Life is but a thought: Nan Huaijin's 15 Life Wisdom Lessons

Chapter 11
Confidence is powerful

Confidence is like a bouquet of gorgeous flowers, which adds brilliant colors to life; self-confidence is like a thick and classical book, which records and tells stories full of charm; self-confidence is like a sharp sword, cutting The thorns that constantly hinder the progress make life happy.

No matter who you are, confidence is indispensable.Many great and successful people in the world have proved and verified this truth.

Mr. Nan Huaijin said in "The Analects of Confucius": "Confucius has a kind of self-confidence, as firm as a religious man. He said to the students, God gave birth to me, and placed the responsibility for history and culture on me. How dare, how can it hurt me? Of course, the result proved that Huan Yu could not do anything to Confucius. Is this arrogance? No, it is self-confidence. We have to understand from here that sometimes we must have absolute confidence in certain things. If You can’t do without this kind of self-confidence. People who have studied Chinese martial arts know it, and those who have studied military know it even more. If you lose self-confidence, no matter how good your kung fu is, you will be defeated.” It can be seen that the importance of self-confidence.

Some people understand a lot of truths, but they still can't live a good life.This is because they always lack self-confidence and have worries about the future.As soon as something happens, I shrink back and have a negative psychology, thinking that I can't do it, and I can't do it well.Such a person will only miss success.On the contrary, those who are confident and dare to face difficulties will always see the moon when the clouds bloom.Gillette Blades - The safety razor is a household name, but few know the story behind it.

When the razor blades are first used, troubles follow.Users will always be scratched in the process of using the skin.To solve this problem, Kim Kemp Gillette invented the Gillette Blade—with an ultra-thin blade and holder for a safe shave.

Gillette is full of confidence, and finally has something to do.Unexpectedly, no one cared about the blade after it was launched, and its sales were only 13 pieces after 1000 years.Such a big blow made Gillette disheartened. Why did no one pay attention to such a convenient and safe razor?After some investigation, he understood the reason for the failure: In the eyes of others, the Gillette blade was nothing special, just a blade, and the price was too high.

In order to show the advantages of Gillette blades, Gillette really took some effort.At that time, just as World War I broke out, Gillette thought it was a good opportunity to sell, and gave all the blades to soldiers for free.

What was the outcome?After the end of World War I, some soldiers brought home Gillette blades and started using and paying attention to Gillette razors.This time, the advertisement successfully established the reputation of Gillette blades, the sales volume increased greatly, and the scope of use of Gillette blades is also gradually expanding.

After the outbreak of World War II, Gillette put the products into the barracks for free.As a result, as he expected, the probability of Gillette blades being used has increased many times.Since soldiers from various countries brought the blades back to their hometowns, this is equivalent to helping Gillette open up global distribution for free.

Slowly, almost all men who use blades know: there is a blade called Gillette blade.

The success of Gillette blades lies in self-confidence.Only with self-confidence and belief in the market value of Gillette blades can we persist for 13 years and achieve success in one fell swoop by chance.If Gillette thinks it is a problem with its own product or the price is really too high due to unsatisfactory sales for a while, it is easy to give up lightly, and there will be no Gillette blades today.

Confidence is like a bouquet of gorgeous flowers, which adds brilliant colors to life; self-confidence is like a thick and classical book, which records and tells stories full of charm; self-confidence is like a sharp sword, cutting The thorns that constantly hinder the progress make life happy.Confidence is an unspeakable force, but it is powerful.Confidence allows people to dare to challenge everything, even in a deserted island or in the dark night, it can also turn into a bright light, so that you are no longer alone.

In life, we must also learn to be confident and persevere.Just as Yao Yue, a disabled child who participated in the Global Children’s Culture Forum, said in an interview with a Spanish national television reporter: “When you are ignored by others, please remember one sentence: ‘You are Bole yourself’.”

Establish a correct outlook on life
People live for decades, no matter where they go, it is very important to find the outlook on life to strive for.Only by establishing a good outlook on life and finding the direction and goals of life can life become richer and joyful in the process of pursuing dreams.

Confucius once warned his disciple Yan Hui that he is not qualified to point out the right and wrong actions, gains and losses of others when he has not yet determined his own outlook on life and has not cultivated enough knowledge and morality.If a person does not have an outlook on life, then he has no direction to move forward, does not know where his life path is going, and can only live in the world in a daze, like a walking dead.

Indeed, only when a person can determine his outlook on life can he be independent, do something and keep it, do something and not do something.Mr. Nan Huaijin also believes that the direction of life is also the philosophy of life.Everyone has the value of self-existence. Choosing a goal is also equivalent to clarifying the direction of life, so as not to lose your way and yourself.

