22 April 2018

6 Hidden Truths Of Life of Jeremy Bishop and Sun Zi

Found the 6 Hidden Truths of Life by Jeremy Bishop to be interesting and reminds me of my understanding of Sun Zi's Art of War. So I put them together with some of my rephrasings.

Here is the mind-map:




Comparing with Ancient Chinese Philosophies on Character Development, Happiness and Success.
This is mapped from this video.



Lim Liat (c) 22 Apr 2018 (updated 20-10-18)

For more on Sun Zi's Art of War:  Sun Zi and Other Strategists

See also: 81 Life Lessons for Your Happiness 

Jeff Bezos' 4 Step for High Standards Organization

Bezos' Amazon Annual Report is a highly recommended read by many. They are also many posts on the lessons learned. Here is my learning from his excellent report.
The mind-map of the 4-Steps


Bonus Map: Here is one more:



Lim Liat (c) 22 Apr 2018

For more Bezos' wisdom see:

20 April 2018

81 Life Lessons for Your Happiness

Found a post that gives 81 Life Lessons or principles on a Chinese website. 81 is too many to remember and so I reorganized it, translated them into English and add in a few words of my own. It is a good list to reflect on our life. A lesson on happiness is "The only way to get happiness is to treasure what you have and forget what you don't have." It is a mindset rather than about having more.
The Source Article is here (in Chinese).

The Summary Mindmap:



The Full Mind-map:

 click on the map to see.

