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
To know your faults and be able to change is the greatest virtue.
Interpretation
Recognizing and changing one's faults is a profound strength.
This quote by Confucius emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and the ability to change. Understanding our own shortcomings is a critical step towards personal growth, and having the resolve to improve upon them exemplifies true virtue and strength of character.
In practice
In a motivational speech about personal growth.
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.
In every generation there has to be some fool who will speak the truth as he sees it.
People get out ahead of themselves in debt with spending on all of their desires. But if you learn to live pretty simply and well, well under your means, you feel incredibly, incredibly rich, and that frees you up and gives you the option to start something new, to leave the job you're not excited about, where there might be a glass ceiling on you.
When fortune surprises us by giving us some great office without having gradually led us to expect it, or without having raised our hopes, it is well nigh impossible to occupy it well, and to appear worthy to fill it.
I want [my daughter] to look at the world through the underside of a glass-bottom boat, to look through a microscope at the galaxies that exist on the pinpoint of a human mind.
Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as I'm sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you're looking for, no matter how much of them you have."
Indeed I do not think we should be justified in using any but the more sombre tones and colours while our people, our Empire, and indeed the whole English-speaking world are passing through a dark and deadly valley.
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