In San Francisco, USA, there was a boy who had a dream of becoming an actor.Perhaps because his father is also an actor, he had the opportunity to be on camera and play tricks since he was a child, so he fell in love with this industry.

Due to the congenital condition of weak constitution, he had to temporarily put aside this dream, buried it in his heart, and went to school, got married, and had children like an ordinary person.

One day, when he was talking about his dream with his friends, he wrote on a note: I, Bruce Lee, will definitely become the highest paid superstar in the United States.In return, I will dedicate all my enthusiasm and hard work to make the most powerful performance.Beginning in 1970, I will gain worldwide fame; by 1980, I will have a fortune of $1000 million.Until then, my family and I will live happily ever after.

At the time of writing these words, he was living in poverty.If this note is seen by others, they will definitely receive countless blank stares and ridicules.However, he remembered every sentence, every word on the note.

During the filming process, he was in bed for 4 months due to a spinal nerve injury.Just when his friend lamented that good fortune made people, he miraculously stood up.

In 1971, he starred in the film "The Way of the Dragon" which broke the box office record in Hong Kong at that time, and people remembered his name at once; A whole new page.Almost everyone knew of his existence and became the well-deserved "King of Kung Fu".

In 1998, he was named one of the "20th Century Heroes and Idols" by the American "Time" magazine, and he was also the only Chinese selected.He is the most famous Chinese star in the world so far--Bruce Lee.

The young Bruce Lee had already found his own direction in life, wanted to become an actor, and has been working hard in this direction.Perhaps, his dream is a little out of reach, and even questioned by others.But so what?With his perseverance, he still succeeded.If he gave up his life direction and took another path because of his own conditions, then his life would be different.

In life, someone will always ask: "What kind of outlook on life should I find?" It's very simple, what kind of person you want to be, establish what kind of outlook on life, and work hard in this direction until accomplish.Some people will say: "I'm old now, and I can't compare with young people. I don't have the right to pursue my dreams, and I don't have the passion to pursue them." This kind of concept is completely wrong!Even making excuses for himself.Pursuing dreams and establishing an outlook on life has nothing to do with age.As long as you think, even if you are 50 or 70 years old, you can still regain your dreams.

People live for decades, no matter where they go, it is very important to find the outlook on life to strive for.Only by establishing a good outlook on life and finding the direction and goals of life can life become richer and joyful in the process of pursuing dreams.

Mr. Nan Huaijin once said that the philosophy of life and the direction of life are parallel to each other. In the process of dream-seeking, we should constantly make conclusions, that is, to form an outlook on life.Maybe you will take a road that you don't like for a while, because you are forced by life, then take this "wrong road" as an experience to enrich the connotation of life; or you may not know how to do it at the beginning What, but find the target direction in the accumulation of time, and then strive for it.In any case, no matter what situation you are in, you must make plans for yourself and establish your own "philosophical system", so that your life will be more complete.

Of course, establishing an outlook on life is not just about writing on a piece of paper, then lying in bed and sleeping, waiting for the goal to be achieved, but putting it into action, even starting with small things such as getting up on time, accumulating bit by bit .

live a true self
Since we choose to live and choose to live in this world, we should live out a true self, a self-reliant self, instead of pinning all our hopes on others. After all, everyone's existence is not a copy.

Mr. Nan Huaijin once said: "There are many people in this world who can't be their own families and masters." The "family" and "master" in his mouth mean that they can make their own decisions and be the masters of their own destiny.

Looking at the present, people are too dependent and do not have their own opinions. Most people like to follow the crowd.At school, rely on teachers; at home, rely on parents; when going out, rely on friends... Whatever other people say, they will go along with it.Raise your hands in agreement with what others say, no matter it is right or wrong.This kind of "dependence for survival" saves a lot of trouble for myself, but it also gradually loses myself in the "safe" zone, just like a shadow, following behind others.In this regard, Mr. Nan Huaijin expressed his views. He said: "Being a person and doing things must be decisive and assertive. People who rely on others in everything are immature and unconfident. The only way to get rid of dependence is to do things without blindly following them. You’re really going to be an independent person.”

Indeed, since we choose to live and live in this world, we should live out a true self, a self-determined self, instead of pinning all our hopes on others. After all, everyone's existence is not a copy.

There was an outstanding painter who wanted to paint a painting that everyone liked.After a period of hard work, he finally drew a picture that satisfied him.Then, the painter took the painting to the market to exhibit.

