From the CEO: The Wisdom of Five Coins

There is a story often told among traditional Chinese merchants, sometimes called "the wisdom of five coins."

 

At first, it sounds almost too ordinary. Five coins. Nothing sophisticated. Nothing impressive.

 

But the longer I build a business, the more I realize why this story has endured. Because these "coins" were never meant to be cheap.

 

They represent understanding that only comes after paying real costs—through mistakes, restraint, loss, and time. Many people spend their entire lives paying tuition for things that look simple on the surface.

 

● Some pay with money.

● Some with years.

● Some with opportunities that never return.

 

Each coin carries a quiet form of wisdom. And each one is expensive.

 

The First Coin: Acting While the Door Is Still Open

 

 

Opportunities rarely arrive with certainty. They appear briefly, imperfectly, and often before you feel ready.

 

The real challenge is not recognizing opportunity, but deciding while uncertainty is still present. Most missed opportunities are not missed because they were misunderstood, but because people waited for:

 

● more confirmation

● better timing

● absolute clarity

 

But opportunity is a time window. It does not wait for comfort.

 

Over an entire lifetime, the number of moments that can meaningfully change one's direction is surprisingly small. If one of them is missed, it may take many years to compensate—if it can be compensated at all.

 

This is the price of the first coin.

 

The Second Coin: Keeping What Should Remain Quiet

 

 

"Do not reveal wealth" is not about secrecy. It is about understanding human nature.

 

Most people do not actively wish harm upon others. But very few can remain completely unaffected by someone else's visible rise.

 

When success, resources, or advantages are displayed too openly, they often attract:

 

● misunderstanding

● projection

● emotional expectations

● quiet resistance

 

Over time, this creates unnecessary friction. I have learned that real strength does not need to be displayed. It works best when applied directly to the work itself.

 

Low visibility is not weakness. It is protection.

 

The Third Coin: Choosing the Path That Can Be Walked for a Long Time

 

 

Some paths look fast. Some shortcuts appear clever. But time has a way of revealing what truly holds.

 

Luck can open a door once. Relying on it repeatedly distorts judgment.

 

In business, as in life, paths that ignore consequence eventually demand repayment.

 

The so-called "broad path" is not exciting. It is lawful. Reasonable. Aligned with conscience. It feels slow—but it carries you far.

 

This coin is paid for by those who learn, often too late, that short-term wins do not equal long-term safety.

 

The Fourth Coin: Limiting Where Your Attention Goes

 

 

The most capable people I have met tend to live quietly. They do not involve themselves in every opinion, dispute, or comparison. They are careful about where they place their attention.

 

Not because they are indifferent, but because they understand that attention creates entanglement.

 

The more one interferes in matters that are not theirs, the more unintended consequences follow.

 

Focusing on one's own judgment, pace, and responsibility is not isolation. It is clarity. This coin is paid for in avoided trouble.

 

The Fifth Coin: Slowing Down When Emotion Rises

 

 

Strong emotions feel urgent. They push for immediate action. But emotion is the fastest way to lose judgment.

 

I have learned to treat emotional intensity as a signal to slow down—not speed up.

 

Decisions made in anger or resentment are often driven by reaction, not reason. They feel decisive in the moment and regrettable afterward.

 

There is an old story of a merchant who nearly destroyed decades of work because of a moment's misunderstanding—saved only because he paused before acting. That pause was worth more than any clever strategy. This is the most expensive coin of all.

 

Closing Reflection

 

What makes the Five Coins powerful is not complexity, but restraint.

 

They are not ideas meant to impress. They are understandings meant to protect a life and a business over time.

 

At TVCMALL, long-term partnership has always mattered more than short-term advantage.

 

That belief is not written in slogans—it is reinforced through thousands of small decisions.

 

True wisdom rarely speaks loudly. But when critical moments arrive, it stands quietly between you and irreversible loss.

 

Five coins may sound small. But their value is immeasurable.