I’m going to say something extremely biased: Yu Minhong’s take on not killing yourself for work makes perfect sense—if you’re already rich.
Let me explain.
The guy’s worth billions. He’s built New Oriental from scratch, survived regulatory crackdowns, reinvented himself after the tutoring ban. He’s already cashed in his chips. When he says “it’s better to live to 90 without pushing too hard,” he’s speaking from a position where he doesn’t have to push anymore. His base needs are met. His legacy is secured. His kids are set.
But here’s the part that doesn’t get said out loud: if you’re a 25-year-old with negative net worth, a mortgage on your parents’ shoulders, and zero marketable skills, choosing to “take it easy until 90” is not a wisdom—it’s a privilege you can’t afford.
Let me break this down with pure math.
假设你今年30岁，存款10万，月薪1万。如果你选择“不拼命”，按部就班工作到60岁退休，按每年4%的工资涨幅算，你一辈子总收入大约600万。扣掉生活成本，你退休时的积蓄很可能不到200万。用这200万活到90岁，每月可支配资金大约5500块。一场大病就能清零。
But if you push hard for 10 years—grind, upskill, take risks, work 70-hour weeks—you might double or triple your income trajectory. Maybe you start a side business that scales. Maybe you jump into a high-growth industry. Worst case: you burn out and have to reset. But the upside is a completely different life.
The real question isn’t “should I live long or live hard?”
It’s “do I have the option to live long without living hard?”
For most people, the answer is no. Your healthspan is directly correlated with your wealth. Better nutrition, better healthcare, lower stress from financial insecurity—all of these require money. A relaxed life at 90 is a luxury product, not a default setting.
So when Yu Minhong tells you not to kill yourself, he’s accidentally telling you that he’s already done his killing. He’s earned the right to coast. But if you haven’t yet built the engine, coasting just means rolling downhill.
I’m not advocating for self-destruction. I’m saying the framing is wrong. The choice isn’t between “die at 50 from overwork” and “live to 90 doing nothing.” Most people who “don’t push” don’t live to 90 in good health anyway—they die of lifestyle diseases, stress from financial worry, or simply lack of access to good care.
The real optimization is: push hard when your marginal return on effort is highest, then shift to maintenance mode once you’ve banked enough capital.
That might mean grinding from 22 to 35, building skills and assets, then gradually downshifting. Or it might mean never having to choose, because you’ve built passive income that sustains your lifestyle.
Yu Minhong’s advice is a perfect example of survivorship bias meets wealth privilege. He’s at the finish line telling you not to run. But you’re still at the starting line. And the race doesn’t stop just because someone else finished.
So here’s my very biased take:
If you have less than 10 million RMB in liquid assets, don’t take life advice from people who have 10 billion. Their constraints are not your constraints. Their “balance” is your “stagnation.”
Live long, but only after you’ve lived enough to afford it.