December 24, 1897
Dear John:
The words from smart people are easily memorized. There is a good saying from a wise person, “education contains many aspects, but it itself doesn’t teach you anything!” This great person had shown us a truth: if you don’t take any action, even the most useful, beautiful and available philosophies are useless. I always believe that opportunity is created by opportunity.
Any seemingly excellent plan has disadvantage, though it is just a common plan. However if you would really implement it and keep on, that should be better than a good plan which has been given up halfway, because the former is fighting all the time, but the latter is wasting all previous efforts.
As I mentioned above, there is no secret of success. In order to obtain positive results in life, owning exceptional intelligence and special skills is certainly fine, but even without it, it doesn't matter.
As long as you work vigorously, you will also approach success. The sad truth is that most people haven’t remembered this warning, resulting in making themselves mediocre.
Have a look at ordinary people, you will find they are living passively, because what they have said is far more than what they have done, only speaking without doing anything.
Every one of them is good at finding excuses-- he would find all kinds of excuses to postpone until it has been proven that he is truly wrong or incapable to do anything or too late to do it.
Every one of them is good at finding excuses-- he would find all kinds of excuses to postpone until it has been proven that he is truly wrong or incapable to do anything or too late to do it.
To most people, it seems that I achieved success only because I am a bit smarter and more cunning.
Gates has praised me as a willing and active actor. I happily accept this praise, for I haven’t let it down. Acting vigorously is another characteristic of mine. I never like to be an armchair strategist, because I clearly understand no acting is without consequence. There is nothing in the world you can get without thinking out many ideas and making them into reality.
As long as you are alive, it is certain that you must act. Many people admit that without the foundation of wisdom everything is useless, but the sadder thing is that even if you have got knowledge and wisdom, without acting, everything is still useless. Humans should learn to stop where they should stop. Prepare enough, but if you do not act all the time, in the end you are wasting your time.
Like business, the more profit we could get, the more active we would become, for whether to succeed or fail doesn’t matter to others. At such time, we’d better work hard more. If too lazy or scared, results would undoubtedly be disappointing. As long as a person can rely on himself, he won’t let himself down, and will add more opportunities to control his life. The clever only think to make something happen.
The most frustrating thing in life has always been over thinking-- which not only eats into your time time left to accomplish the task, but makes you worry too much about numerous steps in the process and leaves you shocked, scared. Therefore all actions are actually in vain.
To eat an elephant, you must bite mouth by mouth. So does work!
Gates has praised me as a willing and active actor. I happily accept this praise, for I haven’t let it down. Acting vigorously is another characteristic of mine. I never like to be an armchair strategist, because I clearly understand no acting is without consequence. There is nothing in the world you can get without thinking out many ideas and making them into reality.
As long as you are alive, it is certain that you must act. Many people admit that without the foundation of wisdom everything is useless, but the sadder thing is that even if you have got knowledge and wisdom, without acting, everything is still useless. Humans should learn to stop where they should stop. Prepare enough, but if you do not act all the time, in the end you are wasting your time.
In other words, everything must have a limitation.
We can’t get into the trap of constant practicing and planning, but accept the reality: no matter how precise a plan is, we still can’t exactly predict the last solution.
We can’t get into the trap of constant practicing and planning, but accept the reality: no matter how precise a plan is, we still can’t exactly predict the last solution.
In later years Rockefeller said: "I have small faith in the man who plans
elaborately on paper. I once asked a landscape gardener to undertake the improvement of 2,000 acres of land. He set to work on
an elaborate scheme which I saw at a glance was impossible. He
was not practical. He planned too much on paper."
I can’t deny that planning is very important, but that is only the first step. Planning is not acting, and impossible to replace acting. Just like playing golf, without getting into the first hole, it is unlikely to get the second. Acting can resolve everything.
Without acting, nothing occurs. Anyway, no one can buy the insurance of absolute security, but what we can do is to be determined to implement our plans. All those who lack of action have a bad habit in common: they like to keep everything as it were now, and refuse any change. I think this is a foul habit full of deceit and self-destruction. Because everything is changing like human’s living and dying.
But because of their internal fear about future, many people resist changing, even though their situation is not satisfactory. Seeing those who should have succeeded, but gained nothing valuable, you would find it difficult to resist the temptation not to pity them. Yes, it is true that about unknown future everyone would feel more or less worried or scared, or question whether to do or not when making some pivotal decisions.
But those who like implementing soon would ignite soul with determination, and then think out all kind of methods to accomplish their dreams, and meanwhile prepare enough courage to conquer difficulties. Many people lack of actions are naive and like letting everything go by nature. They naively assume that others would care about them. In fact, nobody is interested in their troubles except themselves, for people only fancy their own things.
Without acting, nothing occurs. Anyway, no one can buy the insurance of absolute security, but what we can do is to be determined to implement our plans. All those who lack of action have a bad habit in common: they like to keep everything as it were now, and refuse any change. I think this is a foul habit full of deceit and self-destruction. Because everything is changing like human’s living and dying.
But because of their internal fear about future, many people resist changing, even though their situation is not satisfactory. Seeing those who should have succeeded, but gained nothing valuable, you would find it difficult to resist the temptation not to pity them. Yes, it is true that about unknown future everyone would feel more or less worried or scared, or question whether to do or not when making some pivotal decisions.