The Content:
  • Thinking You are the product of your Thinking
    • 81.養成更好的思考習慣,就可以改變生活。
    • Develop better-thinking habits and you can change your life.
    • 35.覺得自己做的到和不做的到,其實隻在一念之間。
    • Can or cannot is just at the moment of your thought.
  • Acceptance of SelfThe First Step
    • 01.每天告訴自己一次,『我真的很不錯』。
      Every day begins with telling yourself that "I'm not bad at all."
    • Starts with accepting yourself, strengths & weaknesses. Don't condemn yourself. No self-doubt. 
    • 34.世上最累人的事,莫過於虛偽的過日子。
    • The most tiring thing in the world is living in hypocrisy.
    • 50.自己要先看得起自己,別人才會看得起你。
    • We must first look up to ourselves than others will look up to us.
    • 58.所有欺騙中,自欺是最為嚴重的。 
    • Self-deception is the most serious of all deceptions.
  • Adapt to Situation - No matter what
    • 24.抱最大的希望,為最大的努力,做最壞的打算。
    • Embrace the greatest hope, give the very best effort and prepare for the worse outcome.
    • 40.如果你曾歌頌黎明,那麼也請你擁抱黑夜。
    • If you have ever praised the dawn, then also invite you to embrace the night.
    • 68.不如意的時候不要盡往悲傷裡鑽,想想有笑聲的日子吧。
    • When you are not as you wish, then don't indulge in sadness, but think about the days of laughter.
    • 73.你不能左右天氣,但你能轉變你的心情。
    • You can't control the weather, but you can change your mood.
    • 53.樂觀者在災禍中看到機會;悲觀者在機會中看到災禍。
    • Optimists see opportunities in disasters; pessimists see disasters in opportunities.
      See from both points of view and plan accordingly. Overcoming threats first and see the opportunities.
    • 32.上帝從不埋怨人們的愚昧,人們卻埋怨上帝的不公平。
      God never complains about people's ignorance. People complain about God's injustice.
      The world is never fair. So accept it and work from there.
    • 27.每一件事都要用多方面的角度來看它。
      Everything has to be viewed from a variety of perspectives.
  • Self-ControlEmotion Management
    • 11.人的價值,在遭受誘惑的一瞬間被決定。
    • Your worth is decided at the moment of temptation.
    • 72.要克服生活的焦慮和沮喪,得先學會做自己的主人。
    • Overcoming the worry and depression in life begins with becoming your own master.
    • 02.生氣是拿別人做錯的事來懲罰自己。
    • Anger is using others mistakes to punish yourself.
    • 30.所有的勝利,與征服自己的勝利比起來,都是微不足道。
    • All the victories, when compared with winning against oneself, are not worth saying.
    • 31.所有的失敗,與失去自己的失敗比起來,更是微不足道。
    • All the loses, when compared with losing oneself, are not worth mentioning.
  • The direction of Life - Find & Follow it
    • 42.人生重要的不是所站的位置,而是所朝的方向。
    • The important thing in life is not the position you are standing in, but the direction you are facing.
    • 76.漫無目的的生活就像出海航行而沒有指南針。
    • An aimless life is like sailing out of the sea without a compass.
    • 39.人只要不失去方向,就不會失去自己。
    • As long as people do not lose their direction, they will not lose themselves.
    • 77.好好扮演自己的角色,做自己該做的事。
    • Play your own role and do your own job. - There is no need to be envious of others and try to be like them. 
    • 06.發光並非太陽的專利,你也可以發光。
    • Letting the light shine is not the exclusive right of the sun, you can also shine.
  • Hope, Dream, Faith - Embrace them
    • 05.生活若剝去理想、夢想、幻想,那生命便隻是一堆空架子。
    • When life is deprived of aspirations, dreams, imagination, then life is like an empty shelf.
    • 04.明天的希望,讓我們忘了今天的痛苦。
    • The hope for tomorrow enables us to forget today's suffering.
    • 24.抱最大的希望,為最大的努力,做最壞的打算。
    • Embrace the greatest hope, give the very best effort and prepare for the worse outcome.
    • 29.有希望在的地方,痛苦也成歡樂。
    • In the place of hope, even the pains can change to laughter
    • 28.有理想在的地方,地獄就是天堂。
    • When there are dreams and ideal, hell will become heaven
    • 38.思想如鑽子,必須集中在一點鑽下去才有力量。
    • Ideals are like drills, they must be the point of focus of drilling so that there can be the strength.
    • 56.明天是世上增值最快的一塊土地,因它充滿了希望。 
    • Tomorrow is the most value-added piece of land in the world because it is full of hope.
    • 60.把你的臉迎向陽光,那就不會有陰影。
    • Bring your face to the sun, then there will be no shadow.
    • 75.想像力比知識更重要。 
    • Imagination is more important than knowledge.
    • Faith
      • 18.只要有信心,人永遠不會挫敗
      • People will never be frustrated if they have confidence
      • 23.『不可能』隻存在於蠢人的字典裡。
      • "Impossible" exists only in the fool's dictionary.
      • 57.理想的路總是為有信心的人預備著。
      • The ideal road is always prepared for those who have faith.
      • 57.理想的路總是為有信心的人預備著。
      • The ideal road is always prepared for those who have faith.
  • Be Bold - Face your Fear
    • 21.人若軟弱就是自己最大的敵人。
    • Your fear/weakness is your greatest enemy.
    • 22.人若勇敢就是自己最好的朋友。
    • Being brave is your best friend.
    • 54.有勇氣並不表示恐懼不存在,而是敢面對恐懼、克服恐懼。
    • Having courage does not mean that fear does not exist,
       but rather one dares to face fear and overcome fear.
    • 71.因害怕失敗而不敢放手一搏,永遠不會成功。
    • Fear of failure and not dare to give it a go, then one will never succeed.
  • Execution - Step by Step & Don't Give-up
    • Starting - Do It
      • 66.你的選擇是做或不做,但不做就永遠不會有機會。
      • Your choice is to do or not to do, but you will never have a chance to do something.
      • 78.一切偉大的行動和思想,都有一個微不足道的開始。
      • All great actions and ideas have a negligible beginning.
