Janet Zhou

Truth believer

[心灵书舫 | SoulSloop @SoulSloop99]

莫言说：“真正长久的男女关系，既谈钱又谈性。拼命爱过的人最后都散了，敷衍相处的反而留在了身边。”

这句话撕开了成年人情感最残酷、最真实的真相。年少时，我们总以为爱情是轰轰烈烈���奔赴、毫无保留的深爱，认定用情至深便能相守一生，极致的偏爱就能抵过岁月漫长。可历经世事才明白，太用力的爱，往往转瞬即逝；太炙热的深情，最容易灼伤彼此。那些倾尽所有、拼命奔赴的爱恋，大多轰轰烈烈开场、草草潦草落幕；反而是那些平淡务实、松弛相处、不刻意强求的关系，细水长流，陪伴岁岁年年。

很多人困惑不解，为何全心全意的深爱留不住人，淡然敷衍的相处却能安稳长久。其实感情的本质，从来不是用力纠缠、极致消耗，而是适配、包容与落地。极致的深情自带执念与期待，期待越多，失望越多；付出越满，失衡越快。拼命去爱时，我们会过度敏感、过度计较、过度捆��，把爱意变成束缚，把陪伴变成内耗，最终消磨掉所有温情，让彼此疲惫离场。

而看似“敷衍”的相处，实则是成年人最通透的相处智慧。没有过度的掌控欲，没有偏执的占有欲，不纠缠、不内耗、不苛求，接纳彼此的不完美，包容生活的琐碎平淡。褪去轰轰烈烈的浪漫滤镜，回归真实的人性与生活，反而能安稳长久。

杨绛曾说：“好的婚姻，一半烟火，一半包容。没有永远炽热的浪漫，只有久处不厌的寻常。”真正能扛住岁月洗礼、跨越人间风雨的亲密关系，从不是悬浮于空中的浪漫幻想，而是落地于烟火人间的真实契合。

成年人的感情，永远绕不开两件事：物质的安稳与身心的契合。谈钱，不是世俗功利，是为感情筑牢底气。金钱是生活的底色，柴米油盐、衣食住行，无一不需要物质支撑。不谈钱的感情，终究抵不过现实的磋磨。一段关系回避物质、空谈深情，终将在生活的琐碎矛盾中摇摇欲坠。敢于坦诚谈钱，懂得彼此分担、相互扶持，正视生活的现实难题，感情才有扎根生长的根基。

谈性，不是低俗狭隘，是成年人身心契合的本能。亲密的触碰、身心的共鸣，是男女关系独有的羁绊，是爱意最直接的表达。身心疏离、彼此抗拒的感情，再温柔的相处也终有隔阂；灵魂相近、身心契合的陪伴，才能滋生源源不断的温情。

周国平曾言：“高质量的感情，从来不是热烈的自我感动，而是松弛的双向适配。”那些走向离散的深爱，大多是自我感动式的付出。一方拼尽全力奔赴，满心期待等价回报，一旦落差产生，便心生不甘、百般纠结，爱意慢慢变成怨怼，深情渐渐沦为消耗。这种用力过猛的关系，看似炙热���烈，实则脆弱不堪，经不起平淡，扛不住风雨。

而长久的关系，都懂得“适度”二字。不倾尽所有，不过度捆绑，不强行改变彼此。相处时松弛自在，独处时各自安然。看似没有轰轰烈烈的告白、肝肠寸断的深情，却有着细水长流的包容、不离不弃的担当、踏实安稳的陪伴。

人这一生，爱情最忌讳用力过猛。太满的爱，是负担；太真的执念，是枷锁。很多人误以为，爱就要毫无保留、倾尽所有，殊不知感情就像流沙，握得越紧，流失越快。极致的深情容易滋生执念，执念越深，越容易滋生矛盾与隔阂，最终亲手推开挚爱之人。

反观那些安稳长久的关系，都藏着成年人的清醒。他们褪去年少的冲动偏执，不再追求轰轰烈烈的浪漫，而是正视感情的本质：既有物质的相互支撑，又有身心的彼此契合；既有平淡日子的烟火相伴，又有松弛自在的相处模式。不刻��讨好，不强行捆绑，不纠结完美，接纳彼此的平凡与缺憾。

