真实的务实者为何执着于质量——一场关于专注与回报的认知革命
会员朋友们大家好。今天是2025年的最后一天，借此机会提前祝福大家新年快乐！当然，等这个视频上线的时候已经是2026年了，那就算是一个“迟到的新年快乐”吧！
话说最近老婆带着孩子回去了，我一个人留在这里。原本的雄心壮志是——既然她们不在了，我可以专心做课程、拍视频。其实我已经攒了不少关于AI的话题想和大家聊聊：比如什么是AI Native？，白领的工作还能持续多久等等。这些话题一方面是我思考了很久想分享的内容；另一方面也非常有利于我的课程推广。
但结果呢？我居然沉迷于看短剧。昨天晚上，我大概五六点吃完饭，本来想着该去睡觉了，结果一头栽进短视频里。一刷就是到凌晨一点多才困得不行睡觉。
所以如果你在视频中看到我有黑眼圈，那不是因为熬夜工作，而是沉迷内容的代价。
但今天话题不在这儿。我中午出去吃饭时和一位朋友聊天，他问了我一个问题：
“你好像特别注重内容质量？”
我们聊起我离职之后做什么。他提到我花了很多时间在提高课程内容的质量，而很多人从结果导向或务实角度出发，可能觉得只要质量达标就可以，之后应该更关注营销、市场推广等“go-to-market”的事情。
但我回答说：
“其实不是我忽视结果，或觉得内容是清高的表现。恰恰相反——正是因为我在意结果、我是一个务实的人，所以我才选择把大部分时间花在内容质量上。”
这个决定背后有两个核心原因。
第一：高质量是长期竞争的唯一护城河（Paul Graham 的餐馆观察）
我记得 Paul Graham 曾经说过这么一个观点，我觉得非常有道理：
“你去看餐馆们，他们会关注服务、选址、菜单设计甚至社交媒体广告。但真正决定了一个餐厅是否能长期存活的，是食物好不好吃。”
他观察到的现象是：如果一家餐馆的食物好吃，即便其他方面有缺陷，它依然能吸引顾客；而如果食物难吃，无论你怎么营销都会失败。这个结论在时间拉长之后尤为明显。
我觉得我的内容也是一样：大家持续关注我，是因为他们觉得这些内容对他们有帮助、有价值。
比如今天发的视频里有一位大哥打赏了我五百元人民币，这是我人生中收到的第一笔大额打赏。这让我意识到：高质量内容带来的不仅仅是流量，更是信任和影响力的增长。
所以每次做视频的时候，我都会对自己有一个要求——不能丢脸。
我不做那些贩卖焦虑、蹭热点或煽动情绪的内容。
因为从内心出发，我有这样一个底线；另外还有一个认知支撑：只要你把内容做好了，其他东西都会随之而来。
当然，这个前提是——我其实很懂商业和营销。这些不是我的短板。所以，我可以专注于内容本身。
第二：高质量带来超线性回报（Superlinear Return）
另一个让我坚持内容质量的理由，是 Paul Graham 提到的“超线性回报”。
我们从小学到的是“一分耕耘，一分收获”，但现实世界不是线性的。你比别人好一倍，可能获得的是十倍用户；而如果你差一半质量，可能连十分之一的用户都得不到。
这个回报曲线是呈指数级增长的——你可以理解为是一个“logarithmic”的10倍回报。
因此，我的社群叫做Superlinear Academy（超线性学院）。我坚信这条规律，并且在行动中践行它。
所以我的策略是：
不是做很多事做到“80分”，而是聚焦一个点，把它做到极致——从1到超过甚至20倍的突破。
这就是我在社区里不断提到的理念：“做十倍，再做十倍”。
要做到这一点的方式是：
- 集中所有的资源、注意力和时间；
- 破解最关键的那个点；
- 在那个方向上突破，才能到达下一阶段（next level）。
结合上面两条逻辑可以得出一个结论：
最重要的那个点，就是内容质量。
年度回顾与展望：从聚焦到落地的旅程
2024年年底的时候，我在社区里发了一个帖子总结我的年度工作，并为2025年设定了一个核心目标——聚焦。
当时我意识到自己面临着很多机会，但在某个阶段必须做出选择：
“不是做很多事，而是选一件事，聚焦一个点，把它做到极致。”
2025年我离开 Statsig 后，有投资、咨询、换工作甚至做英文频道的机会。但我选择了 AI 课程这件事，并将几乎所有的时间和精力都投入其中。
当然，对于其他事情我也没有完全拒绝。只是看心情：想做的就多做点，不想做的就不做。
但始终有一个提醒：
“我必须聚焦在做课程这件事上。”
因为如果课程足够好，其他目标——比如所谓“江湖地位”，其实也都会随之而来。
现实中我可能很难通过一个普通自媒体人的身份去和硅谷 VP 见面。但当我把“Superlinear Academy Founder”作为我的身份时，情况就不一样了。
我相信：
如果我专注做课程，并做到真正出色的程度，那些“看起来很难达成的目标”，其实也会随之而来。
反之，如果我一开始就追逐那些东西本身——可能最后什么都得不到。
这是我从实践中得出的结论之一，也是我在那一年里深刻体会到的成长路径。
当然，我还相信：
在年轻、尚未找到主业、对世界认知还不够清晰的时候，不需要刻意聚焦。
那个时候需要的是：开拓视野、多接触不同的领域、尝试不同的事情。
直到你真正了解了这个世界运行的逻辑——尤其是你自己时，才会明白什么是最值得投入的事情。
结语：2026年目标与生活小记
站在2025年的尾声，我延续了这个传统，在社区里做了年度总结，并设定了三个目标：
- 健康（Health）
- 当下的存在感（Be Present）
- 脚踏实地、不浮躁（Stay Grounded）
我希望在新的一年开始时，不仅保持内容质量的高标准，还要多做一些hands-on 的技术工作、真正沉浸式地coding、而不是只说不练。
感兴趣的同学可以去看看那个帖子，也希望大家在2026年能监督我实现这三个目标。
最后呢，在最近的短剧中，我发现了一个非常有趣的内容叫《震惊钓鱼佬》。这是一个我完全没想到过的题材——一个重生变成鱼的人，通过“震惊”钓鱼佬来获取系统点数复仇。
题材虽然猎奇，但我还是从头到尾看完了，觉得还挺有意思的！
好啦，这期视频就到这里。分享一下我最近的生活和想法。
