Happy New Year 2025!
I haven’t updated my blog for a long time. On one hand, I was hopelessly addicted to LOL and CS2; on the other hand, I had to deal with tasks of higher ROI. When the pressure got too intense, I went back to obsessively playing LOL for strong stress relief (even though there are plenty of stress monsters there too…).
In 2024, I only completed 17/64 of my planned goals, but did I really not grow at all this year? My therapist and I both felt that the list of plans was very good and comprehensive, but lacked a main line.
I think that’s true. Even though I made detailed plans across five major directions—“Health,” “Interpersonal,” “Primary Career,” “Value-Add Output,” “Time Management,” “Self-Improvement,” “Finances,” and “Art”—it was hard to see what I truly wanted.
“I don’t know” and “I’m not clear”—these words are the best excuses to run away. Sooner or later, I will inevitably have to face the goal I truly want. For me, that goal is “freedom”—
- Freedom over my clock-in time
- Freedom of choice
- Freedom in how to face the outcomes of my choices
- Freedom to bask in the sun and take an afternoon nap anywhere…
The Responsibilities and Obligations of Freedom
In 2024, I read a stack of books about the path to financial freedom. I believe that before discussing how to enjoy freedom, bringing one’s finances to a safe threshold and building an oil field that continuously pumps money are responsibilities and obligations that require dedicated effort.
Can I enjoy the above freedoms right now? Yes, absolutely. I could submit my resignation right now, spend lavishly, and when the money runs out, take out online loans and become a hall-of-famer in “Jieshe” (Addiction Recovery Community).
However, the unit of measurement for wealth is time, not dollars or any other currency. It refers to the number of days you can sustain your lifestyle after you stop working.
Once I find and build an oil field that continuously pumps money, no matter where I am in the world, I can generate wealth that matches my past efforts, thereby gaining freedom.
Of the two ways to achieve freedom above, one is seeking outward: begging the company for a paycheck, begging online loan companies for approval, begging friends for money, begging banks to lower interest rates… The other is seeking inward: finding an answer that suits myself, trying through trial and error, and executing continuously.
The Second Growth Curve
In 2024, I consulted many people, asking most frequently whether they had a second career outside of their main job. If not, I would see if there was potential for win-win cooperation.
As an old-timer who has wandered through every team inside the company, I deeply understand how ridiculous it is to burn all your time and energy showing loyalty to and risking your life for a company. A single instance of standing on the wrong side or force majeure like infighting above can render all past efforts completely wasted.
Therefore, for the rest of my career working for others, cultivating myself, treating the company as a networking space, reverse-“exploiting” the company, and having the company make up for the surplus value difference will be top priority among priorities.
Fortunately, from trying out various directions at the beginning of the year to the end of the year, I filtered out directions that didn’t suit me, and put more thought and practice into the ones that did.
Simply put, one of my directions in 2025 is quantitative trading, and another direction is using replicable tools as leverage to provide convenience and value for more people and myself.
Over the past few years, I built a bunch of tools for the company, which enabled countless people to achieve high performance. But once I resign, everything disappears except for experience. So I need to build tools for my private domain to serve as leverage I can use for myself.
Of course, like all other entrepreneurs in the software industry, starting out still requires outsourcing as a means of initial capital accumulation.
In 2025, I wish everyone can find a development direction that suits them, discover their second growth curve through thinking and practice, and achieve “freedom” in every aspect.