深情易逝，平淡长久；热烈易散，务实永恒。感情从不是一场全力以赴的博弈，而是一场细水长流的修行。不必遗憾轰轰烈烈的爱恋终究散场，所有仓促离散的深情，皆因太过用力、太过偏执，早已偏离感情的本质。

成年人最高级的爱情观，是读懂莫言这句话的通透：不沉迷虚妄浪漫，不执着极致深情。敢于谈现实、谈生活、谈契合，在烟火琐碎中相互包容，在岁月长河里彼此滋养。

往后余生，愿我们都能告别用力过猛的感情，摒弃偏执极端的执念。明白真正的长久，从不是拼命去爱，而是好好相处。以务实待生活，以松弛待陪伴，以真诚待彼此，在平淡烟火中，守一份岁岁年年的安稳与长久。

[边忘边学的Tina💋 @TinaLearning]

你需要帮助来摆脱腹部脂肪吗?

观看并了解如何做到这一点。

[DylanZhao @dylanzhao]

女人命根操

[墓碑科技 @mubeitech]

车险一年5183美元，砍到1488美元要多久？

只要5分钟。
而且根本不用自己去撕，全程让AI给办了。

车主乔·德沃伊把他在自由互助保险的旧保单，随手扔给了AI代理。
要求只有一个：保障范围完全一致，找个更划算的。
5分钟里，AI不仅抓出了三家公司的对标报价，还把条款里的细则全筛了一遍。
哪家免赔额变了，哪家把财产损失上限从25万偷偷砍到了10万，标得清清楚楚。

最后选了最便宜的前进保险，开价1488美元。
保费一口气省下3500美元。
车主一点确认，AI直接替他线上核保、出单。
办完之后，反手就把原来那份5183美元的老保单退掉了。

很多行业能赚这么多利润，靠的就是转换门槛太折磨人。
比价要填几十页表，电话被销售打爆，条款像天书。
绝大多数人明知自己被多收了钱，也实在没精力去折腾。
这种懒人税，一收就是几十年。

以前的比价网站只负责吐出一堆链接，剩下的���烦全是你的。
现在的AI代理，直接把比价、下单、退保全流程给闭环了。
省下3500美元，全程只用了5分钟。

[墓碑科技 @mubeitech]

英国历史上最失败的避税者，一不小心拯救了整个国家的农业。

2008年，知名主持人杰里米·克拉克森在牛津郡买下了一千英亩土地。
他当年甚至对《泰晤士报》 ：买地就是为了避开巨额遗产税。
随后的整整十年，他把地承包给当地村民，自己什么都不管。
避税计划天衣无缝。

转折发生在2019年。
老村民退休了。
克拉克森一拍大腿，决定不雇人了，亲自下场种这一千英亩地。
一个一辈子没种过任何东西的人，顺便还叫来了一个摄制组。

结果呢？
2020年连下九周暴雨，一千英亩地折腾一整年，利润只有144英镑。
2021年，他把这144英镑的账��挂上了全球最大的流媒体平台，让全世界都知道种地到底有多不赚钱。
接着他在农场开了家小卖铺，引得乡间小路天天堵车，也引来了地方议会的全方位盯防。

接下来的几年，全英国都在看他和官僚机构死磕。
想把废弃谷仓改造成餐厅，直接被否决。
地方政府下达强制执行令，限他六周之内把谷仓拆了。
他上诉，失败，再上诉，又失败。

然后戏剧性的一幕来了。
2024年5月，他硬生生逼得英格兰重写了规划法，法律界直接命名为"克拉克森条款"。
到了8月，他又开了一家只卖英国本土农产品的酒吧。
自己产的香肠成本要74便士，进口货只要18便士，每端上一盘他自己倒贴差价。

2024年10月，英国财政大臣出手，把农业遗产税的减免额度卡死在100万英镑。
避税计划彻底泡汤了。
换作别人早就认栽，克拉克森怎么做？
一个月后，他直接站在威斯敏斯特一万三千名抗议农民面前登台演讲，把全国的聚光灯全引到了这个税收政策上。

打击接踵而至。
2025年夏天，农场爆发牛结核病。
第一头在农场出生、怀着双胞胎的小牛被强制扑杀，农场大门被铁锁封死。
但就在2025年年底，英国政府撑不住了，正式宣布让步。
免税门槛从100万英镑拉高到250万，夫妻共有直接提到500万。

