Listen to the ordinary!
Chapter 1: The most beautiful people
On the 10th anniversary of its establishment,
a famous cosmetic company held a contest:
“Women around me”.
Accordingly, contestants must send short letters
about the most beautiful woman they have met,
known and lived with.
Attached is a portrait of this beauty.
Within weeks,
the company received thousands of letters.
Among these was a letter that attracted special attention.
The author of the letter is a 9-year-old boy
who lives in a house in a dead end of a canal neighborhood.
The letter was full of typos,
and read:
“That most beautiful woman lives a block away from my house.
I visit her every day.
You make me feel like the most valuable
and important child in the world.
She played chess with me
and listened attentively to my questions.
She knows me very well,
and when I leave she always says out loud how proud she is of me.
That picture shows you she is the most beautiful woman.
I hope to have a beautiful wife like you in the future.”
Intrigued by the letter,
the company director wanted to see the woman immediately.
The secretary showed a picture of a smiling old woman
who had lost all her teeth!
Her salt and pepper hair was tied in a bun
at the nape of her neck,
and the deep wrinkles on her cheeks seemed
to fade somewhat under the sparkle of her confident,
clear blue eyes.
Finally, the director smiled:
Unfortunately, we cannot use this woman’s portrait
to advertise the company
because she proves to everyone:
to be a beautiful woman,
there is no need for our company’s cosmetics!
Unfortunately!
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Chapter 2: The most beautiful period of life
A guy who is about to turn 30
but is always worried about his future.
He wonders if the best period of his life lies ahead
or if his years have already passed.
His daily routine is to go to the gym
before going to work.
One morning, he noticed an old man who was old,
but still kept his health and optimism.
He came to get acquainted
and the two talked about their experiences in life.
Finally the young man asked:
“What was the most beautiful period of your life?”.
Without hesitation, the old man replied:
“When I was a baby,
I was cared for and raised by my parents.
It was the most beautiful period of my life.
When I go to school,
I learn new knowledge from teachers and friends.
It was the most beautiful period of my life.
When I got my first job,
shouldered the responsibilities
and paid for my efforts.
It was the most beautiful period of my life.
When I met my wife, we fell in love
and started a family together.
It was the most beautiful period of my life.
When I was a father,
watching my children grow up.
It was the most beautiful period of my life.
And now, I’m 79 years old.
I have health.
I feel happy
and I am loving my wife like when we first met.
This is the best period of my life.”
Each stage of life is the most beautiful stage
if they know how to cherish
and live to the fullest, do not let time pass in vain.
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Chapter 3: The mystery of life
The little boy walked up to an old man who looked very wise
and looked up at him and said,
“I know you are a very wise,
profound man.
Tell me about the mystery of life.”
The old man looked at the child and replied,
“I’ve thought a lot about this all my life
and can put it down in just four words.
The first is thinking.
Think about the values you live for.
The second is confidence.
Trust yourself by relying on the values you think you will live for.
Third is the dream.
Dreaming of what is possible is based on confidence
and the values that we will pursue in life.
And finally dare to do.
Let’s dare to make dreams come true with our own beliefs and values.”
And that old man was painter Walter E. Disney.
******************
Chapter 4: Value of time
An engineer has calculated that with a 5kg iron bar,
we can do one of the following:
– If you make nails,
it will sell for $ 10.
– If you make sewing needles,
you will sell $300.
– And if used as clock springs,
it will bring $25,000.
Every day gives equal 24 hours,
and how to use those “materials”,
what to use them for is up to us.
Time is one of those rare things
that once lost we can never get it back.
The money lost can be found again.
Even if health is lost,
it can be restored.
But time will never turn back.
There is no phrase more harmful
than the three words “killing time”.
Many people look for hobbies
and jobs just to kill time.
In fact, we are given time to use, not to kill.
Do you realize the value of time?
******************
Chapter 5: Job
There was a young man
who went to a computer software company
to ask for a cleaning job.
After going through an interview
and trial (like cleaning toilets…),
the human resources manager agreed to accept him,
and asked him to leave an email address
for easy communication.
“I don’t have a computer,” he said.
The manager told him that for the software company,
a person without email means non-existence.
Therefore, he regrets not being able to receive you.
He left the company disappointed,
with only $10 in his pocket.
Passing a food store,
he suddenly thought of buying 10kg of potatoes,
dragging them to each household to resell.
Two hours later he sold out and made a profit.
