greatest wisdom book

Chapter 67 The Science of Wisdom: Wisdom, Wit and Prudence 4
Pride and caution are both intolerance

The monarch must be careful about trusting others or taking actions; however, don't panic.He should be prudent, humane, and temperate, lest overconfidence make himself rash, or oversuspicion narrow and intolerable.

——"No.17 Chapter Cruelty and Kindness, Is It Better to Be Loved Than Being Feared"

People who are too confident or too shadowy often make many ridiculous and sad mistakes.People who are overly conceited tend to become sloppy in doing things, or they often argue with others because of some trivial matters, and they are self-centered; while their personality is full of suspicion, which will hinder people's determination and actions to live in the world. You failed fatally.

Auden, the founder of American Magazine, once founded a magazine in Chicago that taught people to be successful when he was young. At that time, he did not have enough capital to start this magazine, so he established a partnership with a printing factory, and finally he succeeded. .

However, he failed to notice the threat his success posed to other publishers.Unbeknownst to him, a publisher bought out his partner and took over the magazine.He had to leave his love job with a feeling of great shame.

From success to failure, Auden ignored the biggest reason for his failure. He always believed that his companions betrayed him, and felt ashamed that he could not turn the tide.His partner betrayed him precisely because of Auden's ego and mistrust.Auden neglected to cooperate with his partners in a spirit of harmony. He often quarreled with his partners over some trivial matters, regardless of their opinions.When many development opportunities appeared in front of him, he failed to make timely decisions and grasp various opportunities.His selfishness and conceit became his Achilles' heel, and his lack of prudence in business and too blunt a tone of voice also contributed to his failure.

After a long period of time, Auden found the experience worth learning from the last failure and started to start a new business.He left Chicago for New York, where he founded another magazine.In order to gain full control of the business, he must motivate other partners who only contribute capital but have no real power to work together.He draws up his business plan carefully, discusses it with his partners, takes steps to start a business, and makes a move immediately when he sees the right time.

In less than a year, the magazine had more than tripled its previous circulation.One source of profit was the series of correspondence courses he came up with, which became his first codification of personal success.

Recalling that when Auden left his career in Chicago, he was at a stage of hesitation.At that time, in fact, he could give up the magazine business, accept his wife's idea, and work as a lawyer steadily. However, he found the seed of equivalent benefits in the failure, and carefully cultivated this seed, rounding his life Biggest dream.

Auden once again ushered in success by abandoning his own ego, rashness and humility. His secret was nothing but a re-evaluation of the weight that prudence should occupy in his attitude towards life.

Conceit makes people not listen to opinions, self-righteous, often speak barbs, do things their own way, and dismiss others, narrow-minded.Therefore, such people often lose the opportunity to learn from others, making themselves more superficial and difficult to get close to, and everyone avoids them.And those who are overly cautious, timid and suspicious, will always become narrow-minded and unpopular in doing things.The emergence of these two biased personalities is just at the extreme ends of prudence. If people can be moderately prudent, they will not make these two mistakes.

(End of this chapter)