Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

Non-cash temperament assets. Words I made up. Whether you are running a business or making a living, there are situations where money cannot solve everything. Not money or knowledge, but a person’s personality, disposition, intentions, emotions, etc., often shape circumstances and results. No matter how good an idea is, if it is not put into action, it is useless. It takes will and courage to act. Such will, courage, and passion are vital temperaments for tackling areas that money cannot address, and they seem to represent a kind of asset that yields results in accounting. Sometimes, audacity is required to achieve something, along with courage that knowledge alone cannot provide. Our lives cannot be successful solely with money and expertise. Investors should be mindful of the temperament of others. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

A price starts with a ‘declaration,’ is maintained by people giving credit to it, and fluctuates with the laws of supply and demand. The starting point of the price is not determined by people’s recognition, but by my own insistence. In other words, if you cannot assert yourself, you cannot start a business, and even if you sell your labor, you cannot receive a proper salary. Value formation is not a matter of good or bad abilities, but rather about being assertive. If you are not good at asserting your own price, even if you have excellent abilities and skills, then you have to live by the values set by others. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

What if you could fulfill your transaction benefits (considerations) in various ways, including fiat money? Have you ever wondered what the consequences for your business would be if you could fulfill your benefits in ways other than cash? For instance, let’s say you are a shoe manufacturer. To make shoes, you must purchase raw materials like leather and process them into finished products known as shoes. At this time, if you can pay for raw materials with the finished shoes you made instead of fiat currency, you wouldn’t need to take out a loan with interest from the bank. However, the world’s economic system has limited the standard of value exchange to ‘cash,’ commonly referred to as fiat money. We need to understand precisely why banking is so important to entrepreneurs. This is one of the reasons the industry does not surpass finance. After all, money is among the goods whose value is determined by supply and demand. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Capitalistic thinking is not about domination by capital; it refers to financial thinking. The economy revolves around exchange. The performance of the counterparty corresponding to what I want to exchange is called ‘consideration,’ and a ‘transaction’ is the accumulation of added value by exchanging equal considerations. However, among transactions, this consideration is not relative but absolute; trading solely in one fiat currency as consideration is termed 'finance.’ When I obtain a loan, the bank lends me fiat currency (the bank’s consideration), but my obligation is to return the fiat principal plus the contracted interest. The consideration in this transaction is unidirectional, involving only one fiat currency. In contrast, when I buy shoes, the seller has an obligation to hand over the shoes to me, and I have a counterpart obligation to pay in fiat currency. Once these two considerations are exchanged, an industrial transaction occurs. However, as noted earlier, in financi...

If you’re running multiple businesses within a single business entity or a business that generates sales by connecting with different businesses, I recommend managing the accounting for each separately. For example, if a car rental company also engages in car leasing, try to maintain distinct accounts for the rental and leasing sectors. This approach increases the chances of uncovering hidden costs or mistakes in resource allocation. In business, specific attributes necessitate this separation, leading to independent costs and improved profit structures. Neglecting this reality can result in bankruptcy without fully understanding the reasons behind it. The foundation of success is to avoid failure. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Don’t let a salesperson collect sales money, as it can lead to corruption. While corruption involves the human mind, the structure is more important. If a salesperson is trying to increase their salary by improving their performance, they may resort to hiding unfavorable payment terms. However, a salesperson can hardly succeed if sales and money collection are separated. Do not leave fish to cats. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The price of a stock reflects the current valuation of a company based on its anticipated future performance. If the future looks uncertain, the current price is likely to fall; if it appears promising, it will rise. In other words, the company’s outlook on the future is mirrored in the current stock price. Investing in stocks essentially means buying and selling future values while trading at present prices. However, the reason I can’t buy the stock now is that I’m afraid its price will drop in the future. Conversely, if I cannot sell the stock when the price decreases, I struggle to do so because the loss caused by the expectation that the stock might increase, or by the missed timing for the sale, is too significant; this can overwhelm me with fear. Thus, stock prices are most readily influenced by the weight of ‘fear rather than desire.’ Even though the current stock price reflects future value, it often happens that this future value is not trusted. When we say that time is money,...

Luxury goods are valuable not only because they are well-made but also because they are scarce. The proof lies in the abundance of counterfeit luxury goods. Controlling production and supply is one of the things luxury goods brands excel at. Initially, quality and reputation create luxury goods; however, the fact that the value of these goods does not diminish but continues to rise is due to the maintenance of scarcity. While customers determine the fate of the product, producers and suppliers also influence the fate of the customer. They achieve this through their offerings. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

When a stock is bought, its fate is already decided. The next step is to wait and sell. In the meantime, there is nothing I can do. If I buy a stock and claim that I can do something with it, that means I’m committing a stock manipulation crime. Either wait patiently or don’t tolerate it; sell the stocks. That’s all we can do with stocks after purchasing them. Therefore, patience is as critical an asset as judgment. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The better you know your identity, the better you understand what to do and what not to do. It’s essential to excel in what you must do, but avoiding what you shouldn’t do is half the battle for success. If you can’t accomplish what you need to do, start by training yourself not to engage in what you shouldn’t. If you can’t make the distinction or find yourself confused, that indicates you don’t truly understand your identity. Solving all problems begins with understanding one’s identity, whether it’s personal or business-related. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