He did so again,
the initial capital had increased significantly.
He discovered that doing this job
can support himself.
Since then he has worked hard.
Effort plus a little luck,
his work is increasingly successful.
In five years he founded a large company specializing in home delivery.
People just need to stand at their door to buy fresh foods.
Until one day he suddenly thought about the future,
to his family
and decided to buy insurance.
When signing the contract,
the insurance agent asked for his email address.
“I don’t have a computer,” he said again.
The employee was surprised:
“You have such a big company
but you don’t have a computer and an email address?
Just think how much more you could do
if you had a computer!”
“Then I will become a cleaning officer
of a computer software company,”
he said.
******************
Chapter 6: Inferences
That morning, my mother took me to school.
I entered 1st grade.
It was cold.
The winding dirt road
through a rainy night became muddy and slippery.
I was still a shy boy back then.
I clung to my mother’s arm,
the gentle arm that I naively
thought I would never let go.
But at that moment, my mother let go of my hand
and urged me to go alone.
I cried out in fear:
– Mom, I’m afraid to fall!
Mother just smiled calmly.
– If you fall, get up!
But falling hurts!
– If it hurts, cry!
The first day of school
and those words of my mother followed me until now,
when I left my childhood home.
They are extremely simple,
as simple as deductions,
but to me it is a precious motto
that must have spent her whole life inculcating.
They lift me up when I fall,
keep me steady,
keep me calm in the face of life’s turbulence.
Everything has a solution
and then everyone will overcome difficulties and challenges
by their own will.
******************
Chapter 7: Let’s just swim
Two frogs fell into a bowl full of ice cream.
A frustrated pessimistic frog said,
“We’re going to drown.”
It cried a lot and with the last despair it raised
its paw as if to say “goodbye”.
While the other frog is very optimistic,
it thinks:
“Although it can’t get out of this place yet,
it can’t sit there and wait to die.”
So the frog started swimming to find a way to escape.
The more inadvertently the frog swam,
the ice cream turned into butter.
So the frog gradually stood up to the top layer of butter
and happily jumped out of the cup.
What is the lesson here?
It’s easy to see:
don’t wait to die, just swim.
******************
Chapter 7: Don’t be afraid to fall
How many times have you fallen without remembering.
The first time you walk,
you fall.
The first time you learned to swim,
you drank water and almost drowned, right?
The first time you learned to play table tennis,
did you hit the ball?
It’s okay, because…
Walt Disney was once fired
by a newspaper for lack of ideas.
He also tasted bankruptcy many times
before creating Disneyland.
In high school,
Louis Pasteur was just an average student.
In chemistry,
he ranked 15th out of 22 students in the class.
Lev Tolstoy,
the author of the famous novels War and Peace,
was suspended from university because of
“Both inability and lack of will to study”.
Henry Ford failed and broke his pocket five times
before he succeeded.
The famous opera singer Enrico Caruso was considered
by his teachers to be lacking in quality and unable to sing.
So please don’t be afraid to fail.
What’s scarier is that you’ve missed many opportunities
just because you didn’t try your best.
******************
Chapter 7: To change the world
As a young man,
I wanted to change the world.
Then I understood that changing the world was difficult,
so I tried to change my country.
When I understood that I couldn’t change my country,
I started thinking about my hometown.
And I can’t change my city either.
In the course of time,
I was a middle-aged man,
I tried to change my family.
Now that I’m an old man,
I realize that the only thing
I can do is change myself.
And then it dawned on me that
if I had tried to change myself for a long time,
I could have had an impact on my family
and that could have an impact on my home town.
The changes of the city would then help transform the country
and indeed I changed the world.
******************
Chapter 8: To become confident
People often say:
“Confidence is equivalent to fifty percent success”,
so confidence is essential for everyone
to be successful in life, career…
It can be said, self-confidence
Trust means that we believe in ourselves,
believe in our own choices,
satisfied with our achievements and relationships.
Here are five ways you can be more confident in any situation:
********************
1. Be active
You should take the time to walk,
you can also cycle and work until you sweat.
Do exercises for the brain and lungs,
this will increase your physical strength,
remove all anger and discomfort.
You will feel energized,
productive,
and confident.
There’s nothing better than seeing you in a nimble,
healthy,
rosy figure.
Get out of your seat and be active and strong.
********************
2. Pay attention to form
People often notice the appearance of others first.
What you wear reflects your personality,
interests, and style.
