King Acros wanted Socrates to give up his life of preaching on the dirty streets of Athens and go back to live in the magnificent palace with him, but Socrates said to the king: "Your Majesty, in the In Athens, a meal cost half a penny, and water cost nothing!”
While talking to a wealthy Roman about wealth, Epictetus Expressing his point of view, he said: "I don't care about those things of yours at all, and there are many people around you who are poorer than me. You have silver utensils, luxurious villas, gorgeous clothes, exquisite jewelry, but your reason, morality and wishes are all made of clay. My brain is filled with rich thoughts, unlike you who have nothing to do all day long and have a gorgeous body. Little, but what I have is abundant to me. Your desires are always unattainable, but my attitude towards everything is very optimistic."
Issac Walton. Commenting on his neighbor: "My neighbor is a rich man. He is usually very busy and doesn't even have time to laugh. His life's work is to make money and keep making more money. Therefore, those monotonous He was still doing boring work, and he often said: "Creating wealth requires hard-working hands." What he said was absolutely true, but he never thought that wealth is not enough to bring happiness to people, just like a man. The great teacher said: 'Among the rich, there are fewer satisfied people than miserable people.' Don't think that those rich people with a lot of money are happier than us. Be grateful for our health, our talents and our conscience. ! ”
Professor Black said to young students at the University of Elsevier: “We can give up money, give up power, give up freedom, and even health, but what can really save us is our character.”< /p>
Emerson once said: "The true do-gooders of mankind are to educate people to leave the world of grain and money, to make people interested in their higher selves and forget their savings; to lead those who only care about making money. Enter the realm of knowledge, where dollars can no longer measure greatness and happiness; the desire for food and drink disappears, and everyone enjoys the feast of real life. ”
Who is the richest? He can work hard to make his country stronger and richer; from him, people can understand what it is to be proudest and richest; he can selflessly spend money to support others; he opens the door of opportunity to those around him ; Such people are the ears of the deaf, the eyes of the blind, and the legs of the lame. His community becomes more valuable for having people like him there, making everyone who lives nearby richer. In contrast, a rich man may be making the place where he lives poorer, devaluing the value of every inch of land he lives in.
Character is the guarantee of morality and the noblest wealth. It not only represents the capital of a poor person. "This estate is planted with the good wishes and honor of mankind. People who invest here will get rich returns, true honor and people's respect."
A Quaker tanner harvests When he got an apprentice, he said to the apprentice: "How I treat others, others will treat me the same way." In the days that followed, honesty, kindness and diligence made this apprentice appreciate by his employer. Fred said: "Henry, after you finish your studies, I have a small gift for you. I won't tell you what it is, but it is more valuable to you than pounds."
< p>The tannery worker said to his apprentice on the day he completed his apprenticeship: "Your father will receive the gift I gave you, and I will tell your father that among the people I have met, your son is the best The best boy. This is my gift to you - a good name." At this time, the original idea of ????getting material things was shattered in Henry's heart, but his father said to the tanner: "I would like it best. Hearing your positive comments about my son is not about giving him money, because 'a good reputation is a huge wealth in life'. "A good reputation is the result of a boy's self-effort, and it is the reward of his self-action." Without a good reputation, there is no dignity in status; beauty has no charm; no one respects old age; status cannot make a person noble; and gold has no value.Dr. Harveys of Hartford said: "Character is like a stock in a trade. Once a man owns more, he will have a greater ability to increase its value. Character is influence, it It can make people make friends, create wealth, win help and support, and it can pave a golden road to wealth, fame and happiness."
Compared with gems, gold, crowns or the status of kings. The more valuable and priceless possession is good character, and the nobler work in the world is the work of forming that character. Making money is an act that, when people’s minds become poor, eliminates people’s feelings of beauty and makes people ignore the beauty of nature and art; it eliminates the rich resources of people’s spiritual life; when it makes people’s sense of morality When it becomes dull and confuses right and wrong, good and evil; when it silences religious impulses and taints all thoughts of God in the depths of the soul, the worst evil is to make money.
