propositions: "How the Non-Elite Goes from First Bucket of Gold to Sustainable Wealth Freedom" and "How The Elite Serves Original Dishes to the World"

0.0.1.2 The author is a mathematics competition enthusiast. This work unfolds as much as possible in Euclidean geometric structure (hereinafter "geometric style"). This is possible because although 5hows is a social science work, it is not entirely narrative and experience-based — to a considerable extent, it is argumentation and science.

0.0.2 Color coding explanation

Thanks to Editor C / Art Editor Shuzhimi@Chaney (Art Editor)

a. Body text / statements in black

b. Axioms / theorems in red

c. Explanations / supplements in blue italics

d. Corollaries / conclusions in orange

e. Facts / data / news in green (due to information locality and author limitations, not all evidence sources are cited)

f. Conjectures / hypotheses, and emotional / commentary / hearsay / anecdotes / metaphors / analogies — popularized and literary expressions — in purple

g. Theoretical innovations in silver-gray with highlight

h. Bold indicates an important proposition or one the author finds interesting

0.1 Status Evaluation and Some Assumptions of 5hows

0.1.1 Geometric-style works like 5hows are rare; most people do not yet know about them; among the few who do, motivation for writing / disclosure is insufficient

0.1.1.1 Most baby-rich people also don't know about them. "Baby-rich" means those whose wealth net worth has reached scale-level due to individual trades / business models, but whose experience interacting with other wealth-related aspects remains limited.

0.1.1.2 Those few who achieve "sustainable wealth freedom / serve original dishes," for various reasons rarely publish systematic summaries publicly*

0.1.2 A significant proportion of conclusions are counter-intuitive; sufficient trust in logic is required to understand and absorb them

0.1.3 This work contains a high proportion of theoretical innovation (including complete Chapters 2, 3, and 5), discussion of The Elite's world, and important restatements of predecessors' thoughts (Chapters 1 and 4)

0.1.3.1 Theoretical innovations will be highlighted in gray

0.1.3.2 Human nature is stable; little change from the Two Jin dynasties to modern times.

- a. A significant proportion of Chinese idioms have story backgrounds set during the Spring-Autumn / Warring States / Chu-Han / Three Kingdoms periods — historical periods of intense narrative density

- b. Upper echelons read Western Han history; middle echelons read Ming history; those at the bottom are living in the best period in history right now

0.1.3.3 The world renews constantly; some extraordinary observations deserve emphasis, some extraordinary logics deserve deduction.

0.1.4 This work extensively cites predecessor works and relevant news

0.1.4.1 This work distinguishes between types of propositions — see color coding explanation

0.1.4.2 Due to information locality and author limitations, this work does not cite all evidence sources

0.1.5 Floating ranges, error margins, causally true propositions, example principles

Although this work is structured as geometrically as possible, it remains a social science work with a non-negligible proportion of errors and mistakes

0.1.5.1 Dimensionless quantities in this work default to ±e⁻¹ floating range

Floating in growth-ratio terms; (a, b) means amplitude (1+b)/(1+a); e≈2.7, e⁻¹≈37%, same below

0.1.5.2 Dimensioned quantities default to ±(e-1)/(e+1)=46% floating range

i.e., amplitude e-fold; empirically wealth follows an e power-law distribution; if the author can provide better estimates, they will be specified separately

0.1.5.3 Floating range is a stronger property, not weaker. That is, within this range, the logic elucidated by this work does not completely fail, and remains the principal contradiction among relevant factors

Propositions satisfying this property are called "causally true propositions" (causally true propositions), distinguished from strictly true propositions. Their complement is called "causally false propositions"

The difference between causally true and strictly true propositions is called "error." Causally false propositions are called "mistakes."