At that time, he had a whim and wanted to imitate the practice of "a word of gold" when Qin Xiang Lu Buwei compiled "Lu Shi Chunqiu" in the Spring and Autumn Period, so he put a pen next to the painting, and attached a note: Every viewer, If you feel that there are still places that need to be revised in this painting, please mark the corresponding places.

One day passed, when the painter looked at the painting with joy, he was stunned!It turned out that the entire painting was covered in marks.God, what does that mean for a painter?This is simply ridicule and a great shame!Is my painting really that bad?
After thinking hard, the painter decided to try another method.He first painted the same painting, and then took it to the market for display.What is different from last time is that what the painter wants every viewer to point out is no longer the bad or inappropriate parts of the painting, but each viewer to mark the place that he thinks is wonderful.

One day passed, and the artist was once again stunned by the result in front of him!All the places that were negatively accused before are now also marked, but this time it is a mark of praise.

The painter was very puzzled.Why does the same painting get as much criticism as praise?

After a while of depression, the painter finally realized it. He said with emotion: "At any moment, you must stick to your own paintings and don't care too much about other people's opinions. Others' opinions are always others' opinions. If there is praise, it is inevitable There will be criticism. Where there is criticism, there must be praise. I can’t lose myself just to cater to anyone’s opinion. It will only make me not like myself.”

There is no way for one person to satisfy everyone. What we can do is to stick to ourselves, be ourselves, and not easily change ourselves because of other people's opinions and opinions.There is a saying: "Go your own way, let others talk." To survive in this world, we must know how to "pretend to be deaf".Don't let other people's suggestions turn your back on the customer, replace your own opinions, and lead you by the nose.

Only by sticking to one's own opinion can one distinguish between good and evil, beauty and ugliness in the world, and see through the joy and pain in life.So, how to stick to your own ideas and opinions?First of all, you must be patient, listen to your heart, and ask yourself whether your proposition is just to be different from others, is it a product of "impulse", or is it a well-documented and well-documented result.Secondly, you must have the courage to face failure and start over again, you must have the "dead mind" that you will not hit the wall and never look back, you must also have the idea and determination to correct your mistakes and admit your mistakes, in order to move forward better. .Finally, as mentioned above, you need to be confident.A person without self-confidence is easily overwhelmed by others' words.

self-knowledge

Everyone's ability is limited, what others can do, we may not be able to do it.What others cannot do, we may be able to do.Only by truly seeing your own limitations, seeing your own strengths and weaknesses, can you make better use of your strengths, correct your weaknesses, and improve yourself.

The "Diamond Sutra" mentioned: "The law does not arise alone, it grows in response to the environment. The way is not empty, and it should be met when it meets the conditions." It means that nothing is isolated. When the environment adapts, it will grow.Cultivating the Tao is not just a practice, you can adapt when you encounter fate.

In this regard, Mr. Nan Huaijin further pointed out that it is precisely because of "dependent origination" that life has unlimited opportunities, unlimited power, unlimited potential and unlimited meaning.It can be said that life is an "infinite" existence.However, people cannot be unscrupulous and act recklessly because of infinity.

At this time, we need to know how to accept what is good, see our own limitations, and create a life of "enough is enough".

To give a simple example: some people are smart, active in thinking, and naturally suitable for business, while others are rigorous and willing to contribute to the society, and are naturally suitable for politics.If you let the former do what the latter should do, you will definitely not be able to sit still and want to realize yourself.Let the latter do what the former did, but feel too strenuous... This is the limitation of a person.

We often see or hear people confide to their friends, "Is it not suitable for me to do this?" "For me, this job is too strenuous"... They are frowning all day, busy all day, and in the end, it took a lot of money. Time, suffered a lot, but did not get anything in return.This is because they don't understand what limitations are.The so-called doing things should do your best, but you should also do what you can.

General Patton once said: "One thing is rarer, more beautiful, and more precious than talent, and that is self-knowledge." No matter how powerful a person is, there will be a "bottom line" in ability.There is a thousand-year-old temple in a deep mountain, where an eminent monk lives in seclusion.In order to get advice from eminent monks, some people traveled thousands of miles to look for him.

On this day, a group of people came to look for the eminent monk again.When they reached the deep mountain, they found that the eminent monk was returning from carrying water from the valley. They were overjoyed immediately, and rushed to help the eminent monk carry water.

Huh?Why are the two barrels not filled with water?Generally speaking, if you travel such a long distance to carry water, you should carry it to the full, otherwise it would be a waste of time and energy.

Someone asked in puzzlement: "Eminent monk, what is the reason for this?"

(End of this chapter)