Surpassing My Former Self

Are you tired of business-war stories? The same old routine over and over: playing the fool to catch the tiger, then humiliating the opposition. It's a perfectly acceptable web-novel formula, but surely we need some different stories for a change! Are stories about a writer copying works all pretty much the same? With a few quick moves, you copy several articles, make a name for yourself, and succeed in the world of the living. Sounds easy enough. But even Liu Cixin, the great science fiction writer, spent years honing his craft before finally reaping the rewards! Is it all just wish fulfillment? Who can casually earn enough money to get started? Many big names have said in interviews that earning your first million is far harder than earning the countless millions that come afterward. Looking back over the past forty years, among the first entrepreneurs to make it big, how many of those who built real businesses instead of online giants like Alibaba and JD.com came from poor families?