The strategy that made you rich will make you poor
The same moves that build a fortune can destroy it. Knowing when to switch games is everything.
This article is part of The Unseen, our work on decoding the systems and incentives that shape markets and opportunities.
Here’s something that trips up almost everyone with money.
We believe our financial strategy is part of our personality. Thanks to the popular MBTI test, we now believe we’re either a “risk-taker” or a “safe pair of hands.”
That assumption is a path to ruin.
The truth is, the moves that get you from zero to your first million are the exact same moves that can get you from a million back to zero.
After watching fortunes get built and lost, I’ve realized the smartest players don’t have one strategy. They have two, and they understand that these strategies are opposites. They know when to play Offense and when to play Defense.
And they know that confusing the two is a catastrophic mistake.
The Art of Creating Gravity
Imagine you’re just starting out. A new venture, a new career, your first real attempt to build capital. You have everything to prove and almost nothing to lose.
This is the season for Offense.
Offense is governed by a single, beautiful law: opportunity isn't found, it's attracted. Your actions, not your ideas, not your plans. They create a gravitational field.
I knew a first-time founder trying to crack a market where he had no connections. Zero. Instead of waiting for permission, he wrote one deeply insightful analysis of the industry and sent it to 20 influential people.
19 of them ignored him. One replied.
That single reply led to a conversation, which led to an introduction, which led to his first real client. His tiny, outbound action created its own gravity.
That’s the offensive playbook. It’s about being the initiator.
🔳 In this phase, a polished business plan is less valuable than messy, ugly momentum. Action creates data. Action creates leverage. Action creates gravity.
Diversification is a trap for people with nothing to diversify. Your only job is to concentrate all your force on a single, decisive breakthrough. You have to be willing to push all your chips in on your one best bet to achieve escape velocity.
The story doesn't start until you send the email.
The Craft of Building a Fortress
Then, one day, the context flips.
You have a handsome exit. Your business is a cash machine. You’ve built a significant nest egg. The scrappy attacker who lived on adrenaline and ramen has to die. A new identity must be born: the thoughtful steward.
Welcome to Defense. It's less exciting, but the coffee here is better.
Defense is about one thing: survival. Your mantra is no longer "go all-in"; it's "stay in the game." And building your defense is a craft with a clear progression of shields.
It starts with the Paper Shield: Information. Knowing something others don’t. This is the weakest shield because, in an age where an AI can chew through a data set and distribute insights globally in seconds, a pure info-edge has the lifespan of a fruit fly.
Next is the Wooden Shield: Capability. Being able to do something others can't. A rare skill, a unique process. This is stronger, but skills can be learned, processes can be copied. It's not invincible.
Finally, you arrive at the Fortress: a Team Edge. A group of A-players who have developed a unique chemistry and trust. This is the ultimate defense. A business can die, a project can fail, but a truly great team can pivot and outlast cycles because their chemistry cannot be reverse-engineered.
I remember the thrill of my first high-risk wins. The shift to prioritizing "boring," stable assets felt unnatural, almost like I was losing my edge. I soon realized that consistent, predictable growth buys you something far more valuable than a thrilling victory.
A good night's sleep.
🔳 Your goal is no longer a spectacular win, but the complete and utter avoidance of a catastrophic loss. One "game over" event undoes a thousand victories.
So, Which Game Are You Playing?
This has nothing to do with your MBTI-type. It has everything to do with your current position on the board.
Take an honest look. Are you a small speedboat trying to make a wake, or a massive tanker trying to safely reach port?
The speedboat must be aggressive, nimble, and willing to risk it all to win the race.
The tanker must be methodical, paranoid, and obsessed with avoiding icebergs.
They are two different boats playing two different games. The fatal error is being the captain of one while using the playbook of the other. Master the art of playing both, and you won’t just learn how to win.
You’ll learn how to last.
Hi!
I'm Yuehan. After a decade spent building businesses in both the West and China, I'm sharing my most valuable, road-tested lessons right here on Substack.
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