2026年3月，农场防疫解除。
7月，他开了四百英里车直奔苏格兰，继续买牛。

十八年时间。
规划法被他改了，大学农业专业报名人数暴涨，他在议会下院被议员引用的次数比大多数大臣还要多。
全英国原本要被遗产税吞掉的农场，有一半被硬生生保了下来。
当年人人指责他买地是为了自己避税，结果他花了整整一年半，帮全英国其他所有农民把免税额度抬了上去。

英国历史上最失败的避税者。
也是英国农业这五十年里发生过最好的事。

[宇峒 @xYsfknBXPT6M0jo]

一位专业的俄罗斯医生建议：

美容锻炼 每位女士都应该练习这些锻炼，以保持皮肤美丽，并延缓衰老的出现 🤯👍

[宝总的财富指南 @baozong_facai]

如何重新爱上你的生活：

1. 每天出门走走。

[心灵书舫 | SoulSloop @SoulSloop99]

一位古稀老人道出了最清醒的生死通透：“七十岁，时时准备死亡，一是心里坦然接受，二是预留遗嘱：不进医院、不发讣告、不留骨灰、不要墓碑，妥善安排后事，三是存款及财产转移继承。四是争取自主选择死亡方式及时机，向死而生。”

人至古稀，阅尽世事沉浮，褪去半生执念，终于勘破生死的终极真相。世人终其一生，都在恐��死亡、回避离别，拼命追逐财富、虚名、繁华，执着于长寿延年、体面排场。而这位老人的从容规划，打破了世俗对死亡的偏见与执念，没有惶恐畏惧，没有贪恋红尘，唯有坦然接纳、从容安排。这份清醒的生死观，不是消极厌世，而是历经岁月沉淀后，最通透、最体面的向死而生。

德国哲学家海德格尔在《存在与时间》中提出核心哲思：“人本质上是向死而在的存在。生命从诞生之日起，便奔赴终点，唯有正视死亡，方能读懂活着的意义。”死亡从来不是人生的终点，而是生命既定的归宿，是世间万物循环往复的自然规律。无人能规避，无人能豁免。多数人一生困于生的焦虑、死的恐惧，为未知的离别惴惴不安，反而荒废了当下的时光；真正的智者，从不逃避死亡，而是以终为始，从容规划余生，让生命来去皆自由、得失皆坦然。

蒙田曾说：“生之本质在于死，乐于生的人，方能不惧于死。”我们穷尽半生追逐功名利禄、人情世故，纠结得失对错、爱恨情仇，为琐事内耗，为浮华奔波，总以为人生漫长、来日方长。可岁月最是无情，韶华易逝、流年不返，人生不过短短数十载。年轻时执着的财富、名声、排场，在生死面前，皆是虚无。

老人的四大安排，看似极简清冷，实则藏着顶级的人生智慧。不进过度医疗的医院，是拒绝无意义的续命折磨，守住生命最后的尊严；不发讣告、不留骨灰、不立墓碑，是看淡世俗虚名，明白人生来过、活过、足矣，无需刻意标榜、无需后人追忆；提前转移财产、安顿后事，是卸下牵挂、不留遗憾，坦然放下世俗羁绊；自主掌控生命终点，是最���级的生命自由，摆脱病痛纠缠，守住余生体面。

托尔斯泰曾言：“人唯有时刻觉知生命终将落幕，才能摆脱虚妄，活好当下。”现代人最大的遗憾，便是生时贪念太重、执念太深，临终才知万般皆空。太多人晚年深陷病痛折磨，被过度医疗裹挟，在ICU插管续命、满身仪器，耗尽积蓄、受尽苦楚，只为短暂苟延残喘，却丢失了生命最后的尊严与从容。

反观这位老人的选择，是对生命本质的极致尊重。活着时认真生活、不负岁月，老去时坦然告别、不留拖累。不拖累子女、不消耗世间资源，不执着身后虚名，不贪恋人间繁华，来去潇洒、自在通透。这份豁达，是无数奔波半生的普通人，穷尽一生都学不会的修行。

曾仕强说：“人生第一等大事是了悟生死，其余爱恨得失、富贵荣华，皆是小事。”向死而生，从来不是消极放弃，而是��极活着的底气。正因为深知生命有限、终有一别，才更懂得珍惜当下、放下执念。不纠结过往遗憾，不焦虑未来未知，不贪恋身外之物，在有限的时光里，活得清醒、通透、自在、坦荡。

