An asset is the foundation of all economic activity. If you have assets, you can run a business and settle your debts. The ways to create assets are ‘how one works,’ ‘how to receive gifts from others,’ and ‘how to purchase assets made by others.’ There is a way to steal, but it is a crime. If you don’t initially own an asset, the simplest and almost the only way to create one is to produce something with your own labor. Whether the product is a service or a good, it must be produced unconditionally. Trading products creates added value. Thinking about trading later and making products first is the fastest and most basic way to escape poverty. Therefore, produce even the smallest things every day. Knowledge, records, art—whatever! - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Johann Sebastian Bach had many children. To support his large family, Bach established a steady income, with occasional earnings from composing funeral music. This allowed him to secure a basic livelihood and sometimes pursue the music he was passionate about, which primarily resulted in his masterpieces. It is both desirable and important for an artist to earn a living independently. Balancing one’s livelihood as a person and as an artist holds significant religious and philosophical value. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”