Ordinary Mind
“All our success comes from ‘Fundamental Duty + Ordinary Mind’”
📌 Concept Analysis
Ordinary Mind = Returning to the essence of things, viewing everything rationally, not being carried away by short-term fluctuations and emotions.
Ordinary Mind = rational = returning to the origin of things. When you have an ordinary mind, you ask: “Has this company’s business gotten worse?” rather than “The stock price has fallen, should I cut my losses?”
💡 Core Understanding
1. Ordinary Mind is rational—it means returning to the origin of things.
Fundamental Duty and Ordinary Mind are the core secrets of BBKcorporate culture.
2. Ordinary Mind is something already within you; it can only be discovered through making mistakes and suffering losses.
Ordinary Mind cannot be learned; it is gradually discovered through making mistakes and reflection.
3. Ordinary Mind is extraordinary; it is very difficult for ordinary people to truly achieve it.
This is why most people become emotional when stock prices fluctuate—achieving true rationality is far harder than imagined.
4. Ordinary Mind is a “pure mind,” the psychological foundation for doing the right thing.
Duan Yongping cites the Qingjing Scripture (Scripture of Purity and Tranquility): “When humans maintain constant purity and tranquility, all of heaven and earth return to them.” Ordinary Mind is pure mind—the supreme wisdom spoken of in Buddhism. “Only with Ordinary Mind can one fulfill Fundamental Duty.” The persistence in returning to a pure mind and doing the right thing is Fundamental Duty. (2018-12-17, Business Logic)
5. Professional investors need Ordinary Mind most—do not become a professional investor without it.
Ordinary Mind is the foundation for investors to remain rational amid market fluctuations. (2011-03-08, Investment Logic)
❓ Selected Q&A
Q: How should we understand the role of Ordinary Mind in investing?
A: Simply put, “Ordinary Mind” means returning to the source of things. Knowing what the “source of things” is, however, is not easy. For example, in investing, what you’re buying is the company’s future net cash flow; everything else is irrelevant. But understanding a company’s future net cash flow is extremely difficult. If you invest without being able to figure out the company’s future cash flow, what exactly are you buying? (Investment Logic)
Q: Why do you not recommend becoming a professional investor?
A: I have always believed that if someone is still struggling with these questions, they’d better not engage in professional investment, otherwise it’s hard to maintain an Ordinary Mind. My companies don’t generate any cash flow for me anymore; I stopped needing that long ago. (2011-03-08, Investment Logic)
Q: What is the relationship between Ordinary Mind and Fundamental Duty?
A: Ordinary Mind essentially means that at any time, especially when there are temptations, you can exclude all external interference, return to the essence of things (the origin), distinguish right from wrong, and know what is the right thing to do. (2016-10-12, Business Logic)
📖 Case Analysis
Ordinary Mind when NetEase fell below $1
When Duan Yongping bought NetEase in 2002, its stock price had fallen from its high to under 1 for a full three months—a period of over two months—about half of the daily buy orders were probably mine.” This ability to continue buying amid extreme panic is precisely the embodiment of Ordinary Mind—he focused on the company’s future cash flows, not on the stock price.
Ordinary Mind during the Moutai plasticizer incident
During the 2012 Moutai plasticizer incident, stock prices plummeted. Duan Yongping bought Moutai at around 180 yuan because of “right business + right people + right price.” When the market panics, those with an Ordinary Mind ask: “Has Moutai’s business model changed?” rather than “How much further will the stock price fall?”
⚠️ Common Misconceptions
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❌ “Ordinary Mind means being numb, indifferent to rises and falls” — Ordinary Mind is “rational”—it doesn’t mean not caring, but rather caring about company fundamentals, not stock price fluctuations. When the stock price falls, a person with an Ordinary Mind asks “Has the company’s business gotten worse?” rather than panic-selling. (Source: 2018 Stanford speech)