人生最大的清醒，便是提前读懂离别。所谓成熟，不是畏惧衰老、恐惧死亡，而是坦然接纳生命的所有规律。生命的价值，从来不在于长度，而在于厚度与尊严。轰轰烈烈是一生，平平淡淡也是一生；执着纠结是一生，从容通透亦是一生。

那些执着的财富，百年之后皆是他人嫁衣；在意的名声，终会随岁月消散；纠结的人情，终会随离别落幕。唯有活着时的从容心境、坦荡本心、无悔时光，才是真正属于自己的馈赠。

古稀老人的通透，给所有普通人上了一课：人生下半场，最高级的活法，是向死而生、随缘而安。活着，便热烈坦荡、不负朝夕；老去，便从容淡然、体面告别。不必畏惧终点，不必强求圆满，不必纠结虚名，不必过度牵绊。

余生漫漫，愿我们都能拥有这般通透的生死观。正视无常、接纳离别、放下执念、珍惜当下，认真活好每一个朝夕，坦然面对每一次落幕。生时不负岁月，老时不负自己，来去从容，此生无憾，真正读懂：向死而生，方得自在；看淡生死，终得圆满。

[杂学大师✨ @Techbruneth]

🚨 突发：Google Gemini现在可以像华尔街分析师一样分析任何股票（免费）。

这是10个疯狂的Gemini提示词，可以替代4000美元/月的彭博终端：

（保存这个🔖 你稍后会需要）

[Ada YU @AdaYU007]

https://t.co/nOgCi13Lmv
睡前3分钟，逆龄焕颜的小秘密！

1. 倒挂逆生长： 将头悬垂于床边，血液回流面部，唤醒细胞修复力，养出紧致透亮肌。

2. 双手配合上下摆动100次，放松肩颈。

3. 环抱双膝1分钟，深度按摩内脏，让肠道开启“加速模式”。

4. 顺势前后滚动，给脊椎和背部来场舒压按摩。

[Bill The Investor @billtheinvestor]

每当我的生活开始分崩离析时，我都会看这个。

[小草莓🍓 @caomei_nz]

人最痛的其实不是失去关系， 而是发现自己在对方心里已经没那么重要了。

朱茵说：「如果那个人真的那么爱你，你是走不掉的，也是跑不掉的，除非他有意放你走，你还有什么不明白的。

张爱玲说：“人家撇下你的那一刻，一定是觉得某个瞬间没有你，他会生活得更好，那一刻，一辈子都不值得原谅。”

舒淇在《剩者为王》 里有段经典台词：「我就是死要面子，自尊心特别重，我只要一发现对方没有那么喜欢我了，我就会把这段感情判死刑，不想勉强自己喜欢别人，也绝不勉强别人喜欢自己，对方迈一步，我会更热情，对方退一步，我就想消失。」

村上春树说：「我动了离开你的念头，不是因为你不好，也不是因为不爱了。 而是你对我的态度，让我觉得你的世界并不缺我。 其实我可以厚着脸皮再纠缠你，但再也没任何意义。 明知道没有结果的事，苦苦纠缠，威相诱利，一定相爱结果，最后一定会有好杀。

[Morris @Morris_LT]

人到中年的10条建议：
1、把注意力从“别人怎么看你”转向“你真正想要什么”；
2、优先投资健康（睡眠、饮食、运动），这是回报率最高的资产；
3、停止无效社交，保留少而精、真正支持你的关系；
4、学会与孤独相处，独处能力决定内在稳定感；
5、用长期主义看人生，不被短期情绪或外界评价左右；
6、持续学习新技能，让自己始终具备选择权和独立性；
7、减少对过去的执念，不反复回放错误或遗憾；
8、财务上追求自由，而不是单纯的消费或面子；
9、培养内在的快乐来源（阅读、思考、创造），而不是依赖外界刺激；
10、接���衰老和变化，但不断优化自己，而不是放弃成长。

[ダイエットは正義ちゃん @diet_seigi]

腹筋縦割れしてる友達に「コレやると最速でくびれる」って教えてくれた筋トレがガチで綺麗にくびれた😭🫶🏻
15回ずつ2セット2週間で下腹凹んできてダイエットのモチベ上がった！！！

