In these weeks, I have talked about creating material wealth. Today, I will introduce something that could be our asset: a principle. This perspective might give us possibilities for gaining wealth.
How to find another asset
Sometimes, we want to increase our assets. Assets are valuable things that create value in the future, even if they are worthless currently.
If we have a personality that tends to worry about the future, our assets will impact our happiness. The future vision gives us the energy to live now. In other words, if we have a hopeful future, we can be energetic, even if it is hard right now.
However, we sometimes don’t know what could be an asset. Although we know many socially valuable things, such as money, status, fame, or human networks, could be assets, we are not good at obtaining them because we don’t want to get too involved in society. That sometimes prevents us from creating our assets.
In other words, we want another asset that is easy for us to acquire, even though it is hard for the majority.
In that case, a principle could be an asset. Today, I will explain why through my experience making okara yogurt.
What is a principle?
A principle can be a good asset for those who can use logic.
A principle is a structure of “why.” We often wonder about mysterious phenomena: “Why does this happen?” or “Why do we have those results?” If we know the principle, we can solve those problems logically.
For example, we might wonder, “Why do some foods spoil so soon?” In my case, I often wondered why fish spoiled even in one day, while we can store nuts for a long time.
A principle allows us to understand why.
One of the factors is bacteria. Bacteria prefer a watery environment. They activate around 40 degrees Celsius, around the human body temperature. There are beneficial and toxic bacteria. Multiplying toxic bacteria causes a bad smell and makes our stomachs upset. However, if we heat them above 60 degrees Celsius, they will die. They are the principles of bacteria.
Those principles allow us to deal with them. We can preserve fish in several ways, such as keeping them at a low temperature, adding enough heat, drying and reducing the moisture, or preventing them from multiplying only toxic bacteria.
In my case, I tried putting leftover sashimi (raw fish meat) into probiotic water with many beneficial bacteria. That was a great success. Usually, it smells bad the next day, but it didn’t smell at all.
My case of saving food costs
Those principles saved me a lot of money on food. In addition, they made me healthier.
I eat probiotic food every day for my gut health. Probiotic food is a raw fermented food without adding high heat, such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, or natto.
However, I wanted to reduce its cost. Milk is a little expensive in my area, and making yogurt takes a little time to prepare. Packed natto takes up space in the fridge. I don’t want to go to the grocery store so often. Cabbage prices can be higher depending on the season.
My probiotic food: Okara yogurt
Then, I finally found a good solution: Okara. The principles of bacteria told me the solution that suits my environment.
Okara is the remnant of soy after squeezing soy milk. Although it is leftover, it is still nutritious. It is incredibly cheap in my area. Many factories have trouble disposing of it. In other words, it has value but is unvaluable in my area.
I made a probiotic food with it. I call it okara yogurt. I fermented it like yogurt with my beneficial bacteria extracted from the kumquat fruit in my garden.
It gave me much value. First, it works as well as yogurt for our guts. Next, it tastes good. It has a fresh, sour taste similar to yogurt. The texture is almost the same as yogurt. Although it smells like soy milk, I don’t care about it. Finally, I can combine it with many dishes, such as fish or meat.
I can make that okara yogurt for 1/4 the price of yogurt. In addition, I can make it in 1/4 the time of yogurt.
Principles bring us the best that suits our environments. It will give me great value over a long period. Perhaps you can find something inexpensive and valuable that is unique to your area.
Various application
One principle could have many applications. That often gives us more value.
In my case, that principle reduced a lot of my food costs. I don’t need to buy store-bought condiments because I can create my own fermented sauce.
I now use only salt, sugar, vegetable oil, and my fermented sauces as condiments. I created the best sauce for my taste.
In other words, the simple principle of bacteria and fermentation saved me money. In addition, it provided me with good taste and a healthy state. Perhaps the knowledge of bacteria will be a good way to support our healthy and independent lives.
I have talked about many principles in this blog. They could also be our assets.
Conclusion
That is why a principle could be a good asset for us. Focusing on principles is a way to create assets for the future.
This perspective might give us great value over a long period.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
