If you insist on squeezing for every advantage, remember: the only leverage you have is time.

If you want to get ahead, the only advantage you can claim is the one that time offers in the future.

Just like buying Tencent over a decade ago and seeing it multiply hundreds of times over—that’s what we mean by gaining an edge through time.

So why would you buy Tencent over a decade ago? What informed your decision? Obviously, data.

You need data to analyze which groups of people have strong future potential.

If you want to know how they’ll turn out, just look at their seniors—people who came before them.

If most of their seniors ended up pouring concrete on construction sites, then for them not to do so is a low-probability event. But if the vast majority of their seniors became high earners after ten years in the workforce, then him ending up pouring concrete is equally a low-probability outcome.

See what I’m getting at? Prices fluctuate with time, but value can be partially predicted through historical data.