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Everyone knows that the current economic situation is not optimistic. Although the government has taken various measures, including reducing the salaries of civil servants and implementing the State Council's streamlining plan, the number of people applying for civil service exams continues to rise. This phenomenon is very unusual because even non-elite groups are striving for more stable careers, and they seem to overlook the upcoming economic downturn risks. Market reactions can better reflect the actual situation compared to the statistical data released by the government because the market is the most objective and will not conceal or exaggerate data.

Recently, an HR person sighed that after posting previously unpopular positions, they received hundreds of resumes in just two days. This is because the number of companies, entrepreneurs, and employers has decreased, which aligns with everyone's expectation of entering the civil service. However, we should also be aware that if a country continues to increase its outflow rather than creating a source of income, the national wealth will not be able to sustain this consumption, especially considering the relatively low per capita wealth creation ability of Chinese people. The Chinese economy has experienced two major crises: the first was resolved by Deng Xiaoping through reform and opening up and a market economy; the second was resolved by Zhu Rongji through downsizing, dissolving all medium and small state-owned enterprises, and allowing employees of state-owned enterprises to seek their own paths in the market.

What do they have in common? It is to increase the per capita wealth creation ability of Chinese people. Doing so may invite criticism from people like Mr. Nanguo for a while, but this is the only path to redemption. Unfortunately, I have not seen a tendency for China to do this for the third time, or even though there are some signs, it will not be thorough. In this case, everyone in the market, from bosses to employees, will be in danger. This is also the fundamental reason why I believe that housing prices cannot be sustained - Chinese people cannot have enough new money to support the current housing prices, and increasing wealth by printing money is not feasible. What supports housing prices is supply and demand, and behind supply and demand is the constantly increasing real wealth increment. I don't know if everyone can recognize this from phenomena such as the so-called "policy market" and "mother-in-law economy".

What is currently most important? It is to take advantage of the opportunity to improve your ranking in Chinese society. The other side of a crisis is an opportunity. When everyone is doing well, it is difficult for young people to be better than others because it is influenced by the initial accumulation value. But when everyone is not doing well, the influence of the initial accumulation value will continue to decrease. At this time, as long as young people do not fall behind, they can quickly improve their social ranking. When the economy slightly recovers, the advantage of having a high ranking will become apparent. So what should you do? First, keep your job, maintain sensitivity to opportunities, and continuously create value for the company and society. At this critical moment, creating value must be straightforward. Some people feel aggrieved when they are laid off by the company or unable to increase their income. They believe that they also contributed to the success of the project, so why can't the company give them the treatment they deserve? These people may hold positions such as clerks, administrators, or customer service representatives. Did they contribute? Of course, once they take leave, everyone will feel that things become more cumbersome. However, even without them, the company and the project will continue to operate.

In Stephen Chow's movie "From Beijing with Love," there is a classic line: "Even a pair of underwear, a piece of toilet paper, they all have their uses." Even for positions like janitors, if they are missing, employees will feel that the office environment has deteriorated. But does this affect the company's ability to continue making money? No, because employees can tolerate it. So what should you do? You should step into the front line and directly create profits for the company and society. The shorter the path between you and the profits, the more direct your value, and the more solid your position.

In this environment, people tend to engage in jobs that have shorter time commitments and more direct correlation between effort and reward, rather than gradually improving their cognition and ability to seize opportunities. I do not advocate only doing the former and giving up the latter, but I can understand this mentality. However, those who are often optimized are middle-level managers who are detached from the business. They seem to be dispensable screws and auxiliary workers who cannot independently bring profits to the company.

We often talk about the "individual economy," but why hasn't it truly taken off yet? The reason is the lack of such a crisis. Only in such a crisis, when everyone transforms into "soldiers," can there be hope that in the next recovery period, the individual economy will have enough soil and a solid foundation of people. If most people are not "soldiers," how can they participate in the individual economy? Even in a constantly advancing world like ChatGPT/Web3, many new things, new positions, and efficient tools will emerge. Social ranking is also like rowing against the current - if you don't move forward, you will fall back. Therefore, we should take advantage of the opportunity to transform and become the people that this era needs more, so that we can strike a blow to others in the next era.