You Have to Take a Small Step Forward Before You Can Truly Understand the Game World You’re In.

You work hard and get nothing, but you realize you're not good enough. And not being good enough is society's first reward: it strips away illusion so you can focus on the work.

Move forward one step—not for the reward, because there isn't one. That step simply opens your eyes to reality. Once you see clearly, you start doing concrete things day after day, year after year. It's not about any single night.

Often, it's not that you lack踏实; it's that you never reach the threshold of踏实. You've never worked hard enough to arrive there, so you don't know what to do each night. That's the lot of most people.

Once you've tried, you realize you're a lowly pawn. And knowing you're a pawn, what you can do is focus on taking care of yourself.