But those who like implementing soon would ignite soul with determination, and then think out all kind of methods to accomplish their dreams, and meanwhile prepare enough courage to conquer difficulties. Many people lack of actions are naive and like letting everything go by nature. They naively assume that others would care about them. In fact, nobody is interested in their troubles except themselves, for people only fancy their own things.
Like business, the more profit we could get, the more active we would become, for whether to succeed or fail doesn’t matter to others. At such time, we’d better work hard more. If too lazy or scared, results would undoubtedly be disappointing. As long as a person can rely on himself, he won’t let himself down, and will add more opportunities to control his life. The clever only think to make something happen.
The most frustrating thing in life has always been over thinking-- which not only eats into your time time left to accomplish the task, but makes you worry too much about numerous steps in the process and leaves you shocked, scared. Therefore all actions are actually in vain.
We must admit that no one can accomplish all things. Clever people understand not all actions lead to good results, but only wise actions can bring about significant consequences. As a result, they only do the works which are most relevant to target and bring the greatest positive effects. Therefore clever people make the most valuable contribution, and get the best return.
To eat an elephant, you must bite mouth by mouth. So does work!
Trying to accomplish all everything will inevitably waste many opportunities.
My motto is: Rockefeller doesn’t treat emergency fairly. Many people make themselves passive, for they don't do anything until all conditions are met. Life is full of opportunities, but none perfectible.
Passives have one thing common all their lives-- they always want to get everything prepared before they do something.
Passives have one thing common all their lives-- they always want to get everything prepared before they do something.
This is bloody idiot’s way!
We must compromise life to believe that the opportunity we have in hand right now is what we really need, which can help you avoid the swamp of forever crazily waiting before implementing.
We are pursuing perfection, yet, in real life, human have never got perfect situations or things, we can only more approach perfections. A perfection of means, a confusion of aims, seems to be the chief problem.
Only doing something until everything is ready, will lead to waiting forever and will give opportunity to others. Those people can never leave their parents.
Only doing something until everything is ready, will lead to waiting forever and will give opportunity to others. Those people can never leave their parents.
To become the kind of person “I want to do now”, stop all day dreams and always think of what to do right now. Those words, like tomorrow, next week, future, etc. are familiar with the word: impossible.
Everyone has experienced the days when losing all confidence and doubted self-ability, especially in failure or setback. However the person who knows the art of implement can overcome barricade with strong willpower. He would tell himself everyone can fail, sometimes very tragically; he would tell himself: no matter how much I have prepared or predicted, in real doing, it still can’t avoid failure.
The sad truth is that passives never consider failure as an opportunity to study and grow up, but all the time they tell themselves: maybe I am really not able to do it, which leads to failure due to over implementing.
Everyone has experienced the days when losing all confidence and doubted self-ability, especially in failure or setback. However the person who knows the art of implement can overcome barricade with strong willpower. He would tell himself everyone can fail, sometimes very tragically; he would tell himself: no matter how much I have prepared or predicted, in real doing, it still can’t avoid failure.
The sad truth is that passives never consider failure as an opportunity to study and grow up, but all the time they tell themselves: maybe I am really not able to do it, which leads to failure due to over implementing.
Most people believe: think and you will succeed, but I treat it as a lie. You can buy a dozen of good ideas for a mere cent. Good ideas are just the first step of a series of actions, and you still need prepare and then plan the next step, and then the third. In this world there isn’t short of the person full of good ideas, but extremely short of the person who not only can think out a good idea but implement it until success.
To judge a person’s ability is not based on how many things are contained in his brain, but how many actions he has implemented.
To judge a person’s ability is not based on how many things are contained in his brain, but how many actions he has implemented.
Everyone trusts the person patient and diligent to take a work, thinking: this person can speak and act, so he must know how to do it well! I have never heard that a person gets praise before disturbing others or having not implemented or only implement when getting order. Those leaders at industry, government and army are all capable and 100% self-starters. Those who always watch and never implement can never be leaders.
No matter whether you are active people or reactive, they are both up to habit. Habit is like a rope. If we could weave one every day, it would finally become a very thick one which is strong enough, impossible to break. Habit rope leads us to mountain peak or low ebb, which depends on a good habit or a bad one. Bad habit can control our success or not, which is easy to get, but difficult to serve. Good habit is hard to cultivate, but easy to persist. My son! Life is like a great campaign. To win, you must work harder, harder and harder, forever hard, in which case that can guarantee your safety.
Merry Christmas! I believe there is no better gift than this letter at such special moment.
Love Dad!
No matter whether you are active people or reactive, they are both up to habit. Habit is like a rope. If we could weave one every day, it would finally become a very thick one which is strong enough, impossible to break. Habit rope leads us to mountain peak or low ebb, which depends on a good habit or a bad one. Bad habit can control our success or not, which is easy to get, but difficult to serve. Good habit is hard to cultivate, but easy to persist. My son! Life is like a great campaign. To win, you must work harder, harder and harder, forever hard, in which case that can guarantee your safety.
Merry Christmas! I believe there is no better gift than this letter at such special moment.
Love Dad!
The last part of this letter reminds me of the quote "the chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken." Bad habits can control us and decide whether to fail or succeed, which are easy to get used to, but tough to get rid of. Succeeding by executing a good idea is worth more than only thinking out a thousand excellent ideas. Thomas Edison said "genius is 1% inspiration and 100% perspiration", I think to get good insights you have to work hard and once in a while you will find inspiration or success.
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