So you should pay attention to the following four factors:
– Suitability: whoever you are,
you should remember that your dress needs
to be appropriate for the operating environment.
– Cleanliness:
Pay attention to neatness,
avoid clothes slipping,
forget to button,
or forget to pull the zipper of pants…
– Shoes: remember that everyone pays a lot of attention to shoes
because for one reason they look down and worry.
So you should always keep your shoes shiny and clean.
– Always smile:
a bright smile on your face will make yourself comfortable
and make others comfortable and happy,
but it must be at the right time and in the right place.
********************
3. Breathe
Need to know how to preserve and self-restraint,
hold your breath when absolutely necessary.
Learn how to breathe deeply,
which is necessary to help you calm down and control your anger.
Take a deep breath into your chest,
this is how to breathe “from the stomach”.
********************
4. Be principled
Hold your point.
Be on time and take care of your current responsibilities.
Do not pursue an unclear purpose
but must be aware and take the opportunity.
Remember that everything has a huge impact
on your professional (professional) relationships
as well as your personal relationships.
********************
5. Give and take
Give what you want to receive.
If you want to be respected and loved,
respect and love everyone.
If you want to be successful,
help others succeed.
If you want to be happier,
just be happy,
open your heart,
acknowledge your own successes,
create your own joys to enjoy that joy.
Always tell yourself about the job
“there is nothing that can’t be done!”.
The most confident people are those who live simply.
They always make life meaningful.
******************
Chapter 9: Your values
The famous speaker began his presentation
by holding up a large denomination bill in a room
of 200 people, he asked,
“Who wants this bill?”.
All hands are raised.
“I’ll give one of you this note,
but before you let me do this,” he said.
He crumpled the bill and asked,
“Who still wants to take this bill?”
All hands are still raised.
“All right,” he said.
“Let’s see if I do this.”
And he dropped the bill on the ground
and pressed it
to the floor with the toe of his shoe.
He picked it up,
it looked dirty and crumpled:
“Why, who wants this bill?”.
The arms are still raised.
Dear friends, you all have learned a very valuable lesson.
No matter what I did to this bill,
you still want it because its value hasn’t decreased,
its face value hasn’t changed.
Many times in our lives we fall,
are torn apart,
trampled to pieces.
In such cases,
we think we are useless,
nothing.
But no matter what happens and will happen,
we are determined to never lose our value.
Never let yesterday’s disappointments
overshadow tomorrow’s bright dreams.”
******************
Chapter 9: For life’s sake…
Quote from Mother Teresa’s words written on
the walls of leprosy camps,
AIDS sanatoriums…
for campers to read and ponder.
Life is a chance,
let’s snap
Life is a fragrance,
take a look
Life is blessed,
Be enjoy
Life is a dream,
let’s make it real
Life is a challenge,
know how to confront
Life is a duty,
let’s finish
Life is a game,
come in
Life is precious,
please cherish
Life is full of treasures,
please take care
Life is love,
enjoy
Life is a mystery,
let’s explore
Life is a promise,
keep your promise
Life is melancholy,
let’s get over it
Life is a song,
let’s sing…
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Chapter 10: Don’t
Don’t forget hope,
hope gives you the strength to survive even
when you are abandoned.
Don’t lose faith in yourself.
Just believe you can do it
and you have a reason to try.
Do not use material wealth
to measure success or failure.
It is the soul of each person
that determines the level of “wealth” in his life.
Don’t let the difficulties knock you down,
be patient and you will overcome.
Don’t hesitate to get help,
we all need help,
at any point in our lives.
Don’t run away, find love,
it’s your greatest happiness.
Don’t wait for what you want,
go for it.
Never assume you have failed
when your plans and dreams have fallen apart,
for knowing something new is the time to make progress.
Don’t forget smile in your life.
Don’t forget to find yourself a true friend,
because friends are essential in life.
And finally, don’t forget to thank the people
who gave you life today with all you need.
Because your future descendants will see you as their role model.
******************
Chapter 11: Trap
“How did the Eskimos hunt wolves in the icy
and cold regions of the Arctic?”
is a question that has made many people think hard to find the answer.
The Eskimos took very sharp blades,
dipped them in animal blood,
and then they took them outside to freeze.
They did this over and over again to make the ice thicker and thicker,
until a point came
when the blood-based outer layer completely concealed the blade inside.
In the evening, they stuck the hilt of the knife in the snow.
The wolves smelled the blood of wild animals from the blade
and the yeast came.