0.1.5.4 This work's disclosure principle: be as prudent as possible on avoiding mistakes, say as much as possible within error tolerance

a. Most narratives can be regarded as causally true (mistakes are of course unavoidable)

b. If a proposition is not strictly true but highly likely causally true, this work tends toward disclosure rather than concealment

The author seeks no fame or profit from this work and does not wish to reduce dissemination value by demanding perfection

0.1.5.5 For searchable and 2020s-pop-culture-relevant content, only keywords are given

Due to popularization nature and author level, accuracy of numbers is not guaranteed; direction/magnitude is approximately correct

0.1.5.6 For sharper viewpoints and facts, no more than three concise examples are provided

For various reasons, this can only guarantee approximate correctness; please use falsehood to cultivate truth

Proper nouns in most examples will be omitted, without affecting logical exposition

0.1.6 Most major logical chains in this work are "if and only if"

0.1.6.0 Thanks to the excellent Editor D, converses of many propositions were scrutinized by them

0.1.6.1 Converses of most propositions in this work are causally true

0.1.6.2 In other words, this work has both the function of "following these steps will likely succeed" and "not following these steps will likely fail" — thus serving both as an operation manual and a pitfall-avoidance guide

0.1.6.3 Furthermore, if you happen not to want to become wealthy / make things happen, this work can also serve as a mirror. Watching others pursue wealth and action through this work's lens is full of game-like fun

0.1.7 This work does not engage in value discussions

0.1.7.1 The question "how to live a good life" was long ago concluded in Those Things About Ming Dynasty

0.1.7.2 "Success has only one definition — living life in your own way"

0.1.8 This work is an adult tutorial, but the typical target reader is a first-year (math competition) freshman

This work was created in April 2025 (hereinafter 2504). Our discussion begins with the meaning of wealth.

0.2 Earn Lots of Money — But For What?

For accessibility and interest, several chapter titles use counter-intuitive questions for optimal expressive effect

0.2.1 It is generally held that life's pursuit is reaching places and states never before attained, whether materially or spiritually

0.2.1.1 Achieving Chapter 1: How to Manage Wealth (approximately RMB 30m, see appendix) is already a park played by a minority.

- In 2020s China, roughly low single-digit per mille (hereinafter "low x‰") — comparable to Tsinghua/Peking University admission rates

0.2.1.2 Achieving extraordinary financial status is a park played by even fewer.

0.2.2 Some believe parks requiring longer warm-up periods offer deeper satisfaction and fresher experiences

0.2.2.1 Statistically, those with this preference tend to sustain influence longer

Yan Xishan actually built Shanxi very well, spending heavily on education — "produced Bo Yibo in letters, Xu Xiangqian in arms"

But his influence faded quickly because compared to others, his ambitions were slightly lower

Traditional phrasing: "A scholar must be resolute and broad-minded, for his burden is heavy and his road is long"

0.2.2.2 They have strong delayed gratification tendencies. They want to experience more distant / less crowded parks

0.2.3 Making money is a form of practice, a way to understand the world. When you achieve financial extraordinarity, new levels will unfold before you, and you'll receive extraordinary game quests

0.2.3.1 Many post-80s generation members cast aside glory, retired extremely early, went to look at humanity's future on our behalf

0.2.3.2 If someone someday conquers Chapter 2: Reaching the Shore and makes RMB 300 million from the stock market — even if their wife spends all of it on diamond necklaces they've never worn — deep down they'd still be happy

0.3 What Is Money?

0.3.1 View a person as a company. Since everyone dies eventually, anyone's long-term equity value is zero (equity = assets - liabilities).

0.3.2 Therefore, all wealth is generalized liability — all of it is borrowed.

0.3.3 Holding these liabilities/resources requires a purpose — that purpose is what you must shoulder.

0.3.4 This means a person's wealth fundamentally depends on "what magnitude of burden they shoulder"

0.3.5 Someone ready to reach shore doesn't get there just by reading this work. They got there because they shouldered burdens, became one of The Elite, and happened to know shore-reaching methods which they financially realized.

0.3.6 By the way, companies work the same way

0.3.6.1 Chicken manure is a top-selling product on Pinduodo in 2504.

- When a large tech company sees profit potential and has the capability for high-parameter low-cost production plus clever marketing, should it make manure itself? (Large ag-tech companies, of course, are OK.)

0.3.6.2 Society gives resources and talent to a large tech company almost certainly not for making manure.

- a. Meta invests USD 10-20 billion annually in VR R&D

- b. Private companies with R&D spending at this order of magnitude worldwide: US MAG7, several international pharma giants, Intel/Qualcomm/Samsung/Volkswagen, Huawei/ByteDance/Tencent, and very few others

- c. They are looking at humanity's future. This is what such wealthy companies ought to do.