[bbshare @shadouyoua]

https://t.co/u5q3vB0KXJ

[AYi @AYi_AInotes]

Shopify刚放了个大招，绝大多数人估计半年后才会反应过来。

手握3780亿美元年交易额，560万个店铺，Shopify把整个后台的读写权限，全开放给了所有AI Agent， 产品、订单、库存、SEO、图片，想改什么改什么。

他们片子里有个商家只说了一句帮我优化所有产品的SEO，Claude自动更新了32条商品，重写图片描述，设置元数据，还逐一核对了所有改动。

一条指令搞定所有，不用找外包，不用月付200刀买插件，也不用雇人，卧槽真的太吊了(#ﾟДﾟ)

以前一个小Shopify店，每月光插件��要200-500刀，一次SEO审计至少2000刀，雇助理每小时50刀，现在这些全部坍缩成一行指令。

480万个活跃商家，大多管着10到200个商品，以前只能一个个手动改，现在有了Claude Code和MCP协议，每个独立创业者，都相当于拥有了一个五人运营团队。

最狠的是，Shopify自己不做 Agent， 他们搭了一套协议，让所有智能体都能变成Shopify Agent， 这才是真正的平台级布局啊，真的牛逼

[败犬女王~ @love_doge123]

看完这个视频，大概能理解孙哥回来后的“宇宙级淡定”了。

起码我在自由后，是舍不得我一条小命上太空的，我会说：“我自由之后，连命都更珍惜了，怎么可能去上太空？”

我可能会去看海、去爬山、去世界各地吃吃喝喝，去体验那些“人间”的东西。

🚀但让我把自己装进一个火箭，交给概率、技术和命运，然后冲出地球——我是不会去的。

对我来说，自由的意义，是“可以好好活着”，而不是“可以随时拿命去换体验”。

所以有时候你会发现，��和人之间真正的差距，不只是财富、资源、认知，而是——

你如何理解“这一条命”。

而“宇宙级淡定”，也许就是——

💢当你连“命”都已经可以理性权衡的时候，这个世界上，真的就没什么还能让你慌了。

Tips： 新概念作文一等奖实至名归，文采真好！！！不当作家真可惜了。

所以你会看到孙哥的名字 + 去过太空版 @sunyuchentron @justinsuntron @Ceee333_ @HTX_Molly

i'm JustinSun
i'm floatingin the in the space
love you dad and mom
this is me since
i've dreamed to be in the space this is down now

🚀this is the first step to the moon TRON

当飞船掠过那条无形的卡门线，我第一次以这个角度看地球
这是一颗真正活着的星球
我能感觉到她的呼吸，我能看到薄薄的大气层，那是所有生命的庇护所
在我的字典里，“家”在这一刻已经变成了整个地球。
国界真的消失了，冲突变得荒诞
人类在这颗蓝色星球上相互依存
我仿���能看到亿万年的演化
文明的更替、以及无数无名者的付出
这里让人明白 真正值得守护的
不是权力的疆域也不是利益的账簿
而是这颗星球上的每一口呼吸
每一个渺小却真切的生命
从这一刻起我明白
人类的使命不仅是探索更遥远的星辰
更是守护脚下这唯一的绿洲
因为在无垠的宇宙里地球并非理所当然的存在
她是一个奇迹——而奇迹
永远值得我们用全部的温柔与勇气去守护

[bbshare @shadouyoua]

