Many people fantasize about a win-win situation, but reality is often more brutal — your gain is someone else's loss. This is not pessimism, but the fundamental operating logic of the business world.
Looking at extra credit card points? That’s the bank taking a cut from other consumers. How much can be cut from the house price, how much salary can be negotiated? Essentially, they are doing the same thing: fighting for their own share within limited resources. Every extra dollar gained means the other party gets one dollar less.
This is not a moral issue, nor is it a matter of human nature. It has always been so. The soul of the business world is negotiation — you need to understand how much you are worth, where the other party’s bottom line is, and then find a balance point between these two lines. Otherwise, you will be the one who suffers losses.
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GweiTooHigh
· 9h ago
That's right, the talk about win-win is just to fool the newcomers. I've seen through it a long time ago.
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This is the reality. Most people just don't want to admit it.
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Negotiation skills are the real secret to wealth. People who can haggle and those who can't will have a huge income gap over their lifetime.
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So, don't be fooled by words like "mutual benefit and win-win." If you need to push back, do it.
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Web3 follows the same logic. Early entrants and latecomers are just playing the cycle game.
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MaticHoleFiller
· 01-07 01:50
That's a very decisive statement, but I think the logic is a bit one-sided. On the Web3 side, there are actually many truly win-win scenarios; DeFi liquidity mining is an example, where platforms and users can indeed achieve a mutual win. Zero-sum games are too absolute.
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DefiVeteran
· 01-07 01:48
Exactly right, zero-sum games are always the case, it's just that the玩法 in the crypto world is more ruthless.
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Win-win? Ha, those are just stories. The real game rule is that the more I earn, the more you lose.
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This logic is even more evident on the chain, where liquidity in LP pools is constantly draining each other.
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Negotiation skills are truly a survival skill. Those who can't bargain are destined to be exploited.
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So, the most important thing is to know where your chips are, or you'll just be waiting to be taught a lesson.
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I completely agree, but the problem is most people don't even understand how much their own tokens are worth.
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This logic applies perfectly to trading counterparts: there are never friends, only利益.
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The sooner you realize this, the better. Otherwise, you'll spend your whole life creating wealth for others.
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That's how the business world works, and Web3 is no exception. Recognizing this early can help you avoid detours.
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SchroedingerMiner
· 01-07 01:48
You're right, zero-sum games are indeed the essence, but I think many people have misunderstood. The issue isn't about winning, but about knowing what game you're playing.
Win-win sounds comfortable, but that's just marketing jargon. It's more obvious in the crypto circle—funding schemes work like this. The people at the front indeed make money, while those at the back lose everything. So true wisdom isn't about finding a win-win, but about whether you can get on board before others are harvested. This may sound cruel, but it's the truth.
However, on the other hand, this theory has bugs in the crypto world. Because the entire ecosystem is growing, and new value is indeed being created, sometimes real win-win situations can be achieved. The key is whether you're expanding the cake or just dividing it. The former is a real opportunity, the latter is gambling.
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QuorumVoter
· 01-07 01:48
You're right, zero-sum game is the reality. Don't talk about win-win situations.
Many people fantasize about a win-win situation, but reality is often more brutal — your gain is someone else's loss. This is not pessimism, but the fundamental operating logic of the business world.
Looking at extra credit card points? That’s the bank taking a cut from other consumers. How much can be cut from the house price, how much salary can be negotiated? Essentially, they are doing the same thing: fighting for their own share within limited resources. Every extra dollar gained means the other party gets one dollar less.
This is not a moral issue, nor is it a matter of human nature. It has always been so. The soul of the business world is negotiation — you need to understand how much you are worth, where the other party’s bottom line is, and then find a balance point between these two lines. Otherwise, you will be the one who suffers losses.