Another Confucius Saying

Just want to share another verse from Analects of Confucius that I really like. It is a saying that tells us, there are many things we can learn, as long as we open our eyes and ears and think things a bit deeper (not a lot ok, may go round and round in circles. :P) Anyway, here is the saying, which is found in Chapter 7.

Confucius said:"In a group of three people, there is always something I can learn from. Choose to follow the strengths of others, use the shortcomings to reflect upon ourselves."

As you can see from here, everyone that we come across can teach us something useful. As long as we reflect on the lessons learnt from and by other people, we can continuously improve oneself, and of course when you reflect on these lessons, you apply some wisdom to it because each situation is unique but there are still common principles in them. If you see this from another point of view, the passionate man in my center will teach me what stupid things I should not do, what things I should not say to people and so on. Haha! And he paid for the mistakes at his own costs and I get to benefit from it. :P

This is another point I want to make. By reflecting other people's behavior onto yourself, you are able to pick up lessons without paying for the mistakes made, now isn't that great? Recently, I have been receiving lessons in a particular area and the lessons just keep on repeating itself and I learn best through repetition also. So I guess I have learnt well. Now learning well is one thing, applying it CORRECTLY is another. That is why most successful people would recommend those that want to be successful to have a mentor or at least a group of friends who have the common goal. So that when they know the lesson and executing the principles in their own environment, they do not stray off too much. There are a lot of business books out there that teach people how to plan well, but never teach people how to execute well. Haha! Maybe that is a niche I can go into.

In conclusion, remember the Confucius saying above. Use other people's behavior to reflect on your weaknesses and strength and best part of these lessson is that you do not pay a very high price for it. Just see more and listen more.

Anyway, one of my friends is flying off this weekend for a conference! Bon Voyage and all the best to your presentation!!

Cheers!