Recently, I watched some interviews with Duan Yongping. This guy’s net worth is in the hundreds of millions, yet his lifestyle is unbelievably simple—every day he just eats hamburgers, plays golf, and sleeps. At first glance, it looks like he’s “lying flat,” but if you look more closely, you’ll realize it’s absolutely not the case.

He is the only Chinese disciple of the “Warren Buffett lunch,” and the two people’s lifestyles are actually quite similar. Buffett has been drinking Coke for decades, while Zuckerberg wears the same gray T-shirt every day. Many people think this is being stingy, but that’s not right. They’ve long seen through the playbook of consumerism—those luxury goods that give you a sense of identity and status can’t compare to the comfort of being able to say no to useless socializing.

With such a high net worth, Duan Yongping is instead one of the people who lives the simplest life. The key isn’t that he only does three things—it’s that he can pull 99% of his energy out of ineffective social engagements and keep it all in his own hands. In a 2023 report from Harvard, there’s a data point that hits hard: 63% of people say they value time autonomy more than a high salary. ByteDance has also run an experiment: under a “four days on, three days off” system, efficiency actually increased by 40%.

This isn’t a “lying flat” culture. Duan Yongping still looks at financial statements and makes decisions—when it’s time to act, he never hesitates. The real difference is that he knows when to take action and when to wait. Many people misinterpret what it means to simplify life. They think simplification is the goal, but in fact, it’s only the outcome.

I think the logic behind it is this: once wealth reaches a certain stage, it doesn’t give you a desire to upgrade your consumption—it instead downgrades your responsibilities. Do fewer unnecessary decisions and put your energy into what truly matters. That’s the real reason Duan Yongping can have such a high net worth and still live so simply. Patience and focus are never laziness.