Lay a Solid Foundation, Persevere, and Fear No Storms

The hardest work in the world is foundational work, because it is voluminous, tedious, and dull. Most people prefer shortcuts, hoping to get there in one step, unwilling to put in the hard work to build a foundation. As a result they easily waste their years and accomplish nothing; when a little wind and wave strike, they are at a loss.

Becoming famous young is a low-probability event; the great majority of young people in this world must start from foundational work, accumulating deeply before radiating, becoming great late in life. So if we do not want to waste this life, we must choose a direction we love and start from the foundation. Foundational work is never too late to begin, and must be done throughout life. The more solid the foundation, the more smoothly work goes.

These three years, hit by the pandemic, I have been affected like everyone, but the pandemic has not destroyed everything. I sincerely thank my readers and patients for their continued support, but to speak my heart, the person I am most grateful to is myself. Over the past decade-plus, even longer, I have continually worked to lay my foundation, studied with perseverance, and hardly wasted a single day.

Confucius said he set his heart on learning at fifteen. I roughly began in my second year of high school and have since lived the life of a Hubei high-school student—we had no weekends, only a monthly break and winter/summer vacations. Hubei high-school students had it tough: a day or two off each month; my nephews still live this way. Olympiad students had not even winter/summer breaks; mine were spent solving Olympiad problems at school. The cafeteria was closed during breaks, so we ate at teachers' homes.

I don't actually agree with this education model; in today's buzzwords, it is too "rolled." But I also won't say it was worthless—it made a person accustomed to effort. Our Huanggang teachers were not rigid; for students like me they gave great freedom. In high school I was allowed to skip routine classes and complete my studies by self-study, with teachers only assisting. My ability now to study and write autonomously and without a single day's lapse is a habit forged in high school—habits influence a person for life.

Many of my classmates were brighter than I, but few could persist in accumulating bit by bit and building a foundation with perseverance. Thus among my classmates I am now relatively free; before thirty I achieved financial and time freedom. Many of my classmates may be wealthier than I, but few are freer.

If we agree that freedom is the most precious thing in life, then we can say that through my own effort I have attained this most precious freedom. Of course, some think wealth is most precious; from that angle I am no winner in life. But I am personally satisfied with my state of life, because it is a balanced state—neither rich nor poor, but healthy and free.

I am indeed a bit "chill" (foxi), but those who see only my chill side understand me only superficially. I have never lain flat; in school I was one of the hardest-working students in the whole school. After leaving school, most people stop reading, but I still read every day like a high-schooler.

I have mastered many skills: not only am I striving to study medicine, I can also write articles and write code. I came from poverty; in my youth, to solve financial freedom and give myself enough time and energy for the work I love, in my twenties I traded with people from over a hundred countries, accumulating wealth. I was among the earliest cross-border e-commerce practitioners, writing a large volume of business letters in English every day. Now I study medicine every day; I write my own articles and build my own website. Anyone who wants to master even one of these skills needs a certain intelligence plus sufficient effort.

With these foundations laid, I now fear no wind or wave. I can live freely, study the medicine I love, do what I love, without begging others or being anxious. Even as the world suffers various crises, I have ample ability to cope with life's difficulties.

So when people ask me how to study medicine well or build a career, I can only answer truthfully: personally I rely on effort—in high school I was one of the hardest-working students in the school; my classmates said my diligence set the class tone. At my age, some old classmates still admire my perseverance; I can sustain the persistence most people cannot.

Now my son often ranks first in his favorite subjects, math and physics, also through effort. We may have a little talent, but we are definitely not the brightest; I have always known this about ourselves. We rely on effort and persevering will.

I educate my son the same way: if you love a calling, devote your whole life to it; don't care about momentary gains or losses, nor about how great the final achievement. Strive on the cause, let go of the result; patiently start from the foundation and accumulate bit by bit. A long-termist has no impatience or anxiety; if you can spend a lifetime on a calling, why rush for quick success?

Anyone who perseveres for over ten years in any field can reach a fairly professional level. Surviving in this world is not easy, but it is not really hard either once you raise your ability. A technical worker who has built a solid foundation and also possesses composite skills need not live by currying favor with others.

Of course, I think that to reach the best state of life, on top of all this one must go one step further—control one's desires. Strong ability and few desires make an agreeable life easy, because our ability to satisfy our wishes is more than enough. Those with weak ability and strong desires suffer all their lives, always feeling unequal to their wants. This is why, while striving, I keep a chill mindset. I often say: "I ask for little; what I have is already enough." I live by these eight words through constantly raising my ability while restraining my desires.

I write this not to boast, but because I don't want some people misled by me—seeing only my chill side, missing my hard-fighting side, and thinking one can live leisurely in this world by chill alone. That thought is of course wrong and harmful. Life is hard by nature; all kinds of survival crises beset us, so we cannot survive easily. Only effort lets us live out our full years. At the same time, effort drives human evolution; had our ancestors not striven to survive, we might never have evolved the ability to walk upright.