Chapter 7 Post-part Practical Views: Success is the Mother of Failure

【Chen Wende Commentary】 Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching Chapter 40" said that "reversal is the movement of Tao, and it is discussing the principle that things must be reversed when they are extreme. Failure will bring success experience, and success will also be a trap that leads to failure. Therefore, things will be reversed when things are extreme. Not blessed." The truth of things is not only opposites and mutual growth, but also endless cycles. There is a story in "Huainanzi Human Training" that explains this truth. There is a family in the fortress who is good at raising horses. Once, for some unknown reason, many horses suddenly ran into the wilderness where barbarians were infested, and lost their tracks. The neighbors came to express their condolences, but the owner said: "Maybe Maybe it was luck! A few months later, the missing horses brought back many wild horses from outside the Great Wall, and the neighbors came to express their congratulations, but the owner said: "Maybe there may be something wrong here! Later, his son wanted to tame these wild horses, but he fell off the horse instead and broke his foot. The neighbor came to comfort him again, but his father said, "It may be luck or maybe it is." "After a year like this, the Hu people invaded the fortress in large numbers, and the strong men formed a defense team to fight the Hu people. Nine out of ten people died in the battle. The master's son was lame, so he didn't need to be a soldier, but he saved his life. There is misfortune, there is good fortune in misfortune, the changes in it cannot be grasped, and the reason is unfathomable.”

Life is a cycle of blessings and misfortunes, but most people only see the surface, but do not see through the hidden possibilities.Lao Tzu's "movement against the Tao" is to specifically put forward the most important principles that can be seen everywhere in the experience world but are often neglected by people, and turn them into principles and principles of thinking, reminding everyone to pay special attention.That is to say, you don't have to worry too much about failure, and you have to be more cautious when you succeed to keep the results. Failure is the mother of success, and the culprit lies ahead. On the contrary, you can be more determined, fight to the end, work hard with all your heart, and success is at your fingertips. On the contrary, you are arrogant and negligent, playing with things and losing your ambition, and you are on the road to decadence. Therefore, success is also the mother of failure.

When you are successful, the environment often undergoes major changes because of your own success, but successful people often ignore the huge changes in the environment. The centralization of power after Shang Yang's reforms allowed Qin to achieve unprecedented success. When Qin Wangzheng unified the six countries, this success also reached its peak. At this time, the environment changed drastically. Qin no longer only governed Guanzhong. It is necessary to manage the territory developed by the entire Chinese civilization and the Chu civilization for thousands of years, especially Qi and Chu, which are remote, vast in size, complex in customs and customs, and have deep-rooted cultural concepts. The environment in the Yongqi area can be compared.

The difference in the situation is very clear, but Qin Shihuang and Li Si are blind instead. The successful experience cannot be forgotten, and the successful result is even harder to abandon. a mission. The most important thing for a successful person is defense. Holding on to the fruits of victory is only a defensive mentality, which can easily become stubborn. Both Qin Shihuang and Li Si fell into this rut. Al Ries (ALRies) in his famous book "Marketing Warfare" (Marketing Warfare) said: "Attacking your own courage is a winner's best defensive strategy." In a leadership position, the defender has the upper hand in the minds of potential customers, but the best way to strengthen a winner's position is to constantly attack yourself and protect the market by introducing new products that make existing products obsolete. forever advantage.

Self-attack may sacrifice short-term profits, but it can ensure market leadership and is the most important weapon in the marketing war. On the contrary, any company that is unwilling to attack itself will often lose its advantage in the market, and in the end, it will have to give up its position as a winner. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------