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If your plan is for one year plant rice. If your plan is for ten years plant trees. If your plan is for one hundred years educate children.
Confucius
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the importance of long-term thinking and investment in education for future generations.

Confucius highlights the varying scope of investment based on the time frame of one's plans. For short-term goals, one can engage in immediate actions like planting rice; for mid-term goals, tree planting represents the establishment of enduring resources. However, for the longest horizon—one hundred years—he points to the education of children as the most significant endeavor, as it shapes the future of society and ensures the continuity of knowledge and values.

Themes

EducationLong-TermPlanningChildrenFuture

In practice

Example use cases

During a keynote speech about the importance of sustainable development.

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