Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

An asset is the foundation of all economic activity. If you have assets, you can run a business and settle your debts. The ways to create assets are ‘how one works,’ ‘how to receive gifts from others,’ and ‘how to purchase assets made by others.’ There is a way to steal, but it is a crime. If you don’t initially own an asset, the simplest and almost the only way to create one is to produce something with your own labor. Whether the product is a service or a good, it must be produced unconditionally. Trading products creates added value. Thinking about trading later and making products first is the fastest and most basic way to escape poverty. Therefore, produce even the smallest things every day. Knowledge, records, art—whatever! - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Production and processing create added value . Wealth is the accumulation of this added value. Distribution shares this added value among economic entities . Cultivating coffee trees generates added value for green coffee beans , while roasting those beans adds further value to the coffee product. Grinding the beans and extracting them with water creates and consumes the added value of a cup of coffee. Finance enables the distribution of the added value generated by this production and processing through the use of money, facilitating the easy accumulation of that value. However, finance can leverage its power only because there was prior production and processing. The challenge arises when the compulsory circulation power of currency enables the ownership of labor and resources that underpin production and processing, along with real estate , which is foundational to its existence. If production, processing, and distribution are dictated by money’s compulsory circulation powe...

To realize added value , production activities must occur. In other words, added value arises from production activities. Production involves bringing into existence things that did not previously exist in the world. This can be accomplished by combining existing items to create new ones or by processing raw materials into new products . Production includes physical manufacturing , knowledge generation , and service creation . Wealth represents the accumulation of added value. Consequently, to become wealthy, one must be productive . However, value is determined through relative comparison. A product can only be exchanged if it can be priced, and added value can only be actualized by exchanging this product. This process is referred to as commerce . In other words, it is known as a transaction . Through trade , humanity distributes this added value. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

People understand that a brand is established when it is named. However, a brand requires a named entity , and that entity must be cherished by consumers. This means there must be prior production, followed by a name. The essence of branding lies in manufacturing. Capital is necessary to produce goods that meet consumer needs. Individuals can create a brand simply by distributing products made by others, but they will eventually face limitations. Manufacturing capacity is crucial to branding, and most of the world’s renowned brands emerge from this productivity. Don’t confuse this with branding by merely assigning a name. They will soon find themselves in trouble if they mistakenly think they are branding without securing manufacturing capacity . Even if you don’t own a manufacturing facility , branding becomes simpler if you establish the ability and framework to control those facilities and raw materials. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The big difference is that business allows the transfer of wealth or value to be based on production, while gambling occurs without production. Sustained productivity creates added value . The system that drives the world in any country seeks to protect this productivity through legal or administrative power. If productivity does not improve, society will deteriorate. Interest represents the added value of the financial industry , serving as the price of time for lending money. Therefore, since interest is an abstract concept agreed upon by society, it does not create new values that did not exist through production activities. If interest leads to the transfer of wealth, someone inevitably experiences a sense of loss. There are two instances in which interest is permitted in the Bible : one is when nature’s productive forces yield fruit that did not previously exist, and the other is when the neighbor’s self-sacrifice is acknowledged. Thus, when interest is recognized as a price ...

Let’s say I’m a potato farmer. Assuming that I can survive by eating only potatoes, I become wealthy when I work hard to increase potato production. However, to survive, we also need shelter and clothing. No matter how much money we have, we cannot eat the money itself as food. In other words, exchange is vital for survival. This means that if we have to rely on one job, we can only survive by trading needs, apart from potatoes, with other producers, using the output we gain from that job. In an agricultural society, production determined wealth, but in a modern society where industrial products have taken the place of other needs, the greater the potential for exchange between ourselves and others, the more advantageous it is for survival and the greater the potential for wealth. This is known as the power of distribution. The more sales channels you have, the stronger your business competitiveness and market influence. The ability to sell a lot is paramount. - Joseph’s “just my thoug...

What happens if you have significant debt but also have the ability to issue money? In this case, the debt may become irrelevant. While the government can issue currency, the private sector lacks this capability. So, how does the private sector create money? There are limited methods, including adding value through production, establishing reasons for exchange that involve considerations, or receiving a gift, such as an inheritance. All other methods are illegal. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Video creators often face bankruptcy due to “editing.” Profit is essential for revenue generation; profit is realized only when revenue surpasses costs. “Editing” constitutes a significant “cost” to boost sales. There’s a belief that quality editing enhances the likelihood of sales. While this is somewhat true, survival until a sales surge depends primarily on minimizing costs (editing). It’s not filming, but “editing” that often leads video productions to financial failure. Nonetheless, many production companies fail to adequately factor in editing costs into their overall production expenses. The reality is that a substantial amount of money is tied up in “editing.” - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Now, let’s think about it this way. You have a pig. Your pocket will incur expenses to save the pig. If the pig gives birth to a baby, there are 12 more pigs. The cost of the stock feed increases further, but the total number of pigs increases by 13, and your assets rise. Assets are a means and measure of wealth, although they also increase costs. To achieve wealth, you need to acquire a lot of assets at a low cost. We call the increase in the number of pigs “production” in economic terms. That is, there must be production to obtain assets. Produce anything, whether you create services, compose music, or make a product. Without production, there cannot be wealth. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The key concept in creating wealth is the accumulation of assets. "Asset" means all the resources, that can be used for production activities. If assets don't increase, it's not a business. To create value, you have to produce something. The labor, materials, and facilities for production all come from assets. Insufficient assets are borrowed from others, it is called debt. The value added belongs back to the asset. Assets are a source of wealth and a measure of wealth. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”