Chapter 10 Tenth letter: Be loyal to yourself

Motto: I can deceive my enemy, but I will never deceive myself. Those who ask me to treat each other with sincerity want to gain benefits from me. What fate offers us is not the wine of disappointment, but the cup of opportunity. (Our destiny offers not the cup of despair, but the chalice of opportunity.) November 29, 1899 Dear John: Are you in a better mood?If you haven't, I think, you need to know something. You need to know that the vast majority of people in this world are driven by a special force that can easily strip us of the cloak of humanity, expose us completely to the sun, and justly It delimits us on the chart of purity and filth, so that all our defenses become pale, no matter how eloquent we are, it is the touchstone of our humanity: interests.

In other words, interest is the shadow that illuminates human nature. In front of it, all the essence related to morality and ethics will appear and be seen at a glance.Maybe you think my words are a bit absolute, but my experience tells me so. I'm not a historian of anthropology, and I don't know what they'll explain about man's magnificence and ugliness, but my life's history has convinced me that interests seem to be all-conquering, and that they can divide people, races, and races that might otherwise live in peace with each other. , The country, pull the generals together, intrigue each other, the bayonet sees red.In those scams, traps, and even slander, slander, and slander, as well as cruel and ruthless bloody battles and robber-like plunder, you will find the shadow of chasing interests.In this sense, it is more accurate to say that we are slaves of interests rather than saying that we are the masters of our own hearts.

I can affirm that in this world, apart from God, there is no one who does not pursue interests.From the moment you walk into human contact, a protracted game of profit-making in life begins.In this game, everyone is your enemy, including yourself, and you need to confront your own weaknesses and fight against all evils that build happiness on your pain.So, after I see through all this, I have always adhered to a principle: I can deceive the enemy, but never deceive myself.Hitting back at the enemy who is shooting me never fails my conscience. Son, please don't get me wrong, I have no intention of painting our world a depressing, suffocating gray; in fact, I crave friendship, sincerity, kindness, and all the good emotions that nourish my heart, and I believe in them must exist.However, unfortunately, in the business of chasing fame and fortune, it is difficult for me to obtain this kind of satisfaction, but I often encounter the blows of betrayal and deceit.To this day, I can still clearly remember the experience of being cheated several times, which is unforgettable.

One of the most painful deceptions happened to me in Colliforland.At that time, the refining industry was almost unprofitable due to overproduction, and many refiners had fallen to the brink of bankruptcy.Also, Colliforland is far from the oil fields, which means that we are putting ourselves on an unequal footing by paying high long-distance transportation costs compared to those refineries that are located in the oil fields.I am determined to change it. I want to acquire oil refineries that are struggling on the verge of death on a large scale, form a joint force, and act in a unified way to make everyone's wallet bulge.

I told the refinery owners on the verge of failure that we were at a disadvantage in Colliforland, and that together we had to do something to protect ourselves.I think my plan is good, please think about it carefully.If you are interested, we will be happy to consult with you.Also out of good intentions and strategic considerations, I have bought many worthless factories, which are like old garbage and should only be thrown into the scrap heap. But some people are so evil, selfish, and ungrateful. After they got my money, they turned against me, unscrupulously tore up the agreement reached with me, and made a comeback. And publicly blackmailed me, asking me to buy their factory.These people had asked me to be honest and to pay a good price for their crippled factory, which I did, and yet the results were distressing.At that moment, my mood was terrible, and I even blamed myself for being too honest and kind, otherwise I would not have fallen into a situation where I was besieged and helpless.

What is most unacceptable to me is that in the game of profit, today's friend will become tomorrow's enemy.This has often happened, and two of my church friends have repeatedly deceived me without restraint.For God's sake, I don't want to enumerate their sins.But I can tell you that when I knew that I had been deceived by them, I was stunned. I couldn't understand how despicable the man who prayed with me and swore to renounce pride, lust and greed was so despicable! After all kinds of deception and lies, I told myself helplessly: You can only believe in yourself, only in this way, you will not be deceived by others.I know that this kind of slightly hostile attitude is not good, but there are too many deceptions in this world, and precaution is an indispensable survival skill for us.

Dealing with jerks makes you smarter.Those evil "teachers" have taught me many things. If anyone wants to deceive me now, I guess it will be harder than crossing the Colorado Grand Canyon, because those devils helped me establish a set of rules for dealing with people, I think This set of rules will help you: I only show my feelings when it is not harmful to me; I can let my opponent teach me, but I will never teach my opponent, no matter how much I know about it; think twice before deciding everything, regardless of others How to urge, never act without consideration; I have my own truth, and I am only responsible to myself; be careful of those who ask me to be honest, they want to gain benefits from me.

I know that cheating is just a tactic in the game of profit, not a solution.But I also know that the game of profit is played day and night, so I must be vigilant from morning to night and understand that in this game, everyone is an enemy, because everyone has his own interests first, whether or not benefit others.The important thing is how to protect yourself and prepare for battle anytime, anywhere. Son, fate offers us not the wine of disappointment, but the cup of opportunity, take heart!What happened on Wall Street is nothing serious, it's just that you trust others too much.You need to know, though, that a good horse doesn't fall twice in the same place.

love your father