How can young people in the crypto world achieve financial freedom?

Our contemporary young people believe they have no opportunities, but there’s no need to think that way. Almost every generation of young people thought they had no opportunities at the time—no money, no experience, money was earned by the previous generation, opportunities were taken by the previous generation, yet they had plenty of opportunities. The reason we think this way is because these are all things that have already happened.

In reality, what we are experiencing now are the so-called opportunities, and each generation has more opportunities than the previous one—it’s just that we can’t see them. We always believe we have no opportunities, no money, no experience, and insufficient ability. When you look back twenty years later, some of your peers, like classmates from back then, will be very outstanding.

Human civilization has always moved forward, and human wealth is increasing like a rolling snowball—getting bigger and bigger. The ever-growing wealth is the opportunity. Every generation has opportunities, but each generation tends to think otherwise, especially young people who often make this mistake, just like every generation of teenagers throughout history and across cultures, who tend to rebel.

Personal mindset, family education, parental perceptions, and even your courage will limit your actions and future. Maybe we can’t change ourselves, but we must be clear that this tendency is not real; it’s just that we are immersed in it and find it hard to escape that situation. When you’re involved, you’re confused; those who have been through it might see more clearly, but the problem with those who have been through it is that the opportunities are gone. So, when you’re in the midst of it, try to stay clear-headed. Recognizing this will have a huge positive impact on your life planning and the realization of your ideals.

Many people think: “I have no money, how can I make big money?” Most of today’s super-rich started from scratch. It’s rare to have a lot of money and then earn even more. For example, Wang Sisheng, a second-generation rich, is quite outstanding among the wealthy—capable and driven, not lacking in many aspects. But he didn’t turn his father’s money into more; in fact, it became less. At least I believe that someone like him has not succeeded.

I hope young people won’t keep saying, “I have no money, how can I earn money?” This is a subconscious excuse to shirk responsibility. Just as poverty is a disease, ignorance is also a disease. If you think something is impossible, then it is impossible—because once you believe it’s impossible, you mentally and emotionally close off the path, and you won’t spend time exploring that direction.

On the contrary, if you think it’s possible, your mind will open up. You will keep researching, asking, trying—eventually, you’ll find a way and succeed. If you think it won’t work, then it probably won’t. If you think it can, then there’s a chance you will succeed. The probability of success increases as you keep trying, and eventually, it becomes a reality—that’s the process of self-actualization in life.

This program is mainly aimed at young people. I am also someone who has been through it—I’ve experienced both poverty and relatively wealthy days in the U.S. I know all kinds of people around me: some live simple, some have ups and downs. But based on my personal observation, most people’s attitude toward wealth and investment is like this: around age twenty, they are very busy—studying, looking for jobs, dating. Many important life decisions are made during this time. They feel young, see the future as distant, and even if they know it’s important, they won’t spend much energy preparing because time doesn’t feel urgent, and they’re not interested. At thirty, they are busy with marriage, family, and children’s education, and their careers are just starting, so they have no time to consider investments. Around forty, their careers are doing well, children are grown, but they are still too busy. Wealth management and retirement planning are important but not urgent because around forty, income is at its peak, and investment is postponed.

By fifty, people realize their careers are at their peak or starting to decline, and they begin to think about retirement arrangements. They might feel their pension is insufficient, inflation is fierce, and they start listening to others’ financial advice or investment methods. But without decades of experience, only a desire to make money, no experience, and no money—though that’s manageable—what’s most dangerous is that at this time, they have the most money in hand (from decades of savings), but the least experience. It’s like a child holding a nuclear weapon—very dangerous.

These people often suffer huge losses because they mishear an investment tip or rush into the crypto or stock markets to make money, even losing everything, and sometimes going bankrupt. This often happens at retirement age, when they no longer have the ability to earn. I’ve seen many people follow this investment path. Most stories about crypto and stock investments follow this script: many older investors invest in crypto and stocks because they need money, not because they prepared early. In the end, they lose everything accumulated over a lifetime.

I don’t want young people to experience this in the future. I want to give young people a piece of advice: don’t repeat that old path. Because you have one of the most important advantages—time. Time is needed to learn knowledge and accumulate experience. Another very important aspect is compound interest, which requires time; wealth grows like a snowball over time. We cannot compress time or extend it, so we must rely on time.

Therefore, investment should start when you’re young—the earlier, the better. The snowball may not look very big in the first twenty years, but by the twenty-first year, the earnings in one year could be equal to what you earned in the first five years (non-linear exponential growth). Wealth surges require twenty years of accumulation beforehand. You can’t wait until you need money to start; that’s too late. You must start early. The snowball itself needs time to build momentum because it requires accumulation, and this process cannot be skipped.

Now, how can young people achieve financial freedom? I believe there are three relatively reliable plans. These plans mainly depend on what kind of person you are, your lifestyle, and whether you have the energy.

First plan: If you are a conservative person, your family is relatively well-off, and you are genuinely busy with little interest in investing, a simple method is what Buffett recommends—buy index funds or ETFs, preferably U.S. ones. I don’t particularly advocate buying Chinese funds, and buying UK funds is also okay. The reasons are complex, related to legal systems, culture, and responsibility. In short, if you can buy U.S. stocks and funds, do not buy European or Asian funds. The best stock markets are in the U.S., because of their innovation and strong sense of responsibility, plus legal protections.

Second plan: If you have time and are interested in crypto and stock investments, you should save money, accumulate capital, and spend time researching three to five sustainable, high-quality companies, like Moutai. Moutai is an excellent company. Study it thoroughly, wait for a market crash in crypto or stocks, and when prices are low, start buying these long-anticipated companies. Hold them long-term, and they will become your money-making machines. When prices become too high, you can sell, but try not to buy at high prices—buy more when prices are low with your savings.

Third plan: Investing in real estate. Currently, Chinese real estate prices are actually too high. I recommend borrowing money to invest in real estate—but not now. I strongly oppose borrowing money to buy stocks or crypto, and I also oppose borrowing to start a business. Both are extremely risky, especially when you lack experience, with a high failure rate. My advice is: when the real estate market is not good, you can borrow to buy property.

Many people’s wealth growth depends on themselves and leverage. When the real estate market is down, you can borrow to buy, provided the property can generate cash flow—such as renting it out to cover mortgage interest and other expenses. Real estate has a large capacity for wealth. Using leverage, if you invest 10% or 20% of the property’s value, and the property appreciates by 20%, your assets double. This is a long-term investment, and the snowball can roll very fast.

Over thirty years, relying on that one property, you could retire. Many people earn far more from real estate than from crypto or stocks—that’s how wealth is created. But it also involves risks. So, I say borrowing to buy real estate should only be done when the market is bad and cash flow can support it. That’s my premise and context—I don’t want to be misunderstood.

Today, I shared my understanding of wealth and young people’s path to financial freedom. I offered three plans for wealth freedom, which may not be perfect. Everyone can consider their own circumstances—time, wealth, interests—and use these as references.