结婚第七年。她出轨了。我发现的那天，没有质问她。
那是个周三的下午。我提前回家拿文件。卧室门没关严，缝隙里能看到她和一个男人。我站在那里看了一分钟，然后悄悄离开。
回到公司，我打开电脑，新建了一个Excel表格。第一行写上日期，第二行写上时间，第三行写上观察到的细节。
口红印，不是她常用的色号。领带，深蓝色，有斜纹。古龙���，柑橘调。
我开始每周三提前下班，在街对面的咖啡店观察。他总是2点10分到，4点40分离开。我记录了14次，都是这个时间。
第三周，我看清了他的脸。广告公司的创意总监，比我大五岁。我在社交媒体上找到了他。
他喜欢爵士乐，我下载了30首。他常去一家日料店，我去了两次。他用Mont Blanc的钢笔，我买了同款。他说话时习惯性地摸下巴，我开始练习这个动作。
妻子开始注意到我的变化。她问我什么时候开始听爵士乐了。我说一直喜欢。她说你以前明明只听古典乐。我没回答。
我换了古龙水，从木质调换成柑橘调。换了手表，从简约款换成复杂款。连说话方式也在模仿他，更多的停顿，更少的解释。
婚姻不是感情的容器，是角色的舞台——通过精确复制他人的行为模式，我试图理解她为什么选择了他。
第八周的周三，我没有去咖啡店。我正常时间下班回家。她和他在客厅。看到我，她慌了。他站起来要解释。
我摆摆手，用他惯用的姿势。我说："没关系，我理解。"
他愣住了。
我走进厨房，拿出三个杯子，倒了威士忌，加了冰块。这是他在社交媒体上展示过的调酒方式。
我把酒递给他们，说："聊聊吧。"
她哭了。他尴尬地站着。我坐下来，交叉双腿，右手轻敲扶手，完全是他的坐姿。
我问他："你爱她吗？"
他说："我..."
我打断他："如果爱，为什么只给她周三下午？如果不爱，为什么要来14次？"
他看着我，像看一面镜子。
我继续说："她喜欢你身上的什么？是柑橘调古龙水？是说话时的停顿？还是Mont Blanc钢笔？"
他放下酒杯，说："我该走了。"
他再没来过。
妻子问我怎么知道这些细节。我给她看那个Excel表格。她看完，问我为什么不生气，不质问她。
我说："生气解决不了问题。我想知道你在他身上找到了什么，我身上没有的东西。"
她说："你变得像他，只是表面模仿。你知道他最吸引我的是什么吗？是他的不确定性。你太可预测了，每天都是一样的轨迹。"
我说："所以你需要的是不确定性？"
她点头。
从那天起，我开始变得不可预测。有时候提前下班，有时候加班到深夜。有时候周末消失一整天，有时候突然带她去没去过的地方。
上周她问我，你最近怎么变了这么多。我说没变，只是更了解你想要什么了。
她哭了。我没说话。
现在我们又回到了从前。只是有时候，我不知道自己是谁了。是原来的我，还是为���挽回婚姻而创造的新角色。

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

I am reaching out to the @X community for advice with the likely risk of sharing TMI. I have been sufficiently upset about the whole matter that I have lost sleep thinking about it and I am hoping that this post will enable me to get this matter off my chest.

By way of background, I started a family office called TABLE about 15 years ago and hired a friend who had previously managed a family office, and years earlier, had been my personal accountant. She is someone that I trusted implicitly and consider to be a good person.

The office started small, but over the last decade, the number of personnel and the cost of the office grew massively. The growth was entirely on the operational side as the investment team has remained tiny. While my investment portfolio grew substantially, the investments I had made were almost entirely passive and TABLE simply needed to account for them and meet capital calls as they came in. While TABLE purchased additional software and other systems that were supposed to improve productivity, the team kept increasing in size at a rapid rate, and the expenses continued to grow even faster.

While I would periodically question the growing expenses and high staff turnover, I stayed uninvolved with the office other than a once-a-year meeting when I briefly reviewed the operations and the financials and determined bonus compensation for the President and the CFO. I spent no time with any of the other employees or the operations. The whole idea behind TABLE was that it would handle everything other than my day job so that I would have more time for my job and my family.

Over the last six years, expenses ballooned even further, employee turnover accelerated, and I became concerned that all was not well at TABLE. It was time for me to take a look at what was going on.

Nearly four years ago, I recruited my nephew who had recently graduated from Harvard and put him to work at Bremont, a British watchmaker, one of my only active personal investments to figure out the issues at the company and ultimately assist in executing a turnaround. He did a superb job.

When he returned from the UK late last year after a few years at Bremont, I asked him to help me figure out what was going on with TABLE. When I explained to TABLE’s president what he would be doing, she became incredibly defensive, which naturally made me more concerned.

My nephew went to work by first meeting with each employee to understand their roles at the company and to learn from them what ideas they had on how things could be improved. He got an earful.

Our first step in helping to turn around TABLE was a reduction in force including the president and about a third of the team, retaining excellent talent that had been desperate for new leadership.

Now here is where I need your advice.

All but one of the employees who were terminated acted professionally and were gracious on the way out (excluding the president who had a notice period in her contract, is currently still being paid, and with whom I have not yet had a discussion).

