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The six levels of cognition are disaster victims, farmers, craftsmen, merchants, leaders, and nobles. Each level represents a different concept of education and growth, and the level of cognition has nothing to do with wealth, education, etc. The cognitive level of disaster victims: Disaster victims take survival as their main goal and tend to take short-sighted actions, such as taking advantage of small gains and not following the rules. The cognitive level of farmers: Farmers rely on the system, pay attention to face, tend to stay in their comfort zone, and attach importance to education mainly to obtain stable jobs. The cognitive level of craftsmen: Craftsmen rely on their own skills and abilities to make a living, believe that personal power can change their destiny, but sometimes rely too much on personal ability. The cognitive level of merchants: Merchants will act decisively when they see profitable business opportunities, rely on logic, and are willing to make decisions and face risks on their own initiative.
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What does cognition really mean? What conditions are needed to achieve a cognitive leap? Imagine that one evening many years later, you drive a Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan and park in front of your mansion, and perhaps recall the profound impact this video has on you. Cognition is the way you understand the world, and the way you understand the world will shape the trajectory of your life in the next five years. The younger you are, the greater the uncertainty of your future, and the more things you can change.
We usually divide people's cognition into six different levels, each of which represents a different concept of education and growth. Importantly, cognitive level is not a social class, and it has no direct connection with your wealth, education or reading volume. Therefore, for young people, it is not their position that determines their thoughts, but their thoughts that will determine their future social status. Next, we will explore these six levels in detail.
The first level of cognition is the disaster victims. We can see that some people live in extreme poverty. They have no stable shelter and food source, so their main goal is to ensure their survival. The values of these people tend to value small immediate benefits rather than long-term gains. They may take some short-sighted actions, such as taking advantage of small gains, not following the rules, cheating others, or even using inferior products as good ones in business transactions, or finding excuses to deduct employees' wages in management. For them, immediate benefits are the most important, and they are extremely sensitive to any form of sacrifice or delayed gratification.
This way of thinking makes it difficult for these people to invest in activities that require long-term investment to see results, such as learning. If their parents also hold this view, they are unlikely to invest additional resources in their children's education or pay attention to their children's learning process. In such families, education is often seen as less practical than direct work. Even in the face of educational opportunities, they will prioritize immediate economic gains rather than long-term educational investment.
This short-sighted way of thinking is not only rejected by other social classes, but even by themselves. Although we cannot accurately count how many such people there are, it is certain that they are not a minority. The formation of this cognition may be due to extreme living environments, such as living in extremely harsh conditions, or because they have benefited from fraud and dishonesty. This is what we call the lowest cognitive state.
The second layer is farmers. The main difference between them and disaster victims is that farmers can see the long-term future. Farmers need to cultivate, which requires patience and time to wait for the harvest, while disaster victims may eat the seeds due to lack of patience. Farmers live in a relatively closed environment. They believe that labor creates wealth, and their values and morals are feudal.
Farmers are the largest group and they have several distinctive characteristics: First, they have a strong sense of admiration for the system because they rely on the system to resist risks. They are afraid of risk and therefore tend to worship those who can provide security. Secondly, their vision is relatively narrow, and their sources of information mainly rely on the people around them, which leads them to only believe the information around them and use it as a standard. They are very face-conscious and tend to stay within their comfort zone.
Farmers do not believe in personal ability and believe that success is given by the outside world rather than the result of personal efforts. Although they recognize the importance of education and are willing to invest in education, their feudal cognition limits their long-term planning for their careers. They attach importance to education mainly to obtain stable jobs and security.
Farmers and disaster victims together account for the majority of the population. The difference between them is not obvious, and sometimes they even have both cognitions. Although some farmers and disaster victims can enter the middle class through the dividends of economic development, it is difficult for them to improve their cognition to a higher level. Even some people with higher education are still influenced by farmers' cognition in their thoughts and behaviors. With the progress of industrialization, many farmers have become citizens, but their way of thinking still remains at the farmer level.
The third level is the craftsman, who makes a living by relying on his own skills and abilities. He believes that his own ability is the key to success. Unlike farmers, craftsmen believe that personal power can change their destiny, while farmers rely on others. The craftsman's creed is self-realization, and they believe that they are their own savior.
In real life, craftsmen are often scholars, professors, business executives, technical experts, etc. They are confident in their abilities and have extremely high requirements for their children's education. They pursue high-quality education at all costs. They believe in the power of education and are willing to invest in it.
Craftsmen enjoy respect in society, regardless of their income. However, they sometimes rely too much on their personal abilities and ignore the influence of the external environment. They may think that people with high education should live well, feel dissatisfied with the success of people with low education, and feel confused about the injustice of society.
Artisans are good executors but may lack strategic planning. They may be too focused on details and lack vision for the big picture. This perception limits their development and makes it difficult for them to reach higher levels.
Craftsmen, farmers and disaster victims make up the majority of society, and their values influence the mainstream ideas of society. Although craftsmen may retreat to farmers due to setbacks, it is more difficult to improve further. Changing the cognition of these three levels is the key to improving one's social status.
The fourth level is merchants, who make up less than 1% of the total population. Unlike disaster victims, farmers, and craftsmen, merchants act decisively when they see profitable business opportunities. Merchants are not limited to full-time businessmen, they may come from the first three levels, but their businesses are usually obviously exploitative, such as successful entrepreneurs or senior cadres.
The main difference between a businessman and a craftsman is that a businessman relies on logic, while a craftsman relies on experience. A businessman is willing to take the initiative to make decisions and face risks, while a craftsman avoids risks due to lack of clear logic. A businessman trusts his reasoning and is willing to take risks even if the future is uncertain.
