The day before yesterday, I mentioned that most people really don't need to care about so-called bull and bear markets, which has caused a lot of confusion; some messages in the back end are filled with confusion.

Let me tell you about a friend of mine—

For all these years, I have had a friend I don’t see often, but he is very special. I don't know if you have someone like this around you. Since the stock market days, he has been almost the only one around me who bought the same stocks and held them for over eight years; later, we both got into crypto, and he also firmly believed in BTC, never selling once from 2016 until now, holding for over eight years again.

Since 2017, I once had a research group where everyone studied buying certain stocks and Bitcoin together. I estimated in my heart that there were at least 30 friends around me who bought the same stocks as me. But only one has held them for over eight years; honestly, I haven’t done that. At that time, we all bought Tesla and Nvidia together, but I basically didn’t hold on. I sold quite a bit of Bitcoin in the panic of 2018.

For a time, I even doubted if it was a problem with my character; those around me were short-term self-interested individuals. Later, I realized that this matter is too difficult; looking around, the ones who can do it are extremely few, and it has nothing to do with my character.

Over the years, whenever friends criticized Bitcoin and core tech stocks for rising slowly and gave up, I would think of him. What caused only him to remain calm amidst the fluctuations of the cryptocurrency and stock markets?

After thinking it over, my interpretation can only be:

First, he doesn't care about the market at all.

Secondly, he 'is willing to lay flat'

I believe that as a value investor, the most valuable things are nothing more than two: one is research results, and the other is the patience to wait. The former is not very difficult; precious things are generally visible, and even if you can't find them, there may be many ways to obtain them. The rare thing is the latter;

So, I want to quote a classic line from (The Count of Monte Cristo): 'All human wisdom is contained in these four words: wait and hope!'

I remember Teacher Wang Chuan @Svwang1 recently published a 'Layflat Declaration'—

(Italics are Teacher Wang Chuan's tweets) Those who lay flat need to think about the general direction of energy (money, talent, etc.) flow, how to find the best leverage point for capturing energy at the inevitable junctions of energy flow. This kind of thinking does not require particularly precise timing judgments, nor does it involve subjective chasing and pushing, and it consumes little of oneself.

Those who are unwilling to lay flat, because they cannot bear the long wait of doing nothing, and because they need immediate action to escape their embarrassing situation, begin to chase and push subjectively, quickly exhausting their energy and resources. When subjective chasing meets increasingly significant resistance in reality, it is easy for resources to be depleted and the situation to worsen. Most people are unwilling to lay flat. But here lies a key issue: when an opportunity that seems readily available emerges, the first person to seize it feels the return is decent, but when the second and third people follow, the returns begin to decline. And these people who are unwilling to lay flat must introduce similar resources in the process of competing for their ideal opportunities, raising each other's resource costs and compressing each other's profits. Even if this game ultimately becomes an absurd forced self-harm, no one is willing to give up their previous investments and consumption, actively withdrawing from this self-harm game. This precisely creates an opportunity for careful and patient layflatters to capture greater benefits at a smaller cost.

So you see, this so-called 'willing to lay flat' and 'waiting' is actually anti-human, requiring a strong inner foundation when facing a significant contrast, understanding historical laws, rather than a one-off hope and waiting.

It's a simple principle; why is it so difficult to achieve? Because waiting, in other words, is actually 'endurance'.

Moreover, there’s no such thing as sudden enlightenment in this matter; it relies on experience and wisdom.

You must spend enough time to experience it personally, forge a steel heart with blood and tears, in order to wash away the superficial and undergo a phoenix rebirth. Without experiencing this restlessness, chest-beating, tossing and turning, heart-wrenching, sleepless nights, heart-splitting, long nights of crying, eating noodles in the dark, and weeping away the trials of hardship, who dares to say they understand the meaning of laying flat and waiting?

Speaking of which, I’ve almost written enough, but understanding this point is of little use because no one can thoroughly help you. If reading a few books or listening to me ramble for a bit could lead to this understanding, then the world would be full of billionaires.

Regarding endurance, there has never been such a thing as sudden enlightenment; it mainly depends on perception, with only a difference between awakening early and awakening late.

Finally, if I must give some advice, it’s what I mentioned the day before yesterday—get your body in shape! The aim is to use time to make up for the gap in perception: if you awaken late, so be it! I want to outlive you through several bull markets!

You must live through several bull markets; don’t believe others who say there won’t be opportunities in the next bull market. There will always be opportunities in a bull market. When you have lost all your bullets and confidence and leave quietly, that is when there truly are no opportunities!

I also really like what @kiki520_eth said before: we cannot be too close to this market, nor too far from it; each of us should find our own distance and rhythm; this will make your 'waiting' more comfortable.

Finally, thanks to @seaotter1991 for the Jin Jun Mei; it really smells great! I started drinking the first brew today, and it made me feel that what I had before was fake.

A good cup of tea, a gentle breeze, a ray of sunshine, such wonderful things in life are all around us; why must we be entangled in temporary gains and losses?

Believe in the future, believe in the beautiful! I wish everyone can attain enlightenment in the investment market and find their own place soon!