It is important to separate the time spent cultivating our money-making talents from the time spent improving our aesthetic abilities. To live, a person not only needs bread, but also an invisible spiritual food. People need to spend a lot of money to buy food to maintain life, and the mind and soul of a healthy person are more eager to obtain truth, goodness and beauty.
Character is a person's eternal wealth. Compared with a person of character, even a wealthy person looks like a beggar. What are houses, land, stocks, and bonds compared to character? It is better for a great soul to live in a humble hut than for a poor slave to live in a luxurious villa. Real wealth is a simple life, a rich mind and hard work.
A person's wealth and value cannot be measured by money. A person has a lot of money, but a barren heart; a vast estate, but a narrow understanding. So what does his wealth mean to him? What will his worth earn him? What a sad thing it is for an old man to have no investment in developing himself, but to spend his whole life pursuing wealth! His soul has shriveled into that of a miser, and all his noble feelings have become rigid. Is he still a rich man?
Some people have only taken in their fortunes without giving, but they talk about these competitions without any pretense, and they are very glorious. So are they successful people in your mind? In order to satisfy their own desires, they plunder other people's property and make others poor. Are such people truly rich? Their abominable greed is like the hunger shown by wolves. Will such people be happy? When people in this world are divided into grades, the expressions on the faces of those who stand on the side of the successful will not be sweet, peaceful, or peaceful. Nature has engraved certain marks upon the face and manner of man, and the effect of all this is to rule the heart.
“Character speaks louder than wealth,” the famous Boston businessman Amos Lawrence memorized this sentence and regarded it as his motto, “If a man gains the whole world, but loses If you lose your soul, you are a useless person."
A money fan said to John Bright: "Sir, I am worth a million silver coins, do you believe it?" "Yes," said Bright. A little angry, but he still said implicitly, "I believe, and this is all your value."
Lowell said: "Life often measures us with extremely precise scales, and life can make We know exactly how much each person is worth, even to the smallest detail." Emerson once said: "I should not let anyone think that because he owns a large land. He can show his wealth in front of us, and I should let him know that I can do everything without his huge wealth, and I will not be bribed by anyone, even if I am really poor and have to get it from him. Wherever there is bread, he remains poor in my presence." Henry Beecher asked: "If we say that a person has succeeded, do you want to say something about it? Does it mean that man's emotions are like vines, spreading over all the blossoming spiritual realms and grasping the fruits tightly? Does it mean that he has controlled his lower feelings and only serves and strengthens his higher feelings? What about strength of character? Or does it mean that his understanding has been tapped, that he has visited every palace of knowledge and collected all the treasures of wisdom? Or that his taste has been cultivated and that all beautiful things can be achieved? What about bringing him spiritual joy? At this time, his morals have been improved and become sharp, so that he can communicate directly with heaven. No, no, everything is not like this. This sentence usually only means that This man's heart, mind, and emotions have become cold and rigid. The only living things are his sensory things, and he is only worth $50,000!"
"Does the ruin of his family mean his wife? Of course not. Does it mean that his wife and children have left him? Does it mean that his reputation has been lost due to crime? After losing his wealth, he was completely ruined! In fact, we made a huge mistake. How much wealth a person has does not represent the value of his life. ”
A bankrupt businessman returned home at night and said to his good wife: "Dear, the judge took away all our property. I am finished." The wife looked at him and asked calmly: "What will the judge do?" Will you sell?" "Oh, of course not." "Then will the judge sell me?" "Why do you say we lost everything, my dear? And children are our valuable things, everything is there, but without the results obtained by our ability and hard work, wealth can be recreated as long as we do not throw away our hearts and hands. ”
As long as a family beats with love and realizes that the mind and heart are great wealth, how can this family be defeated by poverty and bankruptcy?
Noble soul And a fulfilling mind will give the humblest family a golden halo, which is a beauty that decoration workers and architects can never achieve. Who doesn't want to be a rich man in character, and who wants to be a rich beggar? What? People who promote the development of human civilization are rich. Even if they die in poverty, they will receive monuments to their noble qualities and outstanding contributions from those who come after them.
Some people have good health and happiness. mood, which is their greatest wealth.