0.3.7 The converse theorem above also holds: if a person/company cannot justify the scale of funds raised, they must return them

0.3.7.1 As known, humanity has a future (hereinafter "Axiom Zero")

0.3.7.2 Having money but not shouldering burdens — these resources flow to those who do shoulder burdens

0.3.7.3 Ultimately, in the short-to-medium term, the world allocates to each individual resources matching their total contribution; in the long term, resources matching their marginal contribution.

- Those who once created value but now contribute little also get eliminated

0.3.7.4 Because this flow creates value/improves efficiency, it is irresistible

0.4 What to Shoulder?

0.4.1 The 2020s version answer: Serve Original Dishes to the World

0.4.1.1 "Serve Original Dishes" means making original contributions on humanity's knowledge/efficiency/thought/culture convex hull

0.4.1.2 This metaphor is used because: First, it consumes resources; Second, as The Cook, you give maximum effort to create wok hei and beauty for the world; Third, you enjoy the process and leave a deeply personal signature; Fourth, in memory of an old leader who was a fellow Northeasterner

0.4.1.3 A math competition sample of The Elite is The Code, see Appendix "The Code"

"The Code" was originally created by elders of the math competition public group — "What does someone look like who has served original dishes in math competition?"

0.4.1.4 Some examples of original contributions:

- a. As scientist discovering is OK, as engineer inventing is OK, as organizer restructuring is OK, starting/guarding a business is OK, charity/public service is OK, artistic creation is OK, thought innovation is OK, institutional progress is also OK

- b. Multiple categories above are of course OK too — can be seen as playing multiple parks

Cai Lun, Howard Hughes, Hedy Lamarr, Ford, Musk…

- c. Below we take tech entrepreneurship as an example; other domains follow the same principles

Ne Zha 2 is also innovation, a treasure of productivity explosion

0.4.2 In the 2020s, AI creates over 70% of new productivity; the most important AI talents across the Pacific are predominantly Chinese

0.4.2.1 This is Chinese contribution to humanity's main technology tree — last time at this magnitude was papermaking / Cai Lun

0.4.2.2 Papermaking was technology, not science. Chinese contribution to human civilization's core is happening right now, right here

0.4.3 When the world needs people, there is extremely high fault tolerance on both sides of the Pacific for tech entrepreneurial talent

0.4.4 Just learn something, then serve original dishes to the world

0.4.4.1 Two examples of wealth creation by those who shoulder burdens

- a. DeepSeek (hereinafter DS, founder hereinafter Mr. Liang) valued at sub-USD 0.1T level, with future opportunity to reach mid-0.1T or even 1T level

- Ten-figure valuation (unit: 2020s RMB, same below) corresponds to low x%‰ equity — roughly the first fifty engineers suffices

- b. Typical listed sci-tech enterprise median market cap around RMB 10 billion; #2 position 1-5% equals 100-500 million. This is not small.

- The #2 doesn't need to bear final corporate responsibility, doesn't need to backstop shareholder/creditor/social obligations — life-friendly per capita

- The billionaire #1 leaves similar amounts to wife/children/family office; the rest goes toward building the business

0.4.4.2 Just sign a paper, just deliver something to the world

0.4.4.3 Don't only do what others have done, don't only say what others have said, don't only think what others consider possible

- a. Read more papers. If stuck, use Doubao (AI) to help read. Without papers, you're isolated from human progress and frontier theoretical development.

- b. Read less news. News value is strictly bound by timestamp; tomorrow it's old news, less valuable.

0.4.5 I Read Papers But Couldn't Serve a Dish!

0.4.5.1 Assume first you're a natural resource organizer; below we discuss only which papers make dish-serving easier.

- Original spirit is equal before God — Van Gogh's Starry Night and Fermat's Last Theorem both represent human wisdom and dignity

0.4.5.2 For humble, resource-scarce human society/resource allocators, equal distribution cannot be afforded.

- Roughly, resources are allocated proportionally to marginal contributions to productivity (per additional 100 PhDs)

0.4.5.3 If the papers you read happen to represent sharp directions of productivity progress, relatively higher probability of obtaining more resources.

- In 2504, Terence Tao is one of the world's most successful mathematicians; his annual salary is comparable to 2-3 years of NVIDIA engineer compensation

0.4.5.4 Returning to personal level, life is finite. An industry with only ten years of history — study seven years and you're an expert.

