I would rather be a entrepreneurial wolf than a working dog.

"I'd rather be a startup wolf than a salaried dog."

Of course, this statement is quite extreme and many of those who work for others don't like to hear it. But if we think carefully, there's actually some truth in what this person says.

Wolves seek freedom, preferring to maintain their independent personalities and free thoughts, running across the vast grasslands every day, hunting cattle and sheep at will, enjoying all the delicious food nature provides as much as possible. After eating their fill, they lie on the grass, thinking of nothing, basking in the sun and breathing the free air; they are the masters of the grasslands, and they have dignity. However, when the severe cold comes, they must learn to resist the biting cold of blizzards, learn to find prey under thick snow, often endure the pain of hunger, and always worry about freezing or starving to death. The life of a wolf could be said to be half water, half fire.

The life of a dog is just the opposite. Normally, dogs can only eat the leftovers from their master’s table, being shouted around by their master to do various chores, without freedom or dignity, only wagging their tails pitifully. A dog’s life is guaranteed though; although they never get to taste anything delicious, they don’t have to worry about going hungry or freezing in winter because of their master’s protection. Dogs feel grateful and swear loyalty to their master in the next life, even if the master beats them harshly, most dogs dare not make a sound, because obedience and tameness are the marks of a dog. Compromise is the label of a dog; for the sake of a stable job and a fixed ration when they grow old, they accept everything!

If we compare people in real life, I guess most of us lead the life of a dog: stable and comfortable, but never fully satisfied. We want to leave the doghouse of our employer but lack the courage to burn our boats!

I feel that the career choices of young people in reality mostly involve becoming a "salaried dog" rather than a "startup wolf." Perhaps many friends would say that fresh graduates don't have the capital or experience to start a business. The best choice is to work in a company for a few years, accumulate some experience and funds, and then start your own business if there's an opportunity after a few years.

In fact, such thinking proves to be very wrong. After working in a company for several years, a college graduate doesn't just fail to earn the money needed for starting a business but also fails to gain entrepreneurial experience and skills. What you learn from your working life is basically useless for entrepreneurship because the perspectives and ways of thinking are different, leading to different experiences. It can only be said this way: after working for a few years, the only thing you improve is your technical skills for working, which are exactly what entrepreneurship needs the least.

Even worse, after working for a few years, young people generally lose the passion for entrepreneurship and the courage of youthful fearlessness. They become increasingly addicted to the workplace and cannot extricate themselves. Later, the idea of entrepreneurship can only remain buried forever in their hearts, becoming a permanent regret. When they reach their forties and get fired by their boss, they regret why they didn't start their own business twenty years ago!

So, how high are the requirements to be a "startup wolf"?

My answer is: As long as you have the concept of being a "startup wolf," you can still succeed in entrepreneurship even if you only have 100 yuan in your pocket!

What did the earlier generations of Wenzhou people have when they started doing business? Didn't they earn their first pot of gold by exchanging eggs and iron pots? If you only have 100 yuan, you can at least set up a street stall, selling socks and gloves in winter and pineapples in summer. With more capital, you can try barbecue stalls or similar ventures. Anyway, no matter how little money you have, you can still embark on the path of entrepreneurship. The key is whether you want to be a "startup wolf."

The lives of workers and entrepreneurs are bound to be different.

Over time, the personalities of workers and entrepreneurs will diverge more and more.

We should ask ourselves honestly: Do workers who've been working for a long time sometimes feel more anxious and fearful, afraid of the outside world, and worried about the danger of unemployment? Their minds become increasingly sensitive and fragile. Their attitudes gradually become weary and lazy, losing their sharpness and spirit. They console themselves with contentment and indifference to fame and fortune. But life becomes increasingly mediocre, the economic burden on the family grows heavier, housing and children's education gradually become financial ropes around their necks, tightening so much they can't breathe. They can only adjust their mindset, gradually accepting the role of small urban crawlers, thinking they were born mediocre and why bother themselves? Making money is someone else's business; they don't have that destiny.

The worst fear is hearing that the company's performance isn't good and layoffs are coming. The most important thing is to get along well with the boss, persisting in learning flattery and sycophancy, adapting to local customs. Thoughts become numb, following the crowd, after all, the bowl of rice is in the hands of the boss or leader. If they want you gone, you're gone.