They began to lick the bandages with that blood,
growing more and more engrossed in all their cravings.
It wasn’t until a while that the ice on the outside
of the blade had melted away
and reached the blade.
When they licked the blades,
the wolf’s tongue was broken and bleeding,
but they thought it was the blood of wild animals,
so they licked it even more passionately.
The more it bleeds,
the more thirsty it gets,
and the more thirsty it gets,
the more it licks…
The next morning,
the Eskimos just went to collect the dead wolves lying next to the blades.
That which is beyond the trap is always very attractive
and very seductive.
******************
Chapter 12: Tree of Sorrows
I hired a mechanic to repair the electrical system
and some household items.
After finishing the tiring first day of work
with the sound of fidgeting with a flat tire,
a broken drill
and an “old-fashioned” car that wouldn’t start,
he also let me drive him home. home.
He looks pensive.
When he reached the door of the house,
he stopped in front of a small tree,
touching the top of the branch with both hands.
When he opened the door,
he looked completely changed.
That tanned face brightened up.
He hugged his two children and hugged his wife.
When he saw me back through that small tree,
my curiosity arose again.
I asked him about what I saw earlier.
– Oh, that’s my trouble tree!
– He replied
I know I will not avoid problems in my career,
but they are not for my family,
my wife and children.
So I put them on that tree
when I got back into the house
and told God to take care of them.
The next morning I took them out again.
The best part is…
– he laughs wryly
– then those nasty things are never left as much as
when I hung them up the day before.”
******************
Chapter 13: Option
A woman came out of her house
and saw three long white bearded men sitting on a stone bench
in the front yard.
She did not recognize any of them.
However, being a kind person, she said:
“I don’t know you,
but you must be very hungry,
please come in and eat something.”
“Is the boss at home?” – they asked.
“No, my husband is at work,” she replied.
“Then we can’t get in,” they replied.
In the afternoon,
when her husband returned,
she told the story.
The husband wanted to know who they were,
so she invited the three men
– who had been waiting since morning
– into the house.
“The three of us can’t enter her house at the same time,” they replied.
“Why is that?” – surprised woman.
One person explained:
“My name is Love, this man is Rich,
and the other is Success.
Now let’s decide which of us will be invited into the house.”
The woman came in and told the whole story.
“Wonderful – happy husband
– This is such a good opportunity.
Let’s invite Mr. Rich.
He will give us a lot of money and possessions.”
But the wife disagreed:
“Darling, why don’t we invite Mr. Thanh Cong?
We will have high authority
and respect by everyone”.
The couple argued for a long time
but still could not decide.
The daughter who had been quietly listening in the corner
of the room suddenly suggested:
“We should invite Mr. Love.
It is better.
Our house will be filled with warm love
and he will give us a lot of happiness.” .
“Perhaps we should listen to the advice of the daughter
– the husband thinks and then says to his wife
– Go out and invite Mr. Love,
this is the guest we want.”
The woman went out and asked:
“Which of the three is Love?
Please come in and be our guest”.
The God of Love got up and entered the house.
The other two gods also got up and followed him.
Very surprised, the woman asked:
“I only invited Mr. Love.
Why did you come in too?
You said you couldn’t come in at the same time.”
The two then answered together:
“If you invite Wealth or Success,
only the guest will be invited to enter.
But because she invites Love,
the three of us will come in.
Because where there is Love,
there is love.”
then there will be Success and Wealth.”
***********************
Chapter 14: The Value of Adversity
Farmers in southern Alabama were used
to growing only cotton (for spinning, weaving).
One year terrifying worms ravaged the area.
The next year the farmers mortgaged their homes for money
and continued to plant cotton,
hoping for a good harvest.
But when the cotton plants started to grow,
those insects came and destroyed most of the fields.
The few people who “survived” those two years decided
to try something they’d never grown before – peanuts.
And as a result,
their peanuts became so popular
with the market that year’s earnings were enough
for them to pay off their debt two years ago.
Since then they have grown peanuts and have prospered.
And then you know what those farmers did?
They took part of their great fortune to erect a memorial in the center
of the city in recognition of the “bugs”.
Because if it weren’t for those worms,
they would never have discovered peanuts.
They will forever only have enough to eat
with cotton cultivation from generation to generation.
We often complain when we fall into adversity.
But adversity has its value.
And if we don’t give up, don’t give up,
on the contrary,
if we see them as opportunities to strive for excellence,
we will surely discover valuable values.