They are always very excited. They are born with a lively and happy nature. They are able to transcend daily troubles and troubles, which is very different from ordinary people. In addition, some people are also very rich in character, family and friendship; some people are very popular and can win everyone's favor; and some people have the extraordinary power of inspiring people and they can influence the people around them with happiness.
What is the wealth accumulated by mankind’s hard work compared with mankind’s most precious wisdom, talent, knowledge and beauty? Everyone can see that some non-material forces of human beings can create many great achievements in the world. In the development process of thousands of generations, human beings have developed very perfect morality and knowledge, and the minds of countless people are being influenced by these wealth. Influence.
····Although some people have no money, they are very rich, such as Whittier, Audubon, Beecher, Phillips Brooks, Lenro, Emerson, etc. They have keen and unique eyesight. They can see magnificence in flowers and grass, see brilliance in grass, read books from rushing streams, feel sermons from stones, and experience beauty from everything. Stuff, they know, and they don't have to pay anything to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Their wealth comes from meadows, streams, fields, mountains and forests as bees gather nectar from flowers. Every natural thing seemed to carry a special message to them. For the souls of these outstanding men, everything natural had power and beauty. Their hungry souls drank from it like a drop of water in the desert. It was theirs to gain strength and spiritual wealth from the world around them. mission, and then they refine and release these to water hungry humanity.
Lowell said: "What is the true measure of success for a nation? It is its contribution to mankind in morals, wisdom, thought and joy. It satisfies the desires of the human spirit and heart. The degree of need. ”
Everyone should develop the good habit of frugality in their early life. You have to do a certain amount of work every day, you have to make a living, you have to take into account people's birth, old age, illness and death, you have to work hard to save some money so that you can be financially independent in critical situations; you have to avoid defaulting on debts; you have to help others; you have to strictly abide by and learn All beneficial and sacred rules of frugal life must be as pious as observing the Ten Commandments - one day of rest per week, no lying, no greed, and no stealing.
Learning to form correct value judgments is the most important lesson in young people’s lives. When a young person lives independently, he needs a variety of commodities, and these commodities are extremely attractive and will attract He went to buy it. Therefore, his ability to judge becomes very important. He should not be fooled by the superficial value of various things in front of him, but should try to discover their true value. Thousands of temptations are in front of him at the same time, and every job or position will be extremely tempting. Therefore, a young man who is determined to achieve great things cannot allow himself to be deceived. He should work hard to do everything well and regard the position that is most suitable for him and the most appropriate as the position of his life.
Many children enter society with misconceptions about life and what success is, which is somewhat worrying. Society encourages them to work hard, make their way in the world, and accumulate more wealth. However, in an era of survival of the fittest and survival of the fittest, even if they are penniless, they can still ensure that they are spiritually rich and learn how to achieve success in difficult situations. These are their most important lessons.
Julia Howe said: "What is real success? I think many young people are gradually understanding that such a life is a valuable life. Is this life rich or poor? Is it a life with superior conditions?" Or in general, it doesn't matter. What is important is that we must have a humble attitude, maintain upright and pure living standards, and firmly devote ourselves to promoting humanitarian causes. For truly valuable success, such an approach is the key to success. And faith is the most powerful guarantee."
"If a person succeeds for the sake of the beauty, joy and welfare of human life, then such success will always be a failure." This is Francis. · Willard’s words of wisdom.
In the fierce social competition, only a few people can speak and act with a sincere heart. They believe that all honors are spiritual rewards, and gold or worldly interests have nothing to do with it. Nothing to do! They are the truly great people of this era. In ordinary daily life, they can devote themselves to it with peace of mind. They pursue higher goals and invest most of their time and thoughts.
Phillips Brooks once said: "He who fills his heart with grace, or fills his veins with virtue, will live a happy life, just as he fills his heart with wealth." Same."
"Do you want to know the power of character and humanity? Imagine if extraordinary figures like Milton, Plato and Shakespeare were erased from the memory of human history. , completely forget that they ever existed, then is the world still so rich?" Emerson said.
At any time, can we maintain lasting gentleness, loveliness and selflessness, live according to the requirements of role models, and enrich our own short lives? Can we abide by the principle of honesty? Even if our pockets are empty, we are not poor. We have noble character. It is an intangible asset, extremely precious and everlasting.