In the year of my startup failure, I was left with only fifty thousand in my pocket. After two reminders for rent, I made a crazy decision – to go all in on the market, buying 8 mainstream tokens at a price of over 6000.

That day I walked out of the internet cafe, the cold wind biting, but I couldn't help but laugh. After all, I already had nothing left, could it get any worse than this?

One morning two years later, the account balance jumped to 800,000. I stared at that string of numbers, and my mind was already planning my resignation. That period felt like I was possessed; the first thing I did every day upon waking was check the price increase, and at friend gatherings, I boasted, "I'll be able to lie flat soon."

Then 2018 came.

The numbers seemed to drop faster as if someone had pressed the fast forward button, eventually stopping at 180,000. I stared blankly at the screen for three days, then directly uninstalled the software, packed my bag, and went to Yunnan. I spent a month by the Erhai Lake feeling the breeze, and finally came to understand one thing: money that hasn't been pocketed is all virtual.

To survive these ten years, it relies on three dead rules. Today I will talk about the first one:

**Principal is always the top priority, profit is just the icing on the cake.**

Any investment, as long as you make a 50% profit, withdraw your principal immediately. If you invest 100,000 and it rises to 150,000, transfer out the 100,000 right away. The remaining 50,000 can be considered as zero, and you won't incur any losses.

In 2019, when I invested in a certain public chain, I did it like this—pulled out my principal immediately after a 60% rise, and later that coin plummeted by 80%. Watching the wailing in the group, I could still calmly enjoy my tea. This trick has helped me avoid losses at least three times.