The weapon that determines success

Everyone who desires success must first cultivate two weapons, which are "morality" and "talent". Only by having both ability and political integrity, and complementing each other, can we be invincible and achieve immediate success.

There is such a story. Not long after Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, came to the throne, someone liked him and presented him with a bow. He looked at it again and again, tried it again and again, and decided that it was a rare and good bow. So when he was proud, he showed off to a craftsman who specialized in making bows and arrows.

But after the craftsman looked at it carefully, he came to an unexpected conclusion: "Although this bow is strong, it is not a good bow!" Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty asked the reason urgently. The craftsman replied: "The quality of a bow depends not only on whether it can shoot far, but also on whether it can shoot accurately. Whether it can shoot accurately depends crucially on whether the texture of the material used to make the bow is good. Making this The core of the bow wood is not in the center, and the veins of the wood are naturally slanted. Therefore, although the bow is powerful, the arrows shot will inevitably miss the target, so it is not a good bow. ”

In fact, the craftsman’s words contain rich philosophy. He pointed out two criteria for judging talents, that is, a person must not only be capable, but also be on the right track, that is, a person must not only be talented, but also virtuous. Only those who have both ability and political integrity are real talents.

A person's virtue is like whether the center of a bow is in the right position, which determines the direction of the arrow; a person's talent is like whether a bow is powerful, which determines how far the arrow can shoot. A virtuous and talented person is like a perfect bow. It is strong and powerful, can shoot far, and can shoot accurately without missing any arrows. A person who is virtuous but not talented is like a defective bow. Although his wooden heart is in the middle and the arrow he shoots goes in the right direction, it has no staying power and cannot shoot far. In the end, it is still difficult to hit the target. A person without virtue and talent is like a dangerous bow. Although it can shoot far, due to the poor texture of the wood, the arrow will not go in the right direction, and will inevitably miss the target and even cause serious harm. A person without virtue or talent is like a bow that is harmful but useless. Not only does he have a wrong heart, but he also has no strength.

Sima Guang, a great politician, historian, and essayist in the Northern Song Dynasty, divided people into four categories: saints, fools, gentlemen, and villains based on virtue and talent. "Sage"; talent and virtue are both meaningless "fools"; virtues exceed those who are called "gentlemen"; talents exceed virtues and are called "villains".

Sima Guang believes that the principle of employing people is: if you cannot find a saint or a gentleman to use, you would rather use a fool than a villain. The principle is: a gentleman thinks it is good to coerce him, and a villain thinks it is evil to coerce him. Those who use talents to think good will always be good; those who use talents to think evil will always be evil.

This shows the importance of virtue and talent to success, and virtue is the most important thing between them. Therefore, if a person wants to succeed, he must not only have extraordinary talents, but also have extraordinary virtues.