Four Traits Unique to First-Generation Wealthy Individuals

First, strong sense of purpose.

Fan Zeng once evaluated Liu Bang, saying that he showed no interest in taking anyone's property or women, and that his ambitions were far from small.

To me, though, it is precisely that—his ambitions are not small—that matters.

For example, if someone tells me they are striving hard in life only to support a mistress and accumulate personal pleasures, my first impression isn't that their morality has dropped—it's that they have no grand vision.

The reason is simple: all the things you care about don't actually cost much money. In other words, that's the limit of your ambition.

If such a person is your subordinate, you can hardly trust them with important responsibilities. If they're your business partner, you can hardly rely on them either.

Associating with people like this will drag down your own achievements. Of course, for many, their life goal is simply to be a small boss and indulge a few material cravings.

Second, a ten-year endeavor truly takes ten years.

Most people expect to finish a ten-year task in ten hours, because the maximum span they can endure is roughly ten hours—and what can you even accomplish in ten hours? Unless it's reading web fiction or playing online games.

Game designers and web fiction writers have long studied the psychological limits of the majority through big data, so they structure things to deliver a mini-climax every minute and a major one every ten minutes—offering timely feedback so you stay hooked and keep going.

So for a person to consistently spend less than 400 yuan per month and stick with it over the long run is truly against human nature.

Third, remain open and actively engage with society.

Whether it's earning extra money by tutoring or socializing with classmates, the purpose is the same.

This is especially difficult for many who grow up poor. When you're struggling, pride sometimes becomes the last thing you want to lose. But on the path to success, you must treat face like a rag—step on it and rub it into the dirt.

Fourth, weave your own meaning into life.

"Treat others' elders as you would your own, and others' children as you would your own," and you could run the empire from the palm of your hand.

Mencius was essentially teaching rulers the art of managing expectations. He told King Hui of Liang: you must give your people a clear expectation to hold onto, you must cultivate a certain image—be like a mother figure—so that you can keep the entire realm under your control.

The key to telling a compelling story lies in belief—do you believe it yourself first?

When we haven't succeeded yet, we often look at successful people and think they don't believe in anything. In reality, it's not that they lack belief—it's that you can't tell what they actually believe in.

You simply don't know what specific things they hold to be true.

But when we look back at why so many people waste their lives away, as if belonging to the disorganized squad in Red Squad Company, it's because you genuinely believe in nothing.

Becoming someone of promise, just like finding meaning in life, comes down to this: if you believe in it, it exists; if you don't, it vanishes.