Businessmen tend to have a practical view of education, believing that problems that can be solved with money are not problems. They are willing to invest in their children's education, such as sending them to study abroad, but this protection may weaken their children's ambitions and sensitivity to money.
The children of merchants may lack competitiveness due to their superior growth environment, and they may be insufficient in ability and ambition compared to the children of artisan families. However, if merchant families can cultivate their children's ambition and competitiveness, their potential will be huge.
In general, businessmen are a minority in society who succeed in the business world through logic and adventurous spirit, but their children may find it difficult to inherit this success due to lack of challenges.
The fifth level is leaders, who number about tens of thousands. The main difference between leaders and businessmen is that leaders have a wider influence. They may be decision makers of large companies or leaders of a large region. When reaching the merchant level, individuals will clearly feel the difference between themselves and ordinary people, but after becoming leaders, they will be more deeply aware of the insignificance of ordinary people.
Leaders are completely free from the anxiety of survival, and their behavior and decisions are no longer driven by the need to survive. Their behavior patterns and values are often difficult for ordinary people to understand, because it is difficult for ordinary people to fully understand high-level thinking from a low level.
Leaders are highly strategic, and their actions and decisions are often closely tied to the position they are in. They may have a variety of interests and pursuits, from filmmaking to physics to a variety of other activities, but their actions tend to be more cautious and low-key.
At this level, leaders are increasingly influenced by external factors and their personal will may be limited. They may find it difficult to exit their current role because there are many people who depend on them or do not want them to leave.
Since we have not had in-depth contact with people at this level, our understanding of their worldview and values may be only one-sided. We can only observe and speculate from the outside, but cannot truly understand their inner world and decision-making logic.
The sixth level is the nobility, a group of only a few thousand people, which is an unattainable class for ordinary people. The main difference between the nobility and the leaders is that the nobility has control over resources across multiple fields, while the leaders usually only have influence in one specific field.
I have only heard of this level, and I do not understand their cognition and way of thinking, nor can I speculate. As for whether there is a higher level above the nobility, I am not sure about this, and I will not make up anything.
These are the six levels of cognition known so far.
The cognitive level is usually not determined by the current social status, but affects your development trajectory in the next five years. To change your cognition, first imagine yourself at the age of 35, such as a white-collar worker, a deputy county magistrate, or a small boss. If you want to go into politics, the local selection is the starting point. Most people who take the civil service exam are for stability rather than ambition, and the system will not give them many opportunities. If you are not a master's or doctoral student from a prestigious university, it will be difficult to develop in state-owned enterprises and public institutions. The path to being a white-collar worker requires a background in a popular major from a prestigious university and rich experience.
Businessmen think differently from ordinary people. They see risk as the gap between their goals and actual results. For example, if you expect to make 1,000 yuan but only make 600 yuan, the gap is a risk. The gap between working for a long time and your goal of financial freedom is also a risk. Understanding this will change your outlook on business.
The second way of thinking for a businessman is to be good at calculation, including the estimation of adverse situations. After clarifying the goals and risks, you can make a rough calculation of possible profits and losses. This way of thinking helps you jump from the lower three levels of cognition to the businessman level.
For example, imagine your ideal life when you are in your 30s or 40s: What kind of house do you want to live in? How many cars do you want to own and how much do you want to spend on each? What kind of education will your children receive? What medical expenses might your parents need? Be specific and calculate the approximate cost. The number may surprise you. Many people are reluctant to face this reality because it means that there are not many choices in life.
If your child has the opportunity to go to Princeton, will you let him choose Tsinghua for economic reasons? If your parents need expensive treatment, and neither medical insurance nor commercial insurance covers it, will you consider other more economical treatment options? Many people fail in opening stores because they do not have clear profit targets, or do not think about business risks in reverse, or are unwilling to face the truth about costs and profits.
On Douyin, there are many accounts that teach people how to open a store. They still use the mindset of farmers and craftsmen to run their business, thinking that just opening a store will solve the problem, but reality will soon teach them a lesson. The underlying thinking of businessmen includes a different view of risk and the courage to face unfavorable accounts.
For people of your age, you should first earn your first 1,000 yuan, which cannot come from part-time jobs or low-end jobs. Although 1,000 yuan is not much, it is not easy for most people, especially to overcome the psychological barriers of sales. This money can help you understand customer needs, the logic of making money, and think about the replicability of the business.
Secondly, study as much as possible and go to a big city to develop. In the long run, a higher education can increase the chances of entrepreneurial success. Studying not only maintains your thinking ability, but also allows you to enter certain industries. The difference between first-tier cities and second- and third-tier cities is not just the size, but the availability of opportunities.
Third, learn decision-making skills. It is recommended to read books on strategy and marketing, which can provide scientific perspectives and help you critically examine projects. These books are suitable for reading before the age of 25, because cognition is mainly formed between the ages of 18 and 25.
Finally, cultivate the mindset of an operator, change from a consumer mindset to an operator mindset, and learn to calculate profits and costs from the perspective of an operator. For example, consider the peak and off-seasons of scenic spot homestays, as well as the customer flow and costs of restaurants. Such thinking can train your business acumen.
In school, you should transform your thinking first, and then become a businessman. Studying is the foundation, don't rush for success. After graduation, you may need to work to make a living, and after several entrepreneurial attempts, real success may take years. Now is not an era where you can make money casually. Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared. Be prepared so that when the opportunity comes, you can quickly identify and seize it.
Many entrepreneurs in traditional industries started out as salespeople, and they gradually developed their businesses by negotiating with their bosses or clients. There are also more secure methods, such as providing sporadic services first and then setting up a studio or company. This type of business usually requires the boss to be an excellent craftsman himself, which is the meaning of studying.
These suggestions may be personal. If you have different opinions, please feel free to add them in the comment section.