The highest compensated terminated employee other than the president, an in-house lawyer (let’s call her Ronda), told us that three months of severance was not enough and demanded two years’ severance despite having worked at the company for only two and one half years.

When I learned of Ronda's request for severance, I offered to speak with her to understand what she was thinking, but she refused to do so. A few days ago, we received a threatening letter from a Silicon Valley law firm.

In the letter, Ronda’s counsel suggests that her termination is part of longstanding issues of ‘harassment and gender discrimination’ – an interesting claim in light of the fact that Ronda was in charge of workplace compliance – and that her termination was due to:

“unlawful, retaliatory, and harmful conduct directed towards her. Both [Ronda] and I [Ronda’s lawyer] have spoken with you about [Ronda’s] view of what a reasonable resolution would include given the circumstances. Thus far, TABLE has refused to provide any substantive response. This letter provides the last opportunity to reach a satisfactory agreement. If we cannot do so, [Ronda] will seek all appropriate relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.”

The letter goes on to explain the basis for the “unsafe work environment” claim at TABLE:

“In early 2026, Pershing Square’s founder Bill Ackman installed his nephew in an unidentified role at TABLE, Ackman’s family office. [His nephew]—whose only work experience had been for TABLE where he was seconded abroad for the last four years to a UK watch company held by Ackman—began appearing at TABLE’s offices and conducting interviews of employees without a clear explanation of his role or the purposes of these interviews. During this period, he made a series of inappropriate and genderbased [sic] comments to multiple employees that created an unsafe work environment. Among other things, [his nephew] made remarks about female employees’ ages (“Tell me you are nowhere near 40”), physical appearance (“Your body does not look like you have kids”), as well as intrusive questions about family planning and sexual orientation (“Who carried your son? Who will carry your next child?”). These incidents were reported to senior leadership at TABLE and Pershing Square. Rather than being addressed appropriately, the response from senior management reflected, at best, willful blindness to the inappropriateness of [his nephew]’s remarks and, at worst, tacit endorsement.”

The above allegations about my nephew had previously been brought to my attention by TABLE’s president when they occurred. When I learned of them, I told the president that I would speak to him directly and encouraged her to arrange for him to get workplace sensitivity training. The president assured me that she would do so.

When I spoke to my nephew, he explained what he actually had said and how his actual remarks had been received, not at all as alleged in the legal letter from Ronda’s counsel. I have also spoken to others at the lunch table who confirmed his description of the facts. In any case, he meant no harm, was simply trying to build rapport with other employees, and no one, as far as I understand, was offended.

Ironically, Ronda claims in her legal letter that TABLE didn’t take HR compliance seriously, yet Ronda was in charge of HR compliance at TABLE and the person who gave my nephew his workplace sensitivity training after the alleged incidents. In any case, Ronda, as head of compliance, should have kept a record or raised an alarm if indeed there was pervasive harassment or other such problems at the company, and there is no evidence whatsoever that this is true.

So why does Ronda believe she can get me to pay her nearly $2 million, i.e., two years of severance, nearly one year of severance for each of her years at the company? Well, here is where some more background would be helpful.

Over the last two months, I have been consumed with a major family medical issue – one of my older daughters had a massive brain hemorrhage on February 5th and has since been making progress on her recovery – and I am in the midst of a major transaction for my company which I am executing from a hospital room office next to her . While the latter business matter is publicly known, the details of my daughter’s situation are only known to Ronda because of her role at our family office.

Now, let’s get back to the subject at hand.

Unfortunately, while New York and many other states have employment-at-will, there has emerged an industry of lawyers who make a living from bringing fake gender, race, LGBTQ and other discrimination employment claims in order to extract larger severance payments for terminated employees, and it needs to stop.

The fake claim system succeeds because it costs little to have a lawyer send a threatening letter and nearly all of the lawyers in this field work on contingency so there is no or minimal cash cost to bring a claim. And inevitably, nearly 100% of these claims are settled because the public relations and legal costs of defending them exceed the dollar cost of the settlement. The claims are nearly always settled with a confidentiality agreement where the employee who asserts the fake claims remains anonymous and as a result, there is no reputational cost to bringing false claims.

