Chapter 15 Letter 15: Wealth is a by-product of hard work

Diligence is for yourself, not for others. Wealth is an accident, a by-product of hard work. (Let us go forward, firm in our faith, steadfast inout purpose; but sustained by our confidence in the will of God.) January 25, 1907 Dear John: I am very glad to receive your letter. There are two sentences in your letter that I appreciate very much, one is "If you are not a winner, you are giving up on yourself", and the other is "Diligence makes a nobleman".These two sentences are my out-and-out motto in life. If I am not self-effacing, I am willing to say that it is the epitome of my life.

Those malicious newspapers often describe me as a gifted money-making machine when talking about the huge wealth I have created. In fact, they know almost nothing about me, and they have little insight into history. As immigrants, it is in our nature to be hopeful and hardworking.While I was a child, my mother implanted in my bones the virtues of thrift, self-reliance, hard work, trustworthiness, and relentless entrepreneurial spirit.I sincerely believed in these virtues as the great principles of success, and they still run in my blood to this day.And all of these formed the ladder for me to climb upwards, sending me to the top of the mountain of wealth.

Of course, I have benefited a lot from the war that changed the fate and life of the American people. To be honest, it has made me a business giant that amazed and daunted the business world.Yes, the Civil War gave the people unprecedented business opportunities. It made me a rich man in advance, and provided capital support for me to win in the arena of grabbing opportunities set off after the war, so that I was able to make a lot of money later. However, opportunities are equal like time. Why can I seize the opportunity to become a rich man, but many people pass by the opportunity and have to live in poverty?Is it really because of my insatiable greed, as my detractors say?

No!It is hard work!Opportunities are reserved only for hardworking people!When I was young, I believed in one of the laws of success: Wealth is an accident, a by-product of hard work.The achievement of every goal comes from diligent thinking and diligent action, and the same is true for realizing the dream of wealth. I highly respect the phrase "diligence makes a nobleman", it is a motto that I will respect forever.No matter in the past or now, whether in North America where we are based or in the far east, those nobles who enjoy status, dignity, glory and wealth have a never-ending heart and a pair of strong and powerful arms. The light of perseverance and tenacious will are highlighted on the body.And it is this kind of quality or wealth that allows them to achieve their careers, win respect, and become indomitable figures.

John, in this infinitely changing world, there are no eternal nobles, nor eternal poor.As you know, when I was a kid, I wore rags and my family was so poor that I depended on good people to help.But today I have a huge wealth empire, and I have poured a huge amount of wealth into philanthropy.It is like the ups and downs of all kinds of ups and downs, like the vicissitudes of life, endless.People from humble backgrounds and poor families, through their hard work, persistent pursuit and wisdom, can also achieve success and rise to the top, becoming a new nobleman. All honor and honor must be obtained by one's own creation, and such honor and honor can last forever.But in our society today, the children of rich families are in a situation where if they do not advance, they will retreat.Unfortunately, many of them are so lacking in enterprise, so indolent and profligate, that many of them, though brought up in affluence, do not die in poverty for nothing.

Therefore, you have to teach your children that if they want to perfect themselves, achieve themselves, enjoy the joy of success, win the respect of the society, and sing the praises of life, they can only create with their own hands; let them Know that the laurels of honor will only be worn on the heads of those brave explorers; tell them that diligence is for themselves, not for others, and they are the biggest beneficiaries of diligence. Since I was a child, I have firmly believed that without hard work, there will be no fruitful harvest. As a child of the poor, there is no other way than to achieve success, wealth and dignity through hard work.When I was in school, I was not a student who could teach well, but I was unwilling to be outdone, so I could only prepare my homework diligently and persevere.When I was ten years old I knew I had to work as much as I could, chopping wood, milking cows, fetching water, farming, I did everything, and I didn't spare any effort.It was the hard and hard years in the countryside that honed my will and enabled me to withstand the hardships of starting a business in the future; it also made me more persevering and shaped my strong self-confidence.

I know that the reason why I can always deal with adversity in the future, including my success, is largely due to the self-confidence I built up since I was a child. Diligence can cultivate people's quality and cultivate people's ability.When I was employed by Hewitt-Tuttle I acquired a reputation as a young bookkeeper of uncommon ability and excellence.During those days, I was wearing stars and moons all day long, day and night.At that time, my employer told me that you will succeed with your extraordinary perseverance.Although I don't know what the future will look like, but one thing I believe, as long as I do one thing with my heart, I will never fail.

Today, although I am nearly seventy years old, I still fight in the business world, because I know that the fastest way to end your life is to do nothing.Everyone has the right to choose whether retirement is the beginning or the end.That idle attitude to life can be toxic.I have always regarded retirement as starting again, and I have never stopped struggling for a day, because I know the true meaning of life. John, my prominent status and huge wealth today are just the result of my labor and creation much more than ordinary people.I was originally an ordinary person with no laurels on my head, but with strong perseverance, tenacious hard work, and diligent pursuit, I finally achieved success.My reputation is not a false name, it is a crown cast with blood and sweat. A little bit of superficial jealousy and ignorant superficiality are all unfair to me.

Our wealth is a reward for our diligence.Let's keep our faith, set our goals, and with faith in God's will, keep going, my son. love your father