John Davison Rockefeller (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American industrialist, philanthropist, and the first billionaire of the nineteenth century, known as the "Oil King." John Rockefeller graduated from Cleveland High School in 1