Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.
ConfuciusRead
Faithfulness and sincerity are the highest things.
Interpretation
Faithfulness and sincerity are essential virtues in life.
This quote by Confucius emphasizes the paramount importance of faithfulness and sincerity in human interactions and character. It suggests that these qualities not only define strong relationships but also reflect one's integrity and authenticity, serving as foundational values in both personal and communal life.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of honesty in leadership.
Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.
Earnest in practicing the ordinary virtues, and careful in speaking about them, if, in his practice, he has anything defective, the superior man dares not but exert himself; and if, in his words, he has any excess, he dares not allow himself such license.
When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.
Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.
The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability that he has.
Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.
Some people stay away from the door for the chance of it opening up.
The little reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over.
This was a new recognition that perfection is admirable but a trifle inhuman, and that a stumbling kind of semi-success can be much more warming. Most of all, perhaps, these exultant yells for the Mets were also yells for ourselves, and came from a wry, half-understood recognition that there is more Met than Yankee in every one of us. I knew for whom that foghorn blew; it blew for me.
How can one learn to know oneself? Never by introspection, rather by action.
Today I don't have to fit into anyone else's emotional atmosphere.
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
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