Chapter 15 People who only count money end up with no money to count

Just 30 years ago, we were still a planned economy, and the national economy almost collapsed.Suddenly shifting to a market economy, to create wealth, we must rely on the enthusiasm for wealth creation, which involves the protection of private property and the treatment of entrepreneurs.At that time, everything was blank, and people's consciousness and law needed to be transformed in a hurry.Because there is no precedent, the construction of many systems was touched and triggered by entrepreneurs who "crossed the river by feeling the stones". Deng Xiaoping's "crossing the river by feeling for the stones" is too vivid, the water is rushing, the water is splashing everywhere, and the eyes can't be opened, so we can only bend down and feel for a stone in the water as a support. This process is I have experienced it myself.When I opened a brick factory in Hainan, I only had the dream and passion of being an entrepreneur, but I didn’t know how to do business. When it was the most difficult time, I couldn’t pay the workers wages, so I had to buy a bag of rice for the workers every day.What else could you think about at that time, desperately wanting to sell, anyone who catches you asks you if you want bricks, and just like that, you are called a "salesman".Back then "salesman" was a curse word, and it took us a long time to change people's prejudices about sales and service.This experience of mine is just a small example of thousands of people who went into the sea in the early days. In fact, people who "went into the sea" at that time encountered many problems, and these problems never existed in the past.

Entrepreneurs at that time, they were not yet sure of their identities.On the one hand, we have to believe in the new system, new values, and new market economy, and on the other hand, we are constrained by the imperfect legal system of the market system.Every step they make towards creating wealth, they run the risk of violating the original law or morality. If it turns out that the behavior of entrepreneurs is more beneficial to society, the country will modify the laws to adapt to the behavior of entrepreneurs, but that is a later thing. up.They also run into legal and moral voids where there is only demand and nothing else.It is difficult to have any policy basis for anything they do at this time.Entrepreneurs in this situation have to rely on traditional moral concepts to protect themselves, one of which is to restrain material desires and never personally possess money.Even if you create a lot of wealth through your own efforts, you will never get one more point.This is a detachment that relies on moral strength.

Among the first generation of entrepreneurs, I think there are three people who have done better in this respect: the first one is Wang Shi.When we arrived in Shenzhen that year, Vanke was already very big.Now, Vanke is the largest real estate company in the world. Judging from the number of houses developed, the number of houses developed by Vanke is equivalent to the amount of development in Hong Kong.But Wang Shi accounted for only a few tenths of a share.If he is not detached from the possessiveness of money, he may also become a victim of the transition period.The second person is Liu Chuanzhi. Lenovo Group is now very big and has acquired all the IBM PC business in the United States.Under such circumstances, his share in Lenovo is also very small.There are also Zhang Ruimin, who works in a state-owned enterprise, and gets some salary and bonuses, and some stock options, and the rest is gone.

The era makes this generation of entrepreneurs successful, but the entrepreneurs themselves may not make much money.Compared with the second-generation entrepreneurs like ours, their private property is too small, but they are the founders of the real creation of social wealth in China's market economy.They created the whole market system, we owe it to them, they are our older brothers.Entrepreneurs of our generation who have legalized their rights also need to get rid of the possessiveness of money.In the final analysis, detachment from money is detachment from all kinds of desires.You cannot indulge yourself because you have money and satisfy any desire, or use the power of money to harm morality.Morality is a convention negotiated by human society.If you deprive others of the right to negotiate, he may express his dissatisfaction with violence, and he will fight evil with evil.Therefore, restraining one's desires at any time, or detaching from them, is a life-saving elixir.

While developing our own business, we must pay attention to and promote the construction and improvement of the economic system, otherwise, if we only count money, we will end up with no money to count.Money and wealth are the most important resources in society, and their protection and management contain the wisdom and opinions of the majority of people in society.And you must also actively participate in the consultation, and the ultimate thing is to establish a system and improve the environment.The social attributes of money are so obvious and strong. In other words, your money is still the money of society in the end.When you die, the money will not depend on you.