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”
Even though $1 million of one’s own money and $1 million of others’ money are numerically the same, their characteristics will differ significantly. In other words, while money is represented numerically, it serves various purposes, and its usage remains unexpressed when distributed in the market. Money is accounted for to illustrate this situation because the purpose of its use is more significant than the number (amount). Specifically, double-entry bookkeeping is the most reliable method for reflecting both the amount and its use. Therefore, if a CEO doesn’t understand double-entry bookkeeping, it is akin to managing blindly. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”