Many people should have heard this saying: slow is fast, fast is slow.
But very few people truly understand this principle.
I will express my shallow insights based on what I have seen.
Yesterday I made a profit of 5500u from arbitrage, of which 1000U was from luck. Money that comes from luck arrives very quickly. If I do not have the correct understanding of luck, I would think that this money is so easy to earn and would go all out. The final result would definitely be a total loss.
You must remember that behind massive profits, there are always significant losses. If someone makes a lot of money, there are definitely others who are losing big. During a bull market, while you earn so much, those who are shorting provide some of the fuel.
A bull market is a good time, right next to good days are the bad days of a bear market. Why do most people fail to make money in a bull market? Because the rise is too fast, and they dare not jump in during a bear market. By the time the bull market rises too quickly, it's already too late to get in. After a bull market comes a bear market, which is a sharp decline, small rises, small declines, small rises again, then another small decline, continuing to drop slowly until you reach despair. The market will restart. This is the slow is fast aspect of the entire industry cycle.
Now I will talk about my personal experience in the crypto world regarding slow is fast. Let me give an example. Yesterday a brother bought 1.2 million U of ordi at a price of 42U, and it dropped to 38U overnight and returned to 40U in the morning. He lost 990,000 in one night. What if it doesn't come back today? Will he cut losses or not? Of course, there’s also a possibility it could go straight to 50-60 or 70U. That would be massive profits.
Behind massive profits, there are definitely massive losses, because no one can predict the market, and everyone has moments of failure.
The model for getting rich is like this: 10,000, 12,000, 20,000, 40,000, 80,000, 160,000, 200,000, 500,000 and then drop by 50%, becoming 250,000. Then continue to drop by 50% to become 125,000. A small black swan event is enough to make you lose all the money you've earned before. The slow is fast model works like this: 10,000, 12,000, 9,000, 13,000, 15,000, 14,000, 18,000, 15,000, 17,000, 20,000. One is rapid growth, which inevitably leads to some people sustaining huge losses. That person might not be you, as long as you keep going, but one day it will be you. If it has never been you, give it 10 years and you will surpass Musk. Clearly, this is impossible. Yesterday, someone told me that their friend made several million this month from contracts, and I was so envious. I said forget it. You didn't see the risks he took. He just didn't tell you about the losses.
One way is to grow slowly, which is to earn money through replicable methods based on the laws of industry development. Sometimes you earn little, sometimes a lot, and sometimes incur small losses, but big losses are not allowed. Overall, it is always profitable by gradually increasing the principal base and using compound interest to grow slowly. This is the slow is fast principle. When you have 1 million, earning 10% is 100,000; if you have 10 million, a 30% increase is 3 million. That's no longer slow.
So how do we face the opportunities for massive profits?
In the web3 market, if you encounter an opportunity for massive profits, congratulations, it’s brought by luck. You can invest the money earned from getting rich into the slow is fast methods, take a small part to continue investing into high-reward paths. You must do it this way. If you earn tens of millions or hundreds of thousands at once, and then you go all in again, a 50% drop means you lose half, and another 50% drop means you lose 75%, which is equivalent to working hard for nothing. In the crypto world, two halvings may only take 2 days. I have encountered friends like this, and it's very painful. It makes life feel less beautiful and less enjoyable.
If you know the risks of massive profits, then it's okay. Personally, if it’s gained through luck, I absolutely will not expand the opportunities relying on luck. I'm afraid that good luck will run out. You can say I’m cautious, but my caution has allowed me to survive. Seeing friends around me leaving this circle is a bit sad, but life is helpless.