我们下期再见！拜拜！
Original English
Hi everyone!
Happy New Year's Eve! 2025 came to an end today — Happy Holidays everyone!
Of course, once this video drops, it’ll already be the year of 2026, so consider that a “late Happy New Year”!
Recently my wife took the kids back home, but I stayed here alone. Initially I was full of ambition — thinking “now that they’re gone, finally I can focus on my courses!”
I really wanted to make lots of videos during this time — actually already gathered around ten AI-related topics I want to discuss.
For example: “What exactly is AI Native?” or “How long can white-collar jobs survive?”
These are topics I’ve been thinking deeply about — naturally wanting to share them with everyone — and also, they’re incredibly helpful for marketing my courses.
But then… I got addicted to short dramas. Last night after dinner around five or six PM, instead of going straight home to sleep — I ended up lying down watching short dramas until midnight… and couldn’t bear putting my phone away… stayed awake brushing videos till after one AM — really exhausted before finally falling asleep.
So yeah — if you’ve seen black circles under my eyes lately… that’s the reason 😅
But anyway — today’s topic isn't about short dramas.
During lunch today I had a conversation with my friend who used to work together — he asked me something interesting:
“You seem particularly focused on content quality?”
After exchanging greetings and talking about what I’ve been doing post-quit — it turned out he noticed that most of my time went into improving AI course content quality.
And indeed — “I am,” I confirmed.
He said something like:
“That’s actually not the usual path people take when being pragmatic.”
In practical or outcome-driven perspectives, quality “good enough” suffices — people usually turn straight towards things like marketing or launching quickly (“go-to-market” strategies).
But I clarified:
“I’m actually not dismissive of outcomes — quite the opposite…”
It’s precisely because I care deeply about results and am practical-minded, that I’ve chosen to spend most energy improving content quality itself.
Then came two main reasons:
1. High Quality is the Only Long-Term Competitive Advantage （Paul Graham’s Restaurant Observation）
I recall Paul Graham once said something quite profound — which makes complete sense:
“If you look at restaurants — they care about food taste, service quality, location aesthetics…”
But truly determines survival over time is simply how good the food tastes.