    • Ending
      • 20.不論你在什麼時候結束,重要的是結束之後就不要悔恨。
      • Regardless of when you end, it is important not to regret after the end.
        Hence, before you start, think about how you want to end.
    • Don't Give Up
      • 19.不論你在什麼時候開始,重要的是開始之後就不要停止。
      • No matter when you start, it is important not to stop after starting.
      • 43.當你能飛的時候就不要放棄飛。Don't give up flying when you can fly.
      • 44.當你能夢的時候就不要放棄夢。Don't give up dreams when you can dream.
      • 45.當你能愛的時候就不要放棄愛。Don't give up love when you can love.
    • Make Use of Present
      • 46.生命太過短暫,今天放棄了明天不一定能得到。Life is too short. What gives up today you may be sure you can get it tomorrow.
      • 51.一個今天勝過兩個明天。
      • Today is worth two tomorrow.
      • 52.要銘記在心;每天都是一年中最美好的日子。
      • Keep in mind; every day is the best day of the year.
      • 63.用最少的浪費面對現在。
      • Use the least waste to face today.
      • 64.用最多的夢面對未來。
      • Face the future with the most dreams.
      • Diligence
        • 26.遊手好閑會使人心智生鏽。
        • Leisure time can cause mental rust.
        • 47.天才是百分之一的靈感加上百分之九十九的努力。
        • Genius is 1% inspiration plus 99% effort.
    • Patience
      • 80.學做任何事得按部就班,急不得。
      • Learn to do anything in a step-by-step manner. Don't rush
    • Learning
      • 69.把自己當傻瓜,不懂就問,你會學的更多。
      • Treat yourself as a fool and ask if you don't understand. You will learn more.
      • 61.經驗是由痛苦中粹取出來的。
      • Lessons are distilled from the painful experience.
  • Age
    • Youth
      • 12.年輕是我們唯一擁有權利去編織夢想的時光。
      • Youth is the only right you have to paint your dream.
      • 13.青春一經典當即永不再贖。
      • Youth, when gone, cannot be continued
    • Aging
      • 36.第一個青春是上帝給的;第二個的青春是靠自己努力的。
      • The first youth is given by God; the second youth is by their own efforts.
  • Relationships - Treasure Them
    • Love
      • 10.你可以用愛得到全世界,你也可以用恨失去全世界。
      • You can use love to gain the whole world.
        You can also use hate to lose the whole world.
      • 14.沒有了愛的語言,所有的文字都是乏味的。
      • Without the language of love, all the words are tasteless.
      • 15.真正的愛,應該超越生命的長度、心靈的寬度、靈魂的深度。
      • True love is longer than the lifetime, wider than the heart, and deeper than the spirit-soul.
      • 16.愛的力量大到可以使人忘記一切,卻又小到連一粒嫉妒的沙石也不能容納。
      • The power of love can be so large as to forget about everything;
        but can be so narrow that a little sand of jealousy cannot be tolerated.
      • 37.少一點預設的期待,那份對人的關懷會更自在。
      • Less expectation and your care for others will be more natural.
      • 41.問候不一定要慎重其事,但一定要真誠感人。
      • Greetings need not be overly careful, but they must be sincere & touching.
    • Marriage
      • 62.男人要捧,女人要哄,婚前挑缺點,婚後看優點!
      • Man must be flattered, woman coaxed. Before marriage finds the faults. After marriage find the good points
    • Family
      • 25.家!甜蜜的家!天下最美好的莫過於家。
      • Home, sweet home. There is nothing better than home under the sky.
    • Friends
      • 03.生活中若沒有朋友,就像生活中沒有陽光一樣。
      • Living without friends is like living without sunlight.
      • 67.如你想要擁有完美無暇的友誼,可能一輩子找不到朋友。
      • If you want to have a perfect friendship, you may not find a friend in your lifetime.
      • 70.要糾正別人之前,先反省自己有沒有犯錯。
      • Before correcting others, first, reflect on yourself whether you have made mistakes.
      • 79.得意時應善待他人,因為你失意時會需要他們。
      • Be kind to others when you are doing well because you need them when you are dejected.
      • 74.孤單寂寞與被遺棄感是最可怕的貧窮。
      • Lonely, loneliness, and abandonment are the most terrible poverty.
  • Reflection - Pause & Learn
    • 07.愚者用肉體監視心靈,智者用心靈監視肉體。
    • The foolish uses the fleshly body to monitor the heart-soul;
      the wise use the heart-soul to monitor the flesh.
    • Enlighten
      • 17.當一個人真正覺悟的一刻,他放棄追尋外在世界的財富,而開始追尋他內心世界的真正財富。
      • When a person is truly enlightened, he gives up the pursuit of the wealth of the external world and begins to pursue the true wealth of his inner world.
    • Lying to Self
      • 58.所有欺騙中,自欺是最為嚴重的。 
      • Self-deception is the most serious of all deceptions.
    • Confession
      • 55.肯承認錯誤則錯已改了一半。
      • Admission of mistake is half-way in correction.
    • Mistakes
      • 59.人生最大的錯誤是不斷擔心會犯錯。
      • The biggest mistake in life is constantly worrying about making mistakes (and do nothing).
  • Happiness - It is a mindset rather than possessions
    • 08.獲致幸福的不二法門是珍視你所擁有的、遺忘你所沒有的。
    • The only way to get happiness is to treasure what you have and forget what you don't have.
      • 48.人總是珍惜未得到的,而遺忘了所擁有的。
      • People always cherish what they haven't got and forget what they have.
    • 49.快樂要懂得分享,才能加倍的快樂。
    • Happiness must be shared so that one can be doubly happy.
    • 65.快樂不是因為擁有的多而是計較的少。
    • Happiness is not because of having much but being less picky and calculative.
    • 09.貪婪是最真實的貧窮,滿足是最真實的財富。
    • Greed is the real poverty. Contentment is the real riches.
    • 33.美好的生命應該充滿期待、驚喜和感激。
    • A good life should be full of expectations, surprises, and gratitude.
    • 34.世上最累人的事,莫過於虛偽的過日子。
    • The most tiring thing in the world is living in hypocrisy.
Hope you take away some lessons for improving your life.

Lim Liat (c) 20 Apr 2018