Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

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”

“I can live well alone!” is not correct. If I live alone, I can survive to some extent, but ultimately, it is hard to survive, and “living well” is even more challenging. This is because the economic principle is established not by ‘alone’ but by ‘many people.’ If I live well, it means that someone has become poor because of me or is living well with me. The fact that through value exchange, or transaction, we can meet each other’s needs and store the surplus from that production is both true and real. Trading is not done in isolation. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The key to writing well is to write frequently and revise consistently. No matter how complex an idea is, even a very short sentence often reflects our thoughts in a strangely organized manner. A good article is not defined by being well-written, but by undergoing extensive edits. Great passages are not simply written because they contain exceptional ideas; rather, they are often rewritten and crafted. Even the best ideas require multiple revisions and refinements in order to effectively share and influence others. Great ideas and quality writing are created, not bestowed. The ripple effect of well-constructed sentences on the world is beyond our imagination. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Other people’s brains exist within our own. The ability to replicate others’ brains is one of the most crucial functions of our brains. We copy other people’s brains into our own to better understand them. In fact, our brains operate through this mechanism. The more diverse people’s brains we replicate, the less we suffer from communication issues. Our brains act like mirrors, reflecting others. When another person’s brain is mirrored in mine, it triggers empathy, and when that stimulus produces a hormone, our bodies respond accordingly. Since this response is communicated back to the brain, we mistakenly believe we are experiencing emotions in our bodies. What you represent in my brain is the emotion. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

I don’t write because I know something. The more I write, the more I discover. Our brain’s thinking circuits and our writing circuits operate differently, and when we write, our various perspectives start to process things we previously only thought about. When we write, the action that remains as a graphic and continues to stimulate our eyes also influences our thinking. Training to think and understand a concept requires using several thought tools. Write every day without exception. It’s perfectly fine if you don’t do it stylishly, and it’s okay if you don’t write a lot. Write because the act of writing itself provides a fresh perspective on your thoughts. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Remembering something is not the same as knowing it. Just because you remember a lot doesn’t mean you know a lot. To ‘know’ means to grasp things and phenomena in relation to one another by separating and removing unnecessary or unimportant details, which allows the essence and core to be easily discerned. Furthermore, by embodying that knowledge and information through experience, the essence and core can be freely applied in any situation, providing a perspective that can be easily explained to others. Knowing in relationships and situations is called ‘understanding,’ while realizing the essence and core of yourself is referred to as ‘awakening.’ - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

If you don’t know your identity, you also don’t recognize the power given to you, nor do you know when to use it. It is only because of who I am that I understand where I stand and what power I possess. Identity determines what I should do. If you don’t understand what to do, you don’t know when and what power to apply. Identity is not fixed; it develops or evolves according to circumstances and times. Therefore, identity is an attribute that one should constantly examine. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

A willingness to work less and play more is often reviled more than an attitude of passion and hard work. Implicitly, the stereotypes that “live passionately is cool” and “you must succeed as much as you try” are ingrained in our consciousness. However, this perspective overlooks another significant, less visible aspect: efficiency. The issue lies not in laziness but in settling for reality; instead, we should focus on making life more efficient to uncover the benefits of laziness, which has indeed changed the world in revolutionary ways. I am very interested in laziness. Revolutionary opportunities often lurk among lazy people. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean I dislike hardworking individuals. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”