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Rely on yourself
A baby snail one day asked its mother:
“Mom! Why do we have to carry a heavy
and hard bottle on our back since birth?
It’s so tiring!”.
“Because our body has no bones to support,
we can only crawl,
but it’s not fast” – Mother said.
“The caterpillar who has no bones
and can’t crawl quickly,
why doesn’t she need to wear that heavy and hard pot?”
“Because the caterpillar sister will turn into a butterfly,
the sky will protect her.”
“But the earthworm also has no bones,
can’t crawl quickly,
and can’t transform,
why doesn’t she wear that heavy and hard bottle?”
“Because the earthworm will burrow into the ground,
the earth will protect it.”
The baby snail burst into tears, saying:
“We are pitiful,
the sky does not protect us,
the earth does not protect us”.
“That’s why we have the pot!
– Mother snail comforts her son
– We don’t rely on heaven,
nor on earth,
we have to rely on ourselves.
****************
You are the deciding factor
A manager helps employees realize their worth
with a letter written on a typewriter with a broken “a” key.
“My typewriter works great,
except for one key that’s broken.
You’d think that with the rest of the keys working fine,
no one would notice the broken key.
But a broken key seems to be enough to break it.
Cancel all joint efforts!
You might be thinking to yourself that it’s okay,
it’s just me.
No one will notice if I try my best.
But there is a difference because a team
that wants to work effectively needs all its members
to work effectively
by trying to the best of their ability.
So if there’s a time when he thinks he’s not important,
remember my typewriter.
You are the deciding factor.”
****************
Something Unusual
Larry and Jo Ann are an ordinary couple.
They live in an ordinary house on an ordinary street.
Like many other normal couples,
they have to struggle with life
to take care of their children’s education.
In addition, they are normal in another way:
they always have quarrels.
The topic is the disagreements in life,
and… who is at fault.
Until one day,
an exceptional event happened.
You know, Jo Ann,
I have magic cabinets.
Every time I open them,
they’re always stocked with socks
and panties,
said Larry. ”
I want to thank you for keeping an eye on them all these years.
Jo Ann looked at her husband through the glasses:
What do you want, Larry?
Nothing. I just wanted to say
I appreciate you taking care of me.
This is not the first time Larry has acted strange,
so Jo Ann ignored it, until a few days later…
Jo Ann, thank you for posting the correct check numbers this month.
Out of 16 numbers,
she correctly recorded all 15.
Indeed a record.
Not believing what she was hearing,
Jo Ann stopped sewing.
Larry, you always nag me about the wrong numbers, why now?
Unreasonable.
I always wanted her to know that I appreciate her efforts.
Jo Ann shook her head and continued sewing.
“What’s wrong with him?…” she wondered.
The next day, though,
when Jo Ann entered the book at the family grocery store,
she took care to write down the correct number of checks.
Grandma tried not to think about these unusual things,
but Larry’s strange behavior continued.
Jo Ann, what a delicious meal
– he said at one dinner – ”
I am very grateful to you.
Over the past 15 years she has cooked over 14,000 meals
for me and the kids.
Then: “Oh! Jo Ann, what a neat new house.
You must have worked hard to keep them like that…”.
Even: “Thank you Jo Ann for always being by my side”.
Jo Ann became worried:
“Where are the criticisms and criticisms?”.
The fear that something was wrong
with her husband grew stronger when Shelly,
her 16-year-old daughter, grumbled:
You’re a fool, mom!
Dad said you look so pretty in these old clothes!
It’s not really dad.
What happened to dad?
As the weeks went by,
Jo Ann became accustomed to her partner’s strange behavior,
and from time to time she responded with
“thank you…”.
She felt proud of herself as if she had overcome an obstacle.
But when something unusual happened,
she was completely confused.
I want you to rest your hands for a while,
said Larry.
“I’ll wash the dishes. Come on,
put that pan down
and go to the living room to watch TV!
(After a long silence) Thank you Larry, thank you…
Jo Ann’s footsteps suddenly became light.
She felt more confident and for the first time
she heard herself singing softly.
The story will end here
if there is not a most special event happening.
This time the author is Jo Ann.
One day she said:
Larry, I want to thank you for working
to support our family all these years.
I never told you,
but I am very grateful to you…
Larry never revealed
why he changed his behavior so wonderfully,
no matter how much Jo Ann inquired.
And this has become one of life’s mysteries,
one that I love very much
– because I am… Jo Ann.