In neuroscience, ‘memory’ and ‘forgetting’ are regarded as the same concept. ‘Remember’ presupposes ‘forgetting,’ and ‘remembering’ can lead to ‘forgetting.’ Memory is generally categorized into ‘semantic memory’ and ‘autobiographical memory.’ We do not know when or how we learned that Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. This is referred to as semantic memory, which does not involve an attempt to remember. In contrast, autobiographical memory involves an effort to recall a fact that has been personally experienced. Both types of memory entail forgetting. Semantic memory omits the process of acquiring knowledge, while autobiographical memory strives not to forget. Studying entails the process of retaining or forgetting these two types of memory. When the distinction between them is unclear, we mistakenly presume that others have taken our thoughts and experiences. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

When someone sings, there is a range and tone that sounds good without any effort. It takes skill and effort to extend beyond that range, but having enough confidence in the fundamental range and tone is much more advantageous. It is an innate talent that will eventually be revealed effortlessly. If you stick to the basics, the craftsmanship will follow. Confidence is built on adhering to the fundamentals. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Let’s think about it this way. If you run a business and only make one transaction per day, chances are you won’t keep a record of those transactions because you can remember them. However, if there are hundreds of transactions in a year, or even in a single day, will you be able to remember all those transactions? A business makes a profit, but do you know how much you have earned or how much you’ve lost? After all, if we don’t keep the books, we can’t know the profit or loss. Those book records are called financial statements (balance sheets). You can do business without reading and understanding financial statements, but you’re just doing the hard-working, foolish thing without knowing the real content of the business. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The paradox of exclusivity. I can run my business alone, but I soon feel constrained by the competition. To overcome this constraint, I establish an organization and run a company, the purpose of which is to hire others to take my place. I can succeed in business only if I possess unique strengths that others cannot replicate. This is called exclusivity. However, as the business grows, I will encounter the limit of my own development, so I can surpass this limit by creating an organization to replace my exclusivity. The challenge arises that if I establish a system to replace my exclusivity, I will no longer be valuable to the organization. There exists a paradox where the transfer and reproduction of exclusivity are necessary prerequisites for development and growth, yet the original is ultimately discarded. Therefore, to avoid being sidelined within the organization, members strive for greater power. In other words, management is intertwined with politics. In HR management, this cont...

Unless you are self-sufficient, you must trade your products for those of others to survive. An exchange economy was established for the efficient survival of humanity. Economic activity leads to wealth accumulation, so for wealth to exist, there must be a counterparty. This means you cannot thrive on your own. However, having many counterparties also means that some of them could compete with your business. Exchange becomes straightforward only through the establishment of a price, which acts as an indicator of competition. Trading at a high price could generate significant wealth, but competition can hinder success. In other words, I survive because of others, while my survival is also threatened by them. Business inherently involves competition. This is why any business plan must include a strategy that considers competition. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

When I take out a loan from the bank, the bank lends me money, and when I repay the loan, I owe that money back to the bank, plus interest, on the repayment date. However, when I sell my used car, a debt arises in which the buyer must pay me cash equivalent to the price of the used car, and I incur a performance debt in which I have to hand over the used car to the buyer. When these two different debts are exchanged, a transaction is completed. The goal of business is to make debt well and pay it back well over and over again. A transaction must create debt without exception, but a transaction that generates debt on only one side is an absolutely unfavorable contract for someone. That’s the essence of a loan agreement. There are good debts and bad debts depending on the type of debt I have to pay (or fulfill). If you do not make this distinction clearly, you are more likely to fall behind in the social system. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The identity of the messenger is more important than the message itself. In other words, it’s crucial to consider whether the messenger’s identity is reliable. It matters more to others that they know who I am and recognize me than how well I have built relationships and interacted with them. Identity begins with my proclamation, and credibility only emerges when others acknowledge that proclamation. If there is a significant gap between my declaration and how others perceive me, I will need to invest considerable time and money to bridge that gap. Similarly, if there is a significant discrepancy between the message I intend to convey and my declared identity, it also requires a substantial amount of time and money. Consumers are acutely aware of these differences, yet they often remain silent about them. Asking others to share their inner self-assessment is as burdensome as expecting them to reveal their true selves. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The case of solving complex problems with surprising ideas and new perspectives is exemplified by Alexander the Great’s ‘Gordian Knot’ or the ‘Egg of Columbus.’ If you have tried using the same perspective and approach but have not achieved your goal, you must tackle it from a completely different perspective and method. Nevertheless, the reason we continue to cling to our previous perspective and direction is that we focus too much on the method. If you get caught up in the method, you lose sight of your purpose. If you lose your purpose, you may end up trying the same method again. If the will is strong and misguided, it is possible to repeat this. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Most people study in school, yet the education system does not provide financial education. Even though it doesn’t take long for us to realize that finance is an essential element of survival, isn’t it strange that schools don’t offer financial education? Economic activity is a power game where someone wins and someone loses. One person’s loss is another’s gain, and my sacrifice is someone else’s fortune. In other words, economic activity embodies the harsh reality of deciding between discomfort and the uncertain odds of a game that determines who occupies a position, even though that position has already been predetermined. This issue is further exacerbated by the fact that people have different productive capacities and society mandates that the means of value exchange is cash (fiat currency). To survive, you must first understand how social systems function. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

A ‘transaction’ is an act of debt between parties. The seller owes goods to the buyer (performance debt), and the buyer owes money to the seller (monetary debt). A transaction is considered complete when the debt is settled and the promise to owe each other is called a ‘contract.’ Thus, a good trader or businessman excels at making and repaying debts. When it comes to debt, the type of debt matters. Anyone who misjudges this should not engage in business. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”