Optimism:

When Franklin was 23 years old, he wrote his "Epitaph": "The remains of Benjamin Franklin, a printer, are here. Sleeping forever. Like the cover of an old book, the table of contents has been torn off, the letters and gilding have peeled off, his body will decay, but his works will last forever, he is convinced that his works have been edited and revised by the editor. , will be released again with an updated and more beautiful version."

A blessing in disguise

During the Warring States Period, near the northern border town, there lived an old man named Sai Weng. Sai Weng raised many horses. One day, one of his horses suddenly got lost. When the neighbors heard about this, they came to comfort him and advised him not to be too anxious and to pay more attention to his health as he was getting older. Seeing someone comforting him, Sai Weng smiled and said, "Losing a horse is not a big loss, and it might bring some blessings."

After hearing Sai Weng's words, Sai Weng felt very funny in his heart. Losing the horse was obviously a bad thing, but he thought it might be a good thing, obviously just to comfort himself. After a few days, the lost horse not only returned home on its own initiative, but also brought back a Hun horse.

The neighbor heard about it and admired Sai Weng's foresight very much. He congratulated Sai Weng and said, "You still have the foresight. Not only did the horse not get lost, but you also brought back a good horse. What a blessing." Sai Weng listened. Although he received the congratulations from his neighbors, he did not look happy at all. He said worriedly: "Getting a good horse for free may not necessarily be a blessing, but it may cause some trouble."

The neighbors thought that His posturing was the cunning of old age. I was obviously happy in my heart, but I didn't want to say it out loud.

Sai Weng has an only son who likes riding horses very much. He found that the horse he brought back was very handsome, long in body, big in hooves, neighing loudly, and powerful. He knew it was a good horse at a glance. He rode out every day, feeling very proud of himself.

One day, he was so happy that he hit the horse and galloped away. He stumbled, fell off the horse and broke his leg. Neighbors heard about it and came to express their condolences.

Sai Weng said: "It's nothing. I broke my leg but saved my life. Maybe it's a blessing." The neighbors thought he was talking nonsense again. They could not imagine the blessing that breaking a leg would bring. Soon, the Huns invaded in large numbers, and young people were drafted into the army. Sai Weng's son could not join the army because he broke his leg. All the young men who enlisted in the army died in the battle, but Sai Weng's son survived.

Liu Yuxi, a politician and writer of the Tang Dynasty, participated in Wang Shuwen's "Yongzhen Reform". After the failure of the reform, he was demoted and sent to other places for many years. However, he stuck to his integrity and maintained an optimistic attitude. Spirit. "Thousands of sails pass by the side of the sunken boat, and thousands of spring trees grow in front of the diseased trees." He firmly believes that new things will definitely defeat decayed things.

In the process of searching for filament materials, Edison made 1,200 experiments and failed 1,200 times. Others said to him: "You have failed 1,200 times, do you want to continue?" Edison said: "No, I have not failed. I have discovered that 1,200 materials are not suitable for making filaments."

Wang Meng said to himself that in that chaotic era, he did not go crazy or commit suicide because of his "incorrigible optimism." A friend asked him what he had done during his 16 years of exile in Xinjiang. He replied: "I studied Uyghur as a postdoctoral fellow. I spent two years as a preparatory course, five years as an undergraduate, three years as a master's student, three years as a doctoral student, and three more. Years of postdoc, isn’t it 16 years?”

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Calm:

Tai Gong fishermen who are willing to take the bait

Jiang Shang was punctual and set up a hook to catch the fish in the Wei River without using any scented bait. He was three feet away from the water. Shang said to himself: "Those who bear fate Take the bait!"

Explanation of "Tai Gong", that is, Jiang Shang in the early Zhou Dynasty, also known as Jiang Ziya. Jiang Taigong used a hook to fish without any bait. He would catch any fish he wanted to catch. A metaphor for willingly falling into a trap.

Story The Taigong’s surname was Jiang Mingshang, also known as Lu Shang. He was a hero who assisted King Wen and King Wu of Zhou to destroy the Shang Dynasty. When he was not reused by King Wen, he lived in seclusion in a place by the Wei River in Shaanxi. That was the area ruled by Ji Chang (King Wen of Zhou), the leader of the Zhou clan. He hoped to attract Ji Chang's attention to himself and establish his merits.

Tai Gong often hangs bells by the stream in Fan. Most people use curved hooks with scented bait on them when fishing, and then sink them in the water to trick fish into taking the bait.

