Zhang Xuefeng Passed Away: A 41-Year-Old Life Warns All Those Who Strive to Make Money
On March 24, 2026, Zhang Xuefeng passed away in Suzhou at the age of 41.
After the news was confirmed, the entire internet was shocked.
An educational blogger who emerged from the ordinary, using just a few years to influence countless families, providing direction for a generation in terms of college entrance exams and career choices.
He was not a celebrity, but he had no less attention than a celebrity.
However, ultimately, life was frozen at the age of 41.
We thought we were accumulating, but in fact, we were exhausting our resources.
Regarding his death, the public information indicates:
- Long-term intense work
- Long daily live-streaming sessions (more than 10 hours)
- Reliance on takeout for meals
- Body constantly in a depleted state
We thought that as we grew, our life assets would increase.But the reality is often the opposite.
Some assets are growing, such as income, influence, and social status.
But some more fundamental assets are quietly being lost:
- Health
- Energy
- Emotional stability
- Long-term sustainability
Once these are depleted, everything else is just "short-term prosperity".
A cruel but true question
Why do many people make money but lose something much more important?
The answer is actually quite simple:
Because they are using "the most important asset in life" to exchange for short-term gains.
Life assets are not just about money.
This is especially true if you are creating content, pursuing a side business, or building a personal brand.
【Apart from monetary assets, what other life assets appreciate over time?】
Healthy assets (the most easily overlooked)
Many people assume:
- Young = You can overspend
- Healthy = You won't have problems
But the reality is:
Health is not "whether you will have problems", but "when you will have problems".
In the long term:
- Fast food diet (high in oil, salt, and low in nutrition)
- Lack of sleep
- Sedentary lifestyle + high stress
Essentially, it's making a deal: Use future health to exchange for current efficiency，
and this deal is almost certainly a loss.
Diet: Takeout, Greasy Food and "It's Fine, Don't Ruin Yourself"
It is said that Teacher Zhang Xuefeng goes live-streaming for over a dozen hours every day. His meals are almost all takeout. Greasy and lacking in nutrition - these are habits we all know are unhealthy but still continue.
Nowadays, everyone is talking about light diet, the Mediterranean diet, the 211 plate...
【Want to stay healthy and youthful? Your dining table needs these 5 "Japanese-style" modifications】
He knows these methods well, but he is too busy to pay attention to them.
This reminds me of a relative of mine.
She is in her 70s. She was an athlete when she was young and has a much better physical condition than ordinary people. But this year, due to moving house, she overexerted herself and first had leg pain, then her eyes had problems and her vision became blurry.
The doctor said it was a complication of diabetes - she actually got diabetes and she didn't even know it.
She said: "I love sweet and greasy food. I don't care about anything. That's my catchphrase - Eat, it's fine, don't ruin yourself."
Now that this illness has caused her so much pain, she finally admits: She needs to pay attention to her diet.
But some costs, once paid, can never be recovered.
Exercise: 5-kilometer run for 48 years, compared to the excessive marathon
In terms of exercise, there is one thing that impressed me.
A blogger shared that he is 73 years old this year and has been running 5 kilometers for 48 years. Running has brought him three things:
- His body shape has remained almost unchanged for decades
- More freedom in diet
- Stress can be released
48 years, it sounds like a terrifying number. But it is composed of day after day.
He enjoys the pleasure brought by running every day, day after day, forming the entirety of his life, and the compound interest has doubled the value of the health assets it brings.
And what about Teacher Zhang Xuefeng? He runs marathons.
It's not that marathons are bad, but when a person's body is already operating at an overload, adding high-intensity exercise on top of that, is it exercise or consumption?
Now I run 5 kilometers every day, in 40 minutes. I think this pace is just right, it's my comfort zone, and it's what I can stick to.
I never thought about whether this time is slow or fast because I know: as long as you persist, it's enough.
Stress and Emotions: Invisible but Deadly Demolition
What affects a person's lifespan is often not a single factor, but "systemic stress".
Teacher Zhang Xuefeng rose from a grassroots level to become a popular internet celebrity. Behind this transformation was an unimaginable amount of effort.
It is said that before his death, he had prepared a six-month salary reserve for his employees. His performance soared dramatically in just 2-3 years, but at the same time, his body was operating under excessive strain.
Pressure is the silent killer.
When life comes to an abrupt end, we can't help but wonder: If it had slowed down a bit, relaxed a bit, and not worked so hard, would it have been better?
What truly drains people is not effort, but a long-term state of tension that cannot be restored.
The true standard of long-termism: not more effort, but more sustainability
The long-termism that many people understand is: perseverance, striving, continuous effort， But the deeper definition should be: continuous growth without overextending oneself.
In other words:
- Diet → not control, but structural optimization
- Exercise → not extreme, but long-term rhythm
- Work → not explosive, but sustainable output
You can quickly self-check:
- Do you often stay up late?
- Do you eat randomly?
- Do you suffer from long-term stress?
- Do you ignore your body's signals?
If so, that means: You are already using the future to replace the present.
Final Words: Life assets should increase with age.
The passing of Teacher Zhang Xuefeng truly serves as a wake-up call.
It makes us pause and think carefully: Am I prematurely depleting my body? What have I lost in the pursuit of striving?
Diet, exercise, emotional stress - these are all our life assets.
True health is not about enduring intense efforts for a short period, but finding one's own rhythm and persisting in it day by day.
- Healthy diet doesn't need to be perfect at once, but it can start by ordering less takeout.
- Exercise doesn't require running a marathon, but it can begin with 5 kilometers and 40 minutes of walking each day.
- Stress doesn't need to completely give up everything, but it can start by allowing oneself to be slower.
Life assets should increase with age, and the prerequisite for this growth is not consumption. It is:
- Not harming health
- Not exhausting emotions
- Being able to be repeated for a long time
May we all be able to find that own, sustainable rhythm in the busy life.
---Extended Reading and Resources