His observation showed — restaurants with delicious food thrive despite flaws elsewhere — while those serving poor meals inevitably fail over time.
So yes, commercial logic may suggest optimizing many aspects — but ultimately everything boils down to one core factor.
I believe the same logic applies to content:
People keep watching mine — simply because they find it helpful and valuable.
For example today’s video got a $50 reward comment — the biggest single donation I’ve ever gotten — rivaling some entertainers’ levels！
That’s why whenever creating videos, I impose standards on myself — no anxiety-peddling content — chasing trends superficially — or emotional manipulation.
Because I’m already aware of my own benchmarks… Additionally, there’s always this belief lingering:
“If you produce quality content — everything else naturally follows.”
Of course, part of that is due to my own foundation already understanding commercial logic quite well — marketing isn't something I struggle deeply with.
But assuming someone else excels only at content creation but has zero marketing or commercial knowledge — then indeed they’re lacking some necessary skills.
However for myself — that isn’t limiting factor anymore.
Thus I believe committing most energy toward content quality yields highest returns — especially long-term ones — whether videos or courses alike.
2. Content Delivers Superlinear Returns （Paul Graham’s Law）
Another factor is “superlinear returns” — again mentioned by Paul Graham.
We learned growing up that “one effort yields one reward.” But reality isn’t linear — instead exponential.
You’re just slightly better than others → you gain ten times user base；
You’re half worse? You get virtually nothing — maybe one-tenth at best.
So technically the curve resembles something like “logarithmic base ten” growth pattern — basically exponential returns.
That’s why my community platform named itself “Superlinear Academy.”
Underneath this concept — I realized:
To achieve good returns — it’s NOT about doing many things and achieving “80%” on each；
Instead focus deeply — push one thing toward excellence — from 1x → 10x → even beyond.
So yes — in community I posted threads like “Do ten倍 better… again…”
Because the way to achieve exponential growth — is concentrating everything into one critical point until breakthrough happens！
And when combining both ideas above:
What’s the most important “critical point”? — It’s content quality.
That’s exactly why sharing my resolutions for year-end 2025 today — reflecting back on successes in ’24，and setting clear goals moving forward into ’26.
My biggest resolution? Focus Focus Focus！
I realized during ’24 — though plenty opportunities came knocking，I needed to choose one major path and commit fully toward it.
So when leaving Statsig，there were investment opportunities；consulting offers；job switches；new media channels；even building my own growth data products…
But ultimately，I chose AI course development — dedicating nearly all energy toward that single project.
For other interests? I do them only out of mood — if interested，do；otherwise，leave alone.
But always reminding myself：
“Focus on course creation.”
Because once courses reach excellence level，then other benefits naturally follow — like establishing authority、professional recognition etc.
Even now，I struggle getting Silicon Valley VPs interested simply declaring myself “content creator.” But when introducing myself as “Superlinear Academy founder” — suddenly the dynamics shift.
So if my real goal is that level of influence，then focusing deeply toward making courses exceptional — all other things naturally follow.
Conversely chasing those titles directly may yield nothing ultimately.
This became one biggest realization during transition phase ’24-’25，and reinforced through both logic and practice.
And yes — I genuinely benefited from focusing！
Of course，I believe when young、before finding one’s core path、before deeply understanding world patterns — focusing isn’t necessary；
At early stage，one needs more exposure、experiments、exploration — until self-awareness reaches certain level.
But once I understood world，business patterns、especially myself deeply enough — then focus becomes possible！
And today at year-end ’25，I naturally extended tradition again：posting year-in-review alongside resolutions toward ’26：
Three priorities：
- Health（健康）
- Presence（Be Present）
- Groundedness（Stay Grounded；Avoiding Hype）
Meaning to stay grounded、hands-on、technically engaged — coding not just talking！
I encourage interested folks checking thread，and also hope members supervise me in keeping these resolutions！
Lastly — while recently watching some short dramas，I found amusing one called “震惊钓鱼佬”（Shocking Fisherman）.
It’s about someone reincarnated into fish who gains system powers by shocking fishermen — accumulating points to revenge！
I never imagined such content exists — but I ended up watching entire series，and genuinely enjoyed it！
Alright that’s本期 video！Sharing some recent life updates and thoughts.
See you next time!