Profits and Rewards: While profit and reward may seem similar at first glance, they are distinct concepts. Profit is more practical than reward and has a genetic basis. Reward, in contrast, offers comprehensive benefits and is aligned with life. For example, if a company promises to give stock options to its employees, that is a reward; however, if the stock option is officially recorded by a resolution of the shareholders’ general meeting, that is a profit. Profit reflects the realization of rewards. Our genes seek profit more than rewards. Nevertheless, rewards also help sustain life. An example illustrating the difference between profit and reward is seen in loss. Gambling and drugs may offer us emotional rewards, but they also show how we can experience diminishing returns by wasting our resources. Profits and rewards are clearly different. Many people confuse the two, which can harm relationships. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
The most important rule in investing is not to lose your initial capital . Making money comes later. If you lose 50% of your principal , the loss rate is 50%, but to recover that principal, you need a 100% return . This is because the baseline of your return—the principal—has already been halved. Many people tend to think that if they’ve lost 50%, they only need a 50% return to break even. However, this is a misunderstanding of the starting point. In investing, the baseline is always the original principal . The principal after a loss is no longer the same; it’s already in the past. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”