- Conversely, an industry with 50+ years of history requires 30 years of study to become an expert through seniority and relative health alone

0.4.6 Interview with Top Chinese Mathematicians: "What Is Important Mathematics?" "How to Tell If You're Suited for Math Research?"

R: In the math world, how are resources allocated? What is important mathematics?

M: Personally I lean toward important mathematics being profound, touching aspects of humanity — akin to why da Vinci is a master artist

R: Taking art as analogy: art has schools (historical inheritance, like discussions you mention), clients (market demand, e.g., architecture), and development (some masters consider certain directions important)

M: Same for math. One is basic curiosity; one is client demand

R: Two common concerns:

a. Pure math has insufficient total resources, low fault tolerance for talent

b. Given limited resources, informatics has sharp market-demand orientation. Returning to art analogy: math research should focus on school inheritance / master opinions / client taste

M:

a. Yes. Develop good taste, do what you consider important, fight for resources — most people are reasonable

b. Productivity advancement direction likely spawns good mathematics too, say quantum computing

R: How to tell if you're suited for math research?

M:

a. Once you have this awareness, you'll figure it out. One: read mathematician bios/interviews/biographies — see if you admire them, like their lives. Recommended: Contemporary Mathematical Elite / Contemporary Math Masters; Two: only know by doing

b. Attached: two interviews that deeply influenced me:

https://publications.ias.edu/sites/default/files/interview-ubc-2009-rpl.pdf

https://www.ams.org/journals/notices/201904/rnoti-p494.pdf

0.4.6 From here, our discussion splits into the Non-Elite track and The Elite track

This work is also called RynW4+1. "Chapter 0: How to Truly Live" is hereinafter how0 or "Ch.0", etc.

0.4.6.0 If you:

- a. Are willing to serve an original dish to the world — you are one of The Elite

- b. Are unwilling — you are (choosing to be) Non-Elite

- c. This work contains no value judgment on this point. Different life choices receive different 5hows routes

- d. Core reason for distinction: core drivers differ between tracks, requiring separate discussion. Specifically:

0.4.6.1 Non-Elites need to master how 1 / how 2 more urgently

0.4.6.2 The Elite need to master how 4 / how 5 more urgently

0.4.6.3 Everyone needs how 3

We begin with the Non-Elite version

"How to Truly Live" — Non-Elite Development Track

0.5 I Need Chapter 1: How to Manage Wealth, But Even More I Need the Legendary First Bucket of Gold?

0.5.1 Investment cannot be used for generating first bucket of gold ("investable capital at scale," hereinafter W₀, other aliases follow)

0.5.2 Since ancient times, the official method is providing services. "Providing services" means:

0.5.2.1 You made a contribution to an important person (hereinafter M, other aliases follow)

0.5.2.2 This contribution was so important that M would not replace you upon completion (this is a high standard)

0.5.3 Though your ability may be small, your value to M is large. M casually tosses you something — now you have W₀

0.5.3.1 Self-starting works too but requires risking loss-of-capital risk

0.5.3.2 If the venture succeeds, you can begin applying 5hows

HK TV drama trope: being M's assistant (arranging travel, booking tickets) for years; before marriage/having kids, M usually gives a code word — since early HK stock manipulation was rampant, sometimes (in dramas) this actually works

0.5.4 Thus the first bucket of gold is not a "market deal" but an "off-market deal" — no universal solution / academic value

0.5.5 M won't pay attention to me. What to do?

0.5.5.1 You don't need equivalent resources to make M need you

a. Extremely low probability you do — this is a widespread fallacy

b. In fact, meeting M's daily needs has a standard — colloquially, sitting in the "first three rows" of meetings

Specifically: if M has a request and tells A, and A handles it directly — then A is qualified front-row material

Conversely, if B says "ask C to handle this" — B is disqualified. Long-term, C is better adapted; B handling it wastes efficiency

0.5.5.2 Stable expectations from M suffice

- a. M expectation one: insider / one of us

*"Us" can be broadly defined: childhood friends / alumni / spouse's high school classmates / ex-colleague's spouse all work

