Be careful of advice
Mr Shih had two sons: one loved learning; the other war.
The first expounded his moral teachings at the admiring court of Qi and was made a tutor, while the second talked strategy at the bellicose court of Qu and was made a general.
The impecunious Mr Meng, hearing of these two successes, sent his own two sons out to follow the example of the Shih boys.
The first expounded his moral teachings at the court of Qin, but the King of Qin said:
“At present the states are quarrelling violently and every prince is busy arming his troops to the teeth. If I followed this prig’s pratings we should soon be annihilated.”
So he had the fellow castrated.
Meanwhile, the second brother displayed his military genius at the court of Wei. But the King of Wei said:
“Mine is a weak state. If I relied on force instead of diplomacy, we should soon be wiped out. If, on the other hand, I let this fire-eater go, he will offer his services to another state and then we shall be in trouble.”
So he had the fellow’s feet cut off.
Both families did exactly the same thing, but one timed it right, the other wrong.
Thus success depends on… rhythm.
- Lieh Tzu
Also a point to note:
It’s good to learn from other people’s success stories — but note that everything is done in CONTEXT and TIME.
Something that works then may not work now.
Simply because of:
- A different time
- A different context, e.g niches, target audience etc.
- Some other unknown, uncontrollable reason.
Be careful of advice.
Always consider advice carefully — and apply it to your own context wisely.
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