greatest wisdom book

Chapter 88
Far from talking on paper, actions determine success or failure

Sun Wu's understanding of war, pre-war preparations, grasp of the war situation, and planning to turn defeat into victory...all are excellent theoretical models, so countless people regard it as a classic.

But the study of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" is the same as other theories. It is not just a matter of words. To use human wisdom to achieve your goals, there is a very important step-action.Only by taking action can we achieve our goals, which is what we usually call "action determines success or failure".The establishment of a great career in life lies not in knowing, but in being able to do it.No matter how long the road is, it can be completed step by step; no matter how short the road is, it cannot be reached without stepping forward.

Democritus was an orator in ancient Greece. Someone asked him what is the essence of eloquence.He said, "Action." What about the second point? "Action." What about the third point? "It's still action." No matter how perfectly planned you are or how seamless your preparations are, talking and thinking alone will never get you there.

An Xin is a song and dance actress of a famous university art troupe.In an inter-school speech contest, she showed people a brilliant dream: after graduating from university, she will travel to Europe for a year, and then occupy a place in the world-renowned art stage—Broadway in New York.That afternoon, An Xin's psychology teacher found her and asked, "What's the difference between going to Broadway today and going after graduation?" An Xin thought about it carefully: "Yes, college life can't help me get a job on Broadway. Opportunity." So, An Xin decided to go to Broadway in a year.

At this time, the teacher asked her again: "What is the difference between going now and a year later?" An Xin thought hard for a while, and told the teacher that she decided to leave next semester.The teacher chased after her and asked, "What's the difference between going next semester and going today?" Anxin thought about the resplendent stage and the pair of red dancing shoes that lingered in her sleep... She finally decided to go next semester. Headed to Broadway in January.

The teacher chased after the victory and asked, "What's the difference between going a month later and going today?" An Xin was so excited that she couldn't help saying, "Okay, give me a week to prepare, and I'll go." The teacher pressed on every step of the way: " All daily necessities can be bought on Broadway, what’s the difference between you going a week later and going today?” An Xin said excitedly: “Okay, I’ll go tomorrow.” The teacher nodded approvingly and said, “I’ve helped you I have booked the air ticket for tomorrow." The next day, An Xin flew to Broadway in the United States.

At that time, Broadway producers were brewing a classic play, and hundreds of artists went to apply for the leading role.According to the recruitment procedures at that time, about ten candidates were first selected, and then each of them was asked to perform a dialogue of the protagonist according to the requirements of the script.This means that it takes one in a hundred hard-fought competitions to win.

After An Xin arrived in New York, she didn't rush to dye her hair or buy clothes. Instead, she got a script from a make-up artist.For the next two days, Anxin studied hard behind closed doors and practiced quietly.On the day of the official interview, An Xin was the 48th to appear on the stage. When the producer asked her to talk about her acting experience, An Xin smiled and said, "Can I perform for you a rehearsal that I used to rehearse at school? Just 1 minute .” The producers agreed.And when the producer saw her perform, it turned out to be the dialogue of the play that was about to be rehearsed.Moreover, when the girl in front of him had such sincere feelings and her performance was so lifelike, he immediately notified the staff to end the interview, and the protagonist was none other than An Xin.

In this way, An Xin successfully entered Broadway in her first week in New York and put on her first pair of red dancing shoes.

Some people dream of going to a good university every day, of making a fortune every day, and of being famous every day, but they don’t want to study hard and work hard, and the result is nothing but nothing.Dreams require hard work, and dreams without practice will eventually come to naught, just like Zhao Kuo who is talking on paper, the ideal result will never favor him, and what awaits him is nothing but nothing.

Each of us has a brilliant dream, but not everyone can write glory for his life.Just imagine, Sun Wu, who had read countless military classics when he was young, would not become a representative of military strategists if he just immersed himself in those ancient books and did not go to Wu to realize his military ideals.When Sun Wu was 18 years old, he left the pampered Qi State and embarked on a journey to realize his dream. Only then did he become the general of Wu State and "Sun Tzu's Art of War" after the war.

On the road to success, like Sun Tzu, we will encounter many opportunities to realize our dreams, but we often give up our efforts because of cowardice and fear, causing ourselves to pass by the god of success again and again.This is a tragedy of life!There is no success without action, let alone brilliance, as Whitman said: "Even if you are extremely smart, if you don't act, you can't achieve your career."

(End of this chapter)