Core: has bottom line, doesn't pull surprises

By the way, this is the core social value of HYPSM/Tsinghua-PKU/Fudan-SJTU-ZJU alumni status — no less than e⁻¹

- b. M expectation two: upright character

They're busy working, not purely freeloading; what they work on has positive externalities for M

Due to uncommon/invisible nature of M's needs, positive-externality work generally isn't universal technical skill

Cambridge visiting scholar / Singapore family office / Swiss skiing / Dubai ground handling / Japanese medical care / Nobel laureate interview / authentic iron-pot stew…

- c. M expectation three: stable context

Meeting regularly builds rapport. Golf buddies / card buddies / fishing buddies, hiking together / marathon / book club / Maotai tasting…

"How to Truly Live" — Elite Development Track

0.6 Essential Characteristics of The Elite

0.6.0 The Elite are responsible only to their own learning curves

Not to anything else (secular achievements, others' evaluation, resource accumulation, social impact)

0.6.0.1 Only learning for yourself ensures every minute spent learning is exactly what you need.

This is why so many foreign university students drop out to start businesses. To them, studying for a diploma genuinely delays things — delays progress on what they themselves want to learn.

0.6.0.2 If there exists something you do every morning upon waking without anyone prompting — neither physiological nor assigned by others — this is hereinafter "The Passion"

0.6.0.3 Finding The Passion, given enough time, makes a significant difference — more important than any resource.

0.6.1 Therefore, as long as your learning curve is steep and The Passion intersects with world demand, your excellence will inevitably be known by the world. Your excellence cannot be concealed — only you optimizing the world remains, the world cannot optimize you.

Director Jiaozi (of Ne Zha 2) studied medicine originally.

0.6.2 Why doesn't the Elite track discuss W₀? Because The Elite don't need it

0.6.2.1 The Elite create original contributions; when and how much these are valued depends on world demand emergence and change

- a. This is uncertain — in 2504, card game company annual revenue tens of billions, previously unimaginable

0.6.2.2 Later you'll learn investment has a limit return rate GR_m=20%

- a. This essentially comes from world demand for money (and the limit of rich people playing it). The world doesn't need money that badly

0.6.2.3 The Elite answer only to their own learning curves. After original convex-hull contribution, as long as intersection with world demand (including future demand) is non-empty, monetary value surges — no academic law governs this.

0.6.3 I Made an Original Contribution Intersecting With World Demand — How Do I Know How Big It Can Get?

0.6.3.1 From above: original contributions' size cannot be estimated beforehand; "make it as big as possible" isn't The Elite's initial motive either — realizing The Idea is. (See Ch.4 for related concepts.)

0.6.3.2 In practice, judging the scale of an endeavor has a gold standard: if you're position #1 (the driver) and attract n Dream Captains, long-term this endeavor is worth at least RMB nb

- a. Because Dream Captains alone can sustain a public company at single-digit billions; they haven't done so because joining your endeavor is more worthwhile (see Ch.4). In fact, company value increases exponentially with number of Dream Captains — because visions/endeavors capable of gathering more of them are exponentially scarce

- b. The converse also holds: if only yourself is Elite in your company, long-term value is zero. Efficiency-wise, you belong somewhere with more Elites for self-realization, not running your own company

0.6.3.3 Great visions unite hearts

0.7 Before Being Recognized as Elite — What Can You Do?

By definition, Elite is an intrinsic attribute — unrelated to whether others know

0.7.1 How to Read

0.7.1.1 At the highest level, knowledge converges

- a. Generally held that studying politics / history / international relations / psychology / philosophy / religion — disciplines reaching human nature — leads to faster awakening

- b. Economics / investing / science / engineering / art / design — once mastered, converge similarly

- c. Ultimate outcome points toward seeing heaven and earth, seeing oneself, seeing past and present, seeing all beings — finally roughly grasping "Chapter 5: How to Predict the Future"

0.7.1.2 Clearly, what matters are non-required readings (required ones you've already read)

- a. The world is vast; always allocate e⁻¹ time to non-required readings

With probability 1, The Passion is unknown to you right now

There is zero ambiguity here (if you knew it, you'd know). Not knowing yet — only reading can reveal it

- b. Non-required readings: skim first, speed-read as leisure, conduct feasibility-of-feasibility analysis

Your goal isn't learning — it's determining "is learning this feasible?" "does it suit me?" "is the author's aesthetic low?"