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❌ “Ordinary Mind is innate; some people just can’t do it” — “Maintaining it isn’t difficult because it’s already there (it’s something already inside you). Discovering it, however, requires suffering losses.” Ordinary Mind is inherent in everyone’s heart; it only needs to be discovered through mistakes and reflection. (2018-09-30, Stanford SDL dialogue)
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❌ “Having Ordinary Mind is enough to be a professional investor” — Ordinary Mind is necessary but not sufficient. “If you’re still thinking about how much stable cash flow you need, you’d better not be a ‘professional investor’—you also need the ability to truly understand companies.” (2011-03-08, Investment Logic)
💬 Original Quotes
“All our success comes from ‘Fundamental Duty + Ordinary Mind.’ Ordinary Mind is rational, returning to the origin of things, doing the right thing, and doing things right.” (Source: Stanford SDL dialogue, 2018-09-30)
“How do you discover and maintain Ordinary Mind? Maintaining it isn’t difficult because it’s already there (it’s something inside you). Discovering it requires suffering losses. Without Ordinary Mind, the moment you stop being rational, you’ll stumble.” (Source: Stanford SDL dialogue, 2018-09-30)
“Jack Ma also said this: ‘Ordinary people find it very hard to have an Ordinary Mind, so Ordinary Mind is actually Extraordinary Mind!‘” (Source: Stanford SDL dialogue, 2018-09-30)
“Ordinary Mind essentially means that at any time, especially when there are temptations, you can exclude all external interference, return to the essence of things (the origin), distinguish right from wrong, and know what is the right thing to do.” (2016-10-12, Business Logic)
“The Qingjing Scripture says ‘when humans maintain constant purity and tranquility, all of heaven and earth return to them’… Ordinary Mind essentially means this kind of purity. Only with Ordinary Mind can one fulfill Fundamental Duty.” (2018-12-17, Business Logic)
🔗 Related Nodes
Upstream Concepts (prerequisites for understanding this concept): Fundamental Duty · Buying Stocks Means Buying Companies
Downstream Concepts (conclusions derived from this): Long-termism · Selling Logic · Concentrated Investing · Macroeconomics and Markets · Golf and Investing · Short Selling
Related People Duan Yongping
平常心
“我们所有的成功，都来自于’本分+平常心’”
📌 概念解析
平常心 = 回到事物的本原，理性地看待一切，不被短期波动和情绪带走。
平常心 = 理性（rational）= 回到事物的本原。当你有平常心的时候，你会问：“这家公司的生意变差了吗？“而不是”股价跌了，我要不要止损？”
💡 核心理解
1. 平常心就是 rational（理性），就是回到事物的本原。
2. 平常心是内心已有的东西，靠吃亏才能发现。
平常心不是学来的，是通过犯错和反思慢慢发现的。
3. 平常心是不平常的，普通人很难真正做到。
这也是为什么大多数人在股价波动时会情绪化——做到真正的理性，比想象中难得多。
4. 平常心就是”清净心”，是做对的事情的心理基础。
段永平引用《清静经》：“人能常清静，天地悉皆归”。平常心就是清净心，是佛家所说的无上智慧。“只有平常心才能本分。“回归清净心，做正确事情的这个过程的坚持，就是本分。（2018-12-17，商业逻辑篇）
5. 职业投资者最需要平常心——没有平常心就不要做职业投资。
平常心是投资者在市场波动中保持理性的根本。（2011-03-08，投资逻辑篇）
❓ 精选问答
问：如何理解平常心在投资中的作用？
答：“平常心”简单讲就是回到事物的本源，知道什么是”事物的本源”不是件容易的事。比如投资，买的就是公司未来的净现金流，别的都是没关系的。但要搞明白公司未来的净现金流是件非常困难的事情。在搞不清公司未来现金流的前提下的投资买的到底是什么呢？（投资逻辑篇）
问：为什么不建议做职业投资者？
答：我反正一直认为如果谁还在为这些问题纠结的时候，就最好不要做职业投资，不然很难保持平常心。我们公司不给我产生任何现金流，我早就不需要了。（2011-03-08，投资逻辑篇）
问：平常心和本分是什么关系？
答：平常心其实就是在任何时候，尤其是在有诱惑的时候，能够排除所有外界的干扰，回到事物的本质（原点），辨别事情的是非与对错，知道什么是对的事情。（2016-10-12，商业逻辑篇）
📖 案例拆解
网易跌破1块钱时的平常心
段永平在2002年买入网易时，网易股价从最高点跌到不足1美元，市场一片恐慌。他”从开始买到网易跌破1块钱满3个月的那天总共两个多月的时间里，每天的买单可能有一半都是我的”。这种在极度恐慌中持续买入的能力，正是平常心的体现——他关注的不是股价，而是公司的未来现金流。
茅台塑化剂事件时的平常心
2012年茅台塑化剂事件，股价暴跌。段永平在约180元买入茅台，理由是”right business + right people + right price”。市场恐慌时，有平常心的人会问：“茅台的生意模式变了吗？“而不是”股价还会跌多少？“
⚠️ 常见误区
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❌ “平常心就是麻木，对涨跌无所谓” — 平常心就是”rational（理性）“——不是不关心，而是关心的是公司基本面，而不是股价波动。股价跌了，有平常心的人会问”公司的生意变差了吗”，而不是恐慌抛售。（来源：2018年斯坦福演讲）
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❌ “平常心是天生的，有些人就是做不到” — “保持不难，因为它就在那儿（是内心已经有的东西）。发现嘛，靠吃亏。“平常心是每个人内心本有的，只是需要通过犯错和反思才能发现。（2018-09-30，斯坦福SDL对话）
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❌ “有了平常心就可以做职业投资” — 平常心是必要条件，但不是充分条件。“如果你还在想需要多少稳定现金流的时候，最好还是不要做’职业投资者’“——还需要真正看懂公司的能力。（2011-03-08，投资逻辑篇）
💬 原文金句
“我们所有的成功，都来自于’本分+平常心’。平常心，就是rational（理性），就是回到事物的本原，就是做对的事情，和把事情做对。“（来源：斯坦福SDL对话，2018-09-30）
“怎么发现并保持平常心？保持不难，因为它就在那儿（是内心已经有的东西）。发现嘛，靠吃亏。因为没有平常心，一不rational就会栽跟头。“（来源：斯坦福SDL对话，2018-09-30）
“马云还说过一句话：‘平常人是很难有平常心的，所以平常心也是不平常心！’“（来源：斯坦福SDL对话，2018-09-30）
“平常心其实就是在任何时候，尤其是在有诱惑的时候，能够排除所有外界的干扰，回到事物的本质（原点），辨别事情的是非与对错，知道什么是对的事情。“（2016-10-12，商业逻辑篇）
“《清静经》上说’人能常清静，天地悉皆归’……平常心其实就是这里清净的意思。只有平常心才能本分。“（2018-12-17，商业逻辑篇）
🔗 关联节点
上游概念（理解这个概念的前提）： 本分 · 买股票就是买公司
下游概念（由此推导出的结论）： 长期主义 · 卖出逻辑 · 集中投资 · 宏观与市场 · Golf与投资 · 做空
相关人物 段永平