The biggest mistake ordinary people make is starting a business.

Last night, ten of us stayed out until midnight, going out to eat late-night snacks at around 2 a.m. The streets were still bustling with activity, lit up with neon lights and crowded with people, just as lively as during the day. After eating, we stayed at a hotel near the school gate. The hotel was quite expensive. Even at a budget hotel in this area, staying there at 3 a.m. still cost over 300 yuan. For that price, you could stay in a sea-view room at a four-star hotel in Sanya. I was so tired that when I woke up the next morning, it was already 10:30 a.m. Everyone else had left yesterday, leaving only the five of us behind. We had lunch at the school canteen first, and the food was really delicious and affordable, costing only around ten yuan. During the meal, Ting Ge mentioned that he had taken a walk around the campus that morning and discovered a new lake behind the old dormitories. The scenery there was particularly beautiful, giving the impression of being in Europe. I immediately became interested and asked him to take me there after lunch. After seeing the lake, I realised he had never been to Europe. Yesterday, I mentioned wanting to visit Sheng Ge’s factory again. During lunch, Sheng Ge called me and asked if I was still planning to go to the factory. I said, “If you’re free today, I’ll come.” He replied, “Sure, come over. Ask the others if they want to come too.” When I asked, everyone was free, so we decided to go together. Shuigege had a flight to Thailand at 3 PM for business, so he didn't come and drove himself to the airport. The four of us drove two cars to Shengge's company. Tingge has worked at Honda for 20 years and still drives a Guangzhou Automobile Group electric vehicle. Liangge works in plastic film production in Foshan and is now the company's deputy general manager, but he still drives the Nissan he bought a long time ago. Following others, it's hard to ride in luxury cars. Sheng Ge’s company specialises in software and hardware for barcode tracking systems, classified as a high-tech enterprise with significant technical barriers. The business is thriving, collaborating with many state-owned enterprises in the food and medical industries on projects ranging from several million to tens of millions of yuan. Smaller projects under several hundred thousand yuan are generally not undertaken. The company employs over a hundred staff members and operates efficiently.

When discussing entrepreneurship, Sheng Ge mentioned that he never considered whether he could succeed when he first started his business. Initially, the company had only three people. The first project was worth over a million yuan. After signing the contract, he realised he lacked expertise in many areas and couldn't even write code. He quickly purchased a programming book, studied it for a week, and began experimenting with coding. He worked over ten hours a day, striving relentlessly, and eventually forced himself to complete the project—it was no easy feat.

If you’re going to start a business, you shouldn’t worry about whether it will succeed or what will happen if it fails; you should only start a business if you’re determined to succeed no matter what. You also need to understand that entrepreneurship is a risky endeavour, and besides hard work, you often need luck as well.

Entrepreneurship is really exhausting. Look at Sheng Ge—his company is now on the right track and making good money, but he still looks haggard and weighs only 92 pounds.

I joked with him, “Are you trading your weight for money?”

Shui Ge is also an entrepreneur with over a hundred employees. He’s also got grey hair, often looks stressed, and is constantly busy with work, spending most of his time travelling.

Entrepreneurship is truly difficult, exhausting, and anxiety-inducing, especially in the real economy, particularly in capital-intensive industries. Moreover, the risks are significant. If the industry experiences a downturn for a few years or an unexpected incident occurs, the company could go bankrupt.

Without extraordinary ambition and ability, one should not lightly embark on entrepreneurship.

Why do I feel this so deeply? Because I have also attempted entrepreneurship multiple times, endured every hardship, and faced every challenge. Speaking of it now, it’s all bitter tears.

For ordinary people, the biggest way to ruin themselves is through entrepreneurship.

The primary reason ordinary people accumulate debt is by borrowing money to start a business.

If you really want to start a business, go ahead, but remember: it must be a low-asset venture with manageable risks, and you must be able to cut losses promptly. The worst-case scenario should be something you can personally afford. The best options are services, brokerage, or virtual products—minimal capital investment with the potential for unlimited, zero-cost expansion.

Do business commensurate with your capabilities, accumulate step by step, and never be overly ambitious. Otherwise, you are likely to lose everything.

In the afternoon, it started raining heavily, and I went to Baiyun Airport to catch a flight back to Sanya.

My original flight was scheduled for 8 PM, but due to the heavy rain, the airline sent a text message saying it had been delayed to 10 PM. When I arrived at the airport, the flight was further delayed to 12 AM. There were very few power outlets at the airport, far less convenient than a high-speed rail station. It was inconvenient to work while waiting for the flight. After finally boarding the plane at midnight, we had to wait in line for takeoff. The wait was too long, and I fell asleep. I shouldn’t have chosen a seat near the engine; the noise was too loud. We finally arrived in Sanya around 2 a.m.

Living alone in the world, one must know what one truly desires. First, one must know what one should desire—what is important, valuable, and truly worth striving for in life. This is the correct set of values. Second, one must know what one can desire—where one’s interests and abilities lie, and what suits one’s temperament and natural talents best. This is accurate self-awareness.