Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

Money and Morals: Mencius is regarded as a saint who spoke only of righteousness, but he mentioned a lot of economic issues. Among them, it has been said that humans must have a steady livelihood so their righteousness can also be maintained. According to Mencius, it’s hard to follow human morals without a certain income. To be wealthy, you must have a small, but regular income, which is better than an irregular one. In business, the ‘bottom (seed capital)’ is very important. You need a foundation to start a business. No matter how much capital-less startups are, the fact is that the founders’ labor costs are being consumed. In other words, this means there is a bottom, and nothing is free. Creating a consistent income in life cannot be overstated. If you are struggling due to financial hardship, make sure to have a steady income, even if it’s small. That small, steady income makes the future predictable, turning uncertainty into certainty. Businesses and investments are profitable whe...

Market and Salability: The value of a commodity cannot outperform the market. For example, no matter how high a stock’s price may be, it will eventually converge to the overall stock market index. After creating an ETF, which is a financial product that tracks the stock market or a specific industry’s stock index, the ETF was introduced into the stock market, and this is a fact that humanity has only recently recognized. The fact that individual stock prices cannot outperform the stock market. It’s a market adaptation, not market research. Market research is not conducted to beat the market, but to adapt to it properly. It’s about understanding your products or services to adapt to the current market rather than solely focusing on product or service quality. If you align with the market rather than oppose it, you will ultimately achieve success. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Money and God: The Bible draws a comparison between humans’ tendency to worship money above all else and the sin of not worshiping God. This comparison arises because money, like God, represents a concept of infinity in human terms. Money shows the value of each unit as a number. Although it is just a paper bill, the number on it indicates its currency value, called the nominal value. Yet, even if many bills are present, the real value is only the cost of paper and printing, making the intrinsic value insignificant. However, if society recognizes it, the nominal value of money can theoretically be limitless despite its negligible intrinsic worth. This potential for limitlessness mirrors human greed, which also knows no bounds. In contrast, when God revealed Himself to humans, He said, “I am that I am.” This statement emphasizes God’s true infinity. What could be a better way to express God’s infinite nature? - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Olfactory: Charles Spence, the world-renowned scientist who invented gastrophysics, explains that although aging diminishes all human senses, most people believe they would miss sight the most. However, according to quality-of-life indicators and suicide rate data, losing the sense of smell is actually more harmful than losing sight. Even if we lose sight as we age, we can still find comfort in hearing the voices of loved ones and recalling memories. In contrast, when we lose our sense of smell, there is no way to recreate those experiences, and memories of scents cannot be imagined or recalled in abundance. To enrich our lives, we should focus on increasing our scent experiences, as the ability to smell is a key contributor to happiness. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Volatility: Expectation and despair arise from our reactions to change; they stem from the common root. Some argue that despair comes from failed expectations, or that we expect because we despair; however, even fulfillment often disappoints. Both are responses to volatility—how we perceive shifts in circumstances. A positive (+) change is expectation; a negative (-) one is despair. Since volatility dominates our world and nothing is static, the magnitude of change matters more than permanence. Understanding volatility is crucial for navigating life successfully. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Volatility and Investment: The phenomenon where an asset’s price fluctuates over time is called volatility. Owning and reselling this volatile asset is known as an investment. The concept of buying and reselling an asset often causes us to overlook the fact that this process involves a trade-off between low-volatility and high-volatility assets. Cash is less volatile than stocks, and stocks are relatively more volatile. In other words, investing involves exchanging low-volatility assets for high-volatility assets and then switching back to low-volatility assets. Meanwhile, surplus profit is generated by the price differences caused by volatility. What would happen if we traded only highly volatile assets with each other? We would probably hesitate to exchange assets and might refrain from investing. In investing, there must be both low-volatility and high-volatility assets. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”