But Taigong's fishing hook is straight, with no bait hanging on it, and it does not sink into the water, and it is three feet above the water. While raising the fishing rod high, he said to himself: "You fish that don't want to live, if you are willing, just take the bait yourself!"

One day, a firewood collector came to the stream. By the way, he saw Taigong fishing on the water with a straight hook without bait, so he said to him: "Old sir, if you fish like this, you will never catch a fish in a hundred years!"

Tai Gongju He raised his fishing rod and said, "To be honest with you! I'm not here to catch fish, but to catch kings and marquises!"

Tai Gong's unique fishing method finally reached Ji Chang. . When Ji Chang found out, he sent a soldier to call him. But the Taigong ignored the soldier and just fished by himself, saying to himself: "Fishing, fishing, if the fish doesn't take the bait, the shrimps will do whatever they want!"

Ji Chang listened to the soldier's advice. After reporting the matter, an official was sent to invite the Grand Duke. But Taigong still ignored him and said while fishing: "Fishing, fishing, big fish don't take the bait, small fish don't mess around!"

Ji Chang then realized that this fisherman must be a wise man. Well, you have to invite him in person. So he went on a vegetarian diet for three days, took a bath, changed his clothes, and went to Fanxi to hire the Grand Duke with generous gifts. When Taigong saw that he was sincere in hiring him, he agreed to work for him.

Later, Jiang Shang assisted King Wen to rejuvenate the country. He also helped King Wen's son, King Wu Jifa, to destroy the Shang Dynasty. He was granted the title of Qi by King Wu, realizing his wish to make contributions. "

In the spring of the tenth year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, the army of Qi attacked our state of Lu. Duke Zhuang of Lu was about to fight. Cao GUI asked Duke Zhuang to meet him. His fellow countrymen said: "The high officials will plan this matter. Yes, why do you need to participate? Cao GUI said: "The high officials are short-sighted and cannot make far-sighted decisions." So he went to the palace to see Duke Zhuang. Cao GUI asked Duke Zhuang, "Why do you want to fight against Qi?" Zhuang Gong said: "I don't dare to keep things like food and clothing for myself. I will definitely give them to others." Cao GUI said: "Such small favors cannot spread to the people, and the people will not listen to you." Duke Zhuang said: "I never dare to falsely report the number of cattle, sheep, jade and silk used for sacrifices. I must be honest and trustworthy." Cao GUI said: "This is just a small credit. It cannot convince the gods. The gods will not bless you." Zhuang Gong said: "Even if we can't understand every case clearly, we must handle it reasonably." Cao GUI said: "This is a matter of fulfilling one's duty (to the people). You can fight the war based on this." Please allow me to go with you during the battle. "

(On that day) Duke Zhuang of Lu and Cao GUI were riding in the same chariot. They fought with the Qi army at Changshao. As soon as Duke Zhuang (went into battle) was about to beat drums and march, Cao GUI said: "( Not now). After the Qi army beat the three-pass war drum, Cao GUI said, "We can beat the drum and march." "The Qi army was severely defeated. Zhuang Zongzheng wanted to order a pursuit, but Cao GUI said: "It's not possible yet. "(After saying that) he got out of the car to look at the tracks of the Qi army, then climbed on the crossbar in front of the car to look at the Qi army's (formation), (then) said: "It's time to pursue. "So he pursued the Qi army.

After the victory, Duke Zhuang of Lu asked about the reason for the victory. Cao GUI replied: "Fighting depends on courage. Beating the drum for the first time can boost the courage of the soldiers, but the courage of the soldiers weakens when the drum is beaten for the second time. By the third time, the courage has disappeared. The enemy's courage was gone and ours was strong, so we defeated them. (Qi is a) big country, and it is difficult to figure out (its situation). I was afraid of an ambush. I found that their chariot seals were confused and their military flags had fallen, so I ordered to pursue them. ”

During the Three Kingdoms period, Wei sent Sima Yi to attack Shu’s street pavilion, but Zhuge Liang sent Ma Di to garrison but failed. Sima Yi took advantage of the victory and approached the west city. Zhuge Liang had no troops to meet the enemy, but he was calm and composed and opened the city. Sima Yi suspected that there was an ambush and retreated. When he learned that Xicheng was empty, he went back to fight again. Zhao Yun rushed back to rescue Sima Yi.