- c. Once feasibility established, pick simple spots to dip-read — "learn where you're weak"

By now you've invested real cost. Assess: any gains? Is this what I'm missing?

Authors write logically; what you need most isn't necessarily presented sequentially — grab whatever helps

- d. If all above checks out, go ahead and learn — still pick chapters you need first

The 20% portion of Pareto principle itself follows Pareto: typically 4% of content carries 64% of meaning

0.7.2 How to Make Friends

0.7.2.1 Don't chase celebrities, don't pry into people's lives, don't do things you wouldn't normally do just because you happen to know someone

- a. Intersection between people emerges naturally from each person's own endeavors

- b. If someone doesn't do related work yet tries to know what others are doing — this pollutes purity of their own pursuits and purity of friendship alike

0.7.2.2 Friends who are upright, forgiving, and widely informed

- a. The Elite always desire more friends who are The Elite, even in completely unrelated fields

Science of science exists — vastly different fields converge at the top

- b. The Elite inspire and encourage each other

"Stuck in Shanghai on a rainy night, late-night snack with an old flame after years out of touch. Neither of us changed — including weight and his resolve to diet. We collaborated on many things in college: basically I started he finished, pair programming I talked he coded, weird bugs he stayed up I slept. His startup on a bizarre venture taught me lots; I shared my brewing bizarre plan for him to critique. Ended perfectly with three questions about each other's past and future." — Zhang Yiming

This work will quote him multiple times; hereinafter YM or Yiming. His quotes appear in teal

0.7.2.3 Direct corollary: since university is the flattest social venue, before you find answers to big questions (The Passion? Who to build with? To what extent?), why not water two extra years in university?

0.7.3 How to Learn Making Things Happen (see how 4 for details)

0.7.3.0 Selected Works of Mao + Zero to One + How to Be a Commander — basically covers how to do anything

0.7.3.1 "How to Organize" is the first axiom of Mao Selected Works (Chairman Mao hereinafter the Chairman)

- a. The Chairman has one merit: among leaders past and present, he likely loves writing most

- b. He wishes all masses immediately understood everything he understood

0.7.3.2 He didn't do tech innovation, didn't spend long in middle management — Selected Works lacks these two parts. Everything else, he covered completely

- a. Add "Zero to Hereinafter frequently cited as 《0→1》" and "How to Be a Commander" — you're the secular king

- b. Add "Philosophical Investigations" (Wittgenstein) — you're the philosopher king

0.7.3.3 Remaining principles boil down to "concrete analysis of concrete problems"

For example, read "Ziyang Telegram" (General Su Yu): "how to write requests" — tried 100 times, works 100 times, counts as a minor principle

0.7.3.4 Textbooks, history, biographies/interviews/quotes of figures, and milestone papers — these four rank equally as best mentors

0.7.3.5 Those planning great deeds should start learning how early

Of course jumping straight into great deeds isn't bad either — saves learning many long-term-useless skills

- a. Making things happen requires early practice; sweeping a room vs. sweeping the world share some skills and differ in others

- b. If you can outsource the overlapping parts, you really can just learn to sweep the world

The difference set cannot be outsourced. History proves repeatedly: resource stitching cannot sweep the world

- c. If failure 4-6 times precedes success, best to fail 1-2 times during university

YM founded four startups and worked twice before ByteDance

0.7.4 Three Examples of The Elite at Age 20

0.7.4.1 L₁ ~40 years old. At 20, firmly believed "strive unceasingly / don't live merely for personal wealth freedom"

- *a. Observed real motivation: "make it in the alumni circle"

- b. Ran enterprise from age 30 to 40; IPO'd in recent three years

0.7.4.2 L₂ ~35 years old. At 20, knew already they were both technical genius and had leadership

- *a. Observed real motivation: "be the richest in my scientific field while contributing most to science from industry"

- b. Forced commercialization path in their domain; IPO'd in recent three years

0.7.4.3 L₃ ~30 years old. At 20, firmly believed they carried a grand mission

- a. Observed real motivation: "as big as possible"; expected to IPO within three years

- b. Two years ago when author hadn't retired yet, first words upon meeting: "let's not discuss anything at the hundred-million level — meaningless"