The consequences of this sleazy system (let’s call it ‘the System’) are the increased costs of doing business which is a tax on the economy and society. There are other more serious problems due to the System. Unfortunately, the existence of an industry of plaintiff firms and terminated employees willing to make these claims makes it riskier for companies to hire employees from a protected class, i.e., LGBTQ, seniors, women, people of color etc. because it is that much more reputationally damaging and expensive to be accused of racism, sexism, and/or intolerance for sexual diversity than for firing a white male as juries generally have less sympathy for white males.

The System therefore increases the risk of discrimination rather than reducing it, and the people bringing these fake claims are thereby causing enormous harm to the other members of these protected classes.

So what happened here?

Ronda was vastly overpaid and overqualified for the job that she did at TABLE. She was paid $1.05 million plus benefits last year for her work which was largely comprised of filling out subscription agreements and overseeing an outside law firm on closing passive investments in funds and in private and venture stage companies, some compliance work, and managing the office move from one office to another. She had a very good gig as she was highly paid, only had to go into the office three days a week, and could work from anywhere during the summer.

Once my nephew showed up and started to investigate what was going on, she likely concluded that there was a reasonable possibility she would be terminated, as her job was in the too-easy-and-to-good-to-be-true category. The problem was that she was not in a protected class due to her race, age or sexual identity so she had to construct the basis for a claim. While she is female and could in theory bring a gender-based discrimination claim, she reported to the president who is female and to whom she is very close, which makes it difficult for her to bring a harassment claim against her former boss.

When my nephew complimented a TABLE employee at lunch about how young she looked – in response to saying she was going to her 40-year-old sister’s birthday party, he said ‘she must be your older sister’ – Ronda immediately reported it to our external HR lawyer. She thereby began building her case.

The other problem for Ronda bringing a claim is that she was terminated alongside 30% of other TABLE employees as part of a restructuring so it is very difficult for her to say that she was targeted in her termination or was retaliated against. TABLE is now hiring an external fractional general counsel as that is all the company needs to process the relatively limited amount of legal work we do internally. In short, Ronda was eminently qualified and capable and did her job. She was just too much horsepower for what is largely an administrative legal role so she had to come up with something else to bring a claim.

Now Ronda knew I was a good target and it was a good time to bring a claim against me. She also knew that I was under a lot of pressure because on March 4th when Ronda was terminated, my daughter had not yet emerged from consciousness, she was not yet breathing on her own, and my daughter and we were fighting for her life. I was and remain deeply engaged in her recovery while at the same time I was working on finishing the closing for the private placement round for my upcoming IPO.

Ronda also knew that publicity about supposed gender discrimination and a “hostile and unsafe work environment” are not things that a CEO of a company about to go public wants to have released into the media. And she may have thought that the nearly $2 million she was asking for would be considered small in the context of the reputational damage a lawsuit could cause, regardless of the fact that two years of severance was an absurd amount for an employee who had only worked at TABLE for 30 months.

She also likely considered that I wouldn’t want to embarrass my nephew by dragging him into the klieg lights when her claims emerged publicly.

So, in summary, game theory would say that I would certainly settle this case, for why would I risk negative publicity at a time when I was preparing our company to go public and also risk embarrassing my nephew.

Notably, she hired a Silicon Valley law firm, rather than a typical NY employment firm. This struck me as interesting as her husband works for one of the most prominent Silicon Valley venture firms whose CEO, I am sure, has no tolerance for these kinds of fake claims that sadly many venture-backed companies also have to deal with. I mention this as I suspect her husband likely has been working with her on the strategy for squeezing me as, in addition to being a computer scientist, he is a game theorist. My only advice for him is to understand more about your opponent before you launch your first move.

All of the above said, gender, race, LGBTQ and other such discrimination is a real thing. Many people have been harmed and deserve compensation for this discrimination, and these companies and individuals should be punished for engaging in such behavior.

Which brings me to the advice I am seeking from the X community.

I am not planning to follow the typical path and settle this ‘claim.’ Rather, I am going to fight this nonsense to the end of the earth in the hope that it inspires other CEOs to do the same so we shut down this despicable behavior that is a large tax on society, employment, and the economy and contributes to workplace discrimination rather than reducing it.

Do you agree or disagree that this is the right approach?

[iPaul @iPaulCanada]

如果你能坚持7天 做好这4个动作！那么一周之后你的髋膝踝灵活性将有显著的提升。