How to FIRE – A Practical Journey
这是我2025年6月12日在 Toastmasters 的演讲稿，分享了改变我人生的三本书：
- 戴尔·卡耐基的《成功学全书》
- 拿破仑·希尔的《思考致富》
- 罗伯特·清崎的《富爸爸穷爸爸》
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Toastmasters, and accidental visitors.
Let me tell you a story about a poor boy. His mom swept city streets. His dad cleaned public toilets. They lived in a country where the GDP per capita was $700—which, back then, meant their entire family budget could be wiped out by a single McDonald’s Happy Meal.
This boy was in high school, but his home had no TV, no phone, and—worst of all—no flushing toilet. He had no friends, was terrified of girls, and got bullied so much he considered joining the mafia—until he realized even they had standards.
Then one day, he saw a street vendor selling books—by weight. He bought one heavy, overpriced book: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Quick show of hands—who here has read this book? Dale Carnegie, I owe you royalties.
That book changed him. He learned to communicate, make friends, and dream bigger. He practiced relentlessly. In college, he joined debates and won Best Debater.
After graduation, he sold computers. Cold calls, rejections, awkward client meetings—perfect for a guy whose self-esteem was pretty low. But he knew: to escape his life, he had to embrace the cringe. So he practiced until he forgot what shyness was—or at least until he could fake it until he made it.
His manager gifted him another life-changing book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Suddenly, he thought big. He wrote down exact dates he’d become a millionaire. And guess what? He did it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here tonight, telling this story instead of scrubbing toilets.
Yes, that boy—once poor, awkward, and borderline mafia-reject—is me.
Armed with books, I launched side jobs so scrappy they’d make Elon Musk blush: installing illegal satellite TV dishes in Shanghai, flipping used cars, and renting cars to expats. No office, no employees, just pure chaos—the perfect business boot camp.
In 2007, on my honeymoon in Malaysia, I grasped a book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, in a tea shop. Two lessons stuck: 1. Go from employee to business owner and eventually investor. 2. Buy real estate and let tenants pay your bills. At 39, I realized: I never have to work again—except for my wife, who still gives me housework.
So here I am: a FIRE’d former toilet-cleaner’s son, proof that books, hustle, and a high tolerance for embarrassment can change your life. And if I can do it? You might want to start weighing your books.
Cheers!