Four dollars per barrel

Archibot is just an ordinary employee of the American Standard Oil Company, but no matter what occasion he signs, he never forgets to add a slogan of the company. "Standard oil at $4 a barrel." As time went by, colleagues and friends simply gave him the nickname "$4 per barrel", and no one called him by his real name anymore.

When Rockefeller, the chairman of the company, heard about this, he called Archibald and asked him: "Why aren't you angry when someone calls you the nickname '$4 per barrel'? ?" Archibald replied: "Isn't '$4 per barrel' our company's slogan? If someone calls me once, it is a free promotion for the company. Why should I be angry?" Rockefeller sighed. Said: "They never forget to promote the company at all times. This is exactly what we want."

Five years later, Rockefeller resigned as chairman, and Archibald became The next chairman of Standard Oil Company, an important reason for his promotion was his unremitting promotion of the company.

Akibot said: I am successful because I pay attention to the little things that others ignore. Therefore, don't be frustrated because there is nothing earth-shattering to make you perfect. Be positive about every little thing you encounter. Maybe your future success will be due to them.

Cheng Men Li Xue

The story of "Cheng Men Li Xue" tells the story of the Song Dynasty scholars Yang Shi and You Zuo who came to seek advice from their teachers. Yang Shi and You Ye originally had Cheng Hao as their teacher. After Cheng Hao's death, they were already in their forties and had passed the Jinshi examination. However, they still had to go to Cheng Yi to continue their studies. The story happened on the day when they first came to Songyang Academy to pay homage to Cheng Yi.

The two of them arrived outside the small courtyard of Cheng Yi's house to meet Cheng Yi. The boy in the courtyard heard it and hurriedly opened the door and came out. He waved to them and said, "Sir, he is taking a nap." They explained the purpose of their visit to the boy, and the boy asked They went to the study and waited. They were afraid of waking up the teacher, so they thanked the boy and then stood waiting outside the door respectfully.

It was the middle of winter, and a heavy snow suddenly fell from the gloomy sky. Soon, a thick layer of snow accumulated on their faces and bodies. From a distance, they looked like two snowmen, but neither of them had any intention of leaving. When Cheng Yi woke up from his nap, the boy brought hot tea and said that two students were visiting. He didn't dare to disturb his husband while he was taking a nap, and they were still waiting outside the door. Cheng Yi was surprised and asked the boy to invite them in. Cheng Yi was deeply moved by the two people's spirit of learning and respect for their teachers, and he taught them more diligently from then on. Finally, Yang Shi learned all the knowledge of his teacher. Later, Yang Shi returned to the south to spread Cheng Neo-Confucianism and formed an exclusive school, known as "Mr. Guishan" in the world.

Later generations used the allusion "Cheng Men Li Xue" to praise those students who sincerely asked for advice and respected their teachers. This spirit of assiduous study and the moral character of respecting teachers are worthy of our study to this day.

Redeem your childhood dream

On November 28, 2002, three days before Thanksgiving, a middle-aged man named Saini Smith in Chicago submitted a petition to the local court filed a complaint seeking redemption of his right to travel to Egypt. Such demands should be said to be very common in American society. However, the case caused an uproar.

The facts of this case are very simple. It happened 40 years ago, when Saini Smith was 6 years old and in the first grade of primary school in Wellington. One day, the conduct teacher Miss Mary Ann asked them each to tell a dream of their own. The 24 students in the class were very enthusiastic, especially Saini. He named two in one breath: one is to have his own heifer. , the other was a trip to Egypt. But when Miss Mary Ann asked about a boy named Jamie, for some reason he suddenly lost his dream. In order to let Jamie also have a dream, she suggested that Jamie buy one from his classmates. So under the witness of Miss Mary Ann, Jamie bought one from Saini, who had two dreams, for 3 cents. Because Saini wanted to have a calf so much at that time, he gave up his second dream - traveling to Egypt.

Forty years have passed, and Saini Smith has reached middle age and has made some achievements in the business world. In the past 40 years, I have been to many places - Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan... Yet he never set foot in Egypt. Didn't he want to go to Egypt? He said that since he sold his dream of going to Egypt, he has never forgotten this dream. However, as a devout Christian and an honest businessman, he could not go to Egypt because he sold the act along with the dream.

On the eve of Thanksgiving in 2002, he and his wife planned to travel to Africa. When designing the travel route, his wife included the Egyptian pyramids as one of the sightseeing items. Saini Smith decided to redeem that dream, because he felt that only in that way could he set foot on that land calmly.

Saini Smith was unable to redeem that dream, because the federal court determined that the dream was worth $30 million. If Saini Smith wanted to redeem it, he would have to go bankrupt.

This is what Jamie said in his defense statement: When I received the copy served by Mr. Smith’s lawyer, I was packing my bags and preparing to go to Egypt with my family. This seems to be my reason for rejecting Mr. Smith’s request to redeem that dream.

Actually, the real reason is not that we are preparing to go to Egypt, but the value of this dream. When I was a child, I was a poor kid. I am so poor that I dare not have my own dreams. However, since I bought a dream from Mr. Smith for 3 cents with the encouragement of Miss Mary, I completely changed and became rich. I am no longer sloppy and my studies have made great progress. The reason why I was admitted to the University of Washington was entirely due to this dream. Because I want to go to Egypt.

The reason why I can meet my beautiful and virtuous wife is also due to this dream. She was someone who was fascinated by Egypt. If I hadn't bought that dream, we would never have met in the library, let alone have a romantic and charming love. My son is now studying at Stanford University, and I think he also benefited from this dream. Because I told him since he was a child: "I have a dream, that is to go to Egypt. If you can get good grades, I will take you to that beautiful place." I think he entered Stanford under the call of Egypt. University.

Now, I own 6 supermarkets in Chicago, with a total value of about $25 million. I think if I didn’t have that dream of traveling to Egypt, I would never have this wealth. Dear judge, I think if this dream is yours, you will definitely think that this dream has been integrated into your life, has been closely connected with your life and your destiny, and is inseparable; you will definitely think that this dream is yours. priceless treasure.

It costs $30 million to redeem a dream that was sold for 3 cents. In our opinion, it may not be necessary, or it may not be worth it at all. However, Saini Smith has appealed to the federal court, saying that even if he spends 300 million to bring the lawsuit to his great-grandson's generation, he must redeem his childhood dream no matter what the cost.