Suppose you had $1,000 ten years ago. If you had invested everything, what would it look like today?

The data is right in front of us:

Ethereum investors saw $2.79 million. Nvidia holders received $250,000. Early Bitcoin believers reaped $180,000. Shopify gamblers got $67,000. Tesla followers earned $30,000. There are also established tech giants like Broadcom, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Netflix, with returns ranging from $26,000 to $8,100.

Seeing these numbers, many will ask: why such a huge difference?

The answer is actually quite sobering — the real life-changing returns often come from those "a bit risky" bets at the time. Choices at the forefront of technological waves: crypto assets, computing power businesses, new platforms. These weren’t consensus back then; instead, they were obsessions of a few.

Ironically, the great companies everyone admired didn’t show such extreme long-term gains. That’s not because they aren’t impressive, but because everyone knew they were impressive. Whether you got in early enough, dared to hold on, or could withstand volatility — these three things determine everything.

So, those who spend all day pondering "how to hit the next Ethereum" might have the wrong question.

The focus isn’t on hit rate. It’s on a harsher, more real rule: asymmetry.

Imagine an investment opportunity where the worst case is total loss (with limited downside risk), and the best case is a 100x return (with enormous upside potential). The success probability might only be 20% or 30%. Over a long enough period, outcomes will diverge dramatically. Some will lose everything; others will achieve financial freedom.

The hardest part seems to be calculating the return rate. But actually, the most difficult part is: when everyone doubts you, mocks you, or even gives up, can you do nothing and keep holding your chips?

This isn’t some advanced technical analysis; it’s the most straightforward psychological battle. Those who can endure this are often the winners.

And the underlying logic of all this can be summarized in one sentence: time is the most severely underestimated leverage.