In this era, apart from the major trend of Decentralization, it is even more important to learn to discard linear thinking. Among them, the most dangerous is the "linear thinking of time."

The passage of time is constant (of course, we are not discussing general or special relativity here). Some people spend years honing a project; others chase after the new coins that just launched every second. Some claim to be top traders before they turn twenty; while others, just over thirty, say they are "old" and cannot keep up with the changes in the crypto space.

Every time I go back to university to share, I feel that I don't have much to share because I haven't taken a linear career path. If students practice in a rote manner, the results are mostly in vain. But looking back now, it is precisely this non-linear path that has brought me to Gate today.

At the age of thirty, I decided to travel to Australia for a year, but it wasn't until I was twenty-nine that I finally learned how to swim. There, I learned scuba diving and surfing. Now, every time I go to the beach, I'm always the first one to jump into the water.

At the age of seventeen, I performed noisily with a guitar at the Elizabeth Sports Hall and the Mountain Theater; I only started learning the piano after turning forty, and I learned just one piece, Hans Zimmer's "Day One". ("What you fear is not the person who practices ten thousand moves, but the one who practices one move ten thousand times.")

In my forties, I stepped on a skateboard again and made a video for Gate; the last time I rode a skateboard was twenty-five years ago.

I published my first book at the age of twenty-two, and at that time I thought writing a book was an easy task; now, when I write a book again, I feel a bit overwhelmed.

I completed a half marathon at the age of twenty-five, and at that time, I actually hated running; last year, I finished my first marathon in life, but I began to enjoy the fun of long-distance running.

I grew up in a colonial land from kindergarten, elementary school to middle school, and I never formally learned Mandarin. It wasn't until I was twenty-eight that I truly started to speak Chinese.

After turning thirty, I have been intermittently learning German on Duolingo for ten years. Recently, I went to Munich and found that apart from Guten Morgen and Danke, I could hardly say a complete sentence, but I could understand quite a few words. I think that even if I spend another ten years, I will only learn a little more; at least I still have thirty years to use.

I accidentally started learning swing dance in 2008, and it's been over ten years now. I now try to avoid bringing it up in public, fearing that the marketing department will ask me to perform live at a Gate event!

The passage of time is constant, but the momentum, development, and opportunities on the timeline are non-linear. Everyone must find their own rhythm and not follow in someone else's footsteps. Take learning guitar as an example; when you were young, you had plenty of time, but now there are countless free instructional videos available. Another example is artificial intelligence; some people claim to have twenty years of development experience, benefiting from the advantage of being a pioneer. However, AI from twenty years ago is completely different from AI today, and someone with only five years of experience might go further than them.

The same is true in the cryptocurrency world: some people hit the right track when they were young and achieved financial freedom early, but they lack practical experience and have insufficient momentum; others only transitioned from investment banks or tech companies in recent years, yet they have created a new realm in the industry through life experience and connections.

Not arrogant towards those who come later, not humble towards those who came first.

The only thing I envy is that young people can see a future that is definitely further away than I can. Aside from that, everyone is wandering along the timeline, with no distinction of high or low, good or bad.