The second greatest fear is seeing one's age increase while one's work skills haven't improved at all. Although relying on seniority increases salary, watching those newly hired young university graduates full of energy doing twice the work for half the pay, the boss's reminders echo in the ears: Look at how those young ones eat less and do more, you old-timers are getting worse with age. No wonder, the result of a long-term working life is devaluation with age, especially in the 40-50 age range, which is the most tragic stage of one's career, always on the brink of disaster, like walking through a minefield, easily laid off or unemployed.

Some say the past ten years saw the peak of blue-collar worker layoffs, but the next 10-20 years will see the peak of white-collar worker layoffs. Do you think that having read university makes you an elite? Society keeps advancing, your knowledge structure, physical condition, and professional concepts are far inferior to those freshly graduated university students. Bosses are realistic; when crises arise, they will lay off white-collar workers aged 40-50 first.

So now you have a stable job, you feel safe, but it's like having a time bomb next to you. In ten or more years, it will explode, and the pain and cost of your unemployment then will be a hundred times crueler than now.

On the surface, the risks of entrepreneurship seem much higher than working for someone else, but in the long run, the risks of working are even higher.

The risk of entrepreneurship is losing the expected income from a few years of working, and even going bankrupt and having to repay part of the borrowed money. But since you're young, you can keep trying after failure, drawing nutrients and experience from failures, improving your business acumen and ability each time, gradually integrating into the group of businessmen. Your vision and experience accumulate day by day, eventually achieving a qualitative breakthrough. Once you truly enter the business world, your future career will basically be smooth sailing. You'll earn more and more money, accumulate more and more wealth, and realize your maximum value.

On the contrary, continuing to work may indeed be peaceful for a few years, but in fact, you're constantly depreciating and shrinking, not getting stronger. The longer you work, the more timid and cowardly you become. After a decade or so, any slight mistake might get you fired, unemployed, or laid off. Which risk is greater?

The fiery hearts of youth set out on the journey of life, but it's not as simple as you imagine.

We have nothing, except for our youth and a heart full of passion. Being passionate for a moment is not enough.

In a society where the strong prey on the weak, lacking a special skill makes you nothing but the dregs of society, no different from a beggar.

Thought determines direction, action determines results.

Most people are giants in words but dwarfs in action.

The smarter someone is, the easier it is for them to fall into this paradox and be unable to extricate themselves.

It seems God is fair, granting wisdom while depriving bravery.

Therefore, the number of people who enjoy a wonderful life is always a minority.

Let's describe the mentality of those who continue to work for others.

They claim they are patiently waiting for the right opportunity. Wise men think deeply and act after careful consideration. They keep waiting for conditions to mature, even as flowers bloom and fall, but until now, they haven't waited for the right opportunity, nor have the conditions matured, and the quality of real-life hasn't improved.

Remember, there's a very pessimistic Greek folk song: "Apollo, the sun god, was a hero who could knock down fierce enemies with one punch, but he couldn't change his own fate. Prometheus was a wise god who could secretly steal fire from Zeus and teach those pitiful people to see light, but he himself was eaten by eagles tearing at his liver and heart. This was the joke of fate!"

This is an example of people believing their strength cannot overcome their fate or change reality.

Salaried friends who work for others aren't unwilling to change their real lives. They feel urgency and also wish to change their "poverty," but they always have fear because they have never independently controlled their own destinies. It's like a person who has never used a computer, fearing that pressing the wrong switch or button will burn out the computer, or using too much force will break the keyboard, or going online will encounter viruses. Actually, things aren't that scary. For those who fear computers, the most important thing is to plug in the power and turn it on step by step.

Of course, as workers, we are always responsible for our jobs, responsible to companies and bosses, so we wait for conditions to mature. However, promoting these conditions often consumes a lot of energy and delays a lot of time. Sometimes, before the conditions mature, the surrounding environment has already changed. Old conditions haven't been reached, new problems have emerged, resulting in confusion and ultimately leading to nothing. Therefore, for workers, the most important thing is to understand that action must come before thought!