0.8 After Being Recognized as Exceptionally Elite — Then What?

0.8.1 Many share the same destination: building an ideal nation

As known, everyone exerts influence within some spacetime neighborhood — no need for excessive scale or duration

0.8.2 An Ideal Nation

Still using math competition domain as example

0.8.2.1 In the 2020s world, 14-16 year-old top-tier geniuses (hereinafter FYG) are charged tuition rather than sponsored

0.8.2.2 FYG at ages 22-25 do the selecting rather than being selected

0.8.2.3 Massive inefficiency exists here

0.8.2.4 Envision an ideal nation:

a. FYGs meet each other at ages 14-16, form some consensus, receive soft commitments of effective support

b. Effective support is needed because humans have mundane desires; once values are conditioned by "mundane supply-demand," transcendent pursuit becomes harder to form

c. FYG failing to form transcendent pursuit is disadvantageous to all humanity

0.8.2.5 The greater the vision, the less picky about startup conditions, and the less shortage of sponsors

New-generation sponsors have minimal ego and seek no personal return

New-generation sponsors universally believe: viewed from Mars, benefiting Earth suffices

0.8.3 Current State of the Ideal Nation

0.8.3.1 For FYG aged 14-16, beyond loving the motherland, possible consensuses include loving math and loving play

0.8.3.2 In the 2020s, many Elite have founded private universities

Appendix: The Track

Popularization and Monetization Progress of This Work's Chapters

The Track

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This series attempts to discuss two propositions: "How the Non-Elite Goes from First Bucket of Gold to Sustainable Wealth Freedom" and "How The Elite Serves Original Dishes to the World" (unit: 2020s RMB)

I. W_ir\ → 1.5 million / hereinafter W₀\\*

Not covered; lacks universal technique

II. W₀ → 30 million / hereinafter W₁

Non-Elite "Chapter 1: How to Manage Wealth"

III. W₁ → 300 million / hereinafter W_p

Non-Elite "Chapter 2: How to Reach the Shore"

IV. Elite W_p → 7 billion / hereinafter W_H

Non-Elites cannot accomplish

Elite "Chapter 4: How to Make Things Happen", Elite "Chapter 5: How to Predict the Future"

V. Non-Elite W_p Position Maintenance

"Chapter 3: How to Maintain Position": H1 Financial Security & H2 Maintaining Dignity

IV. Elite W_p and W_H Position Maintenance

"Chapter 3: How to Maintain Position": H2 Maintaining Dignity

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\W_ir (ir for irrelevant) means*

a. Above this wealth threshold, optimal methods for achieving financial goals (hereinafter "methods/Xinfa") begin to take effect

b. Below this threshold, no methods are needed for optimal results

c. Throughout history, there have been outstanding and great individuals with zero wealth

Master Hong Yi died penniless — did not diminish the immortality of "Farewell"

\\ For reading fluency, W₀ and the person holding W₀ are not distinguished; same convention applies below. Related conventions will be restated later.

Appendix: Elite Math Competition Sample — The Code

The Vibe of Will

The Code

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0. Academic honesty

a. If you know it, say you know; don't claim ignorance

b. If you don't know it, say you don't know; don't claim knowledge

1. Pursue to the extreme

a. Grapple with problems that interest you; give maximum effort; never give up halfway

b. What you produce — you must personally believe it's correct; never rely on others for verification

2. Strongest willpower

a. Ignore all inevitable inconveniences encountered while pursuing item 1

b. Never let weak character kill a viable idea

3. Elegant and universal

a. If your conclusion is factually correct, ensure you can apply it, remember it, and deploy it under exam conditions

b. Generally requires the result to be in the most natural, simplest, most elegant form

4. Originality with courage

a. Dare to pioneer new frameworks

b. Dare to produce previously unknown results and structures within new frameworks

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[Hidden tier — agreement not required. Note: outstanding stands for stand-out; hidden tier is core source for many great minds]

5. Open and curious

a. If you discover a good method, first thought should be "find an expert and explain it clearly" (Feynman technique)

Rather than "this is secret knowledge, guard it tightly"

b. If you hear someone has a good method, first thought should be "I must learn this, can't miss it" (emulate the worthy)

Rather than "this is my territory, block it first / nobody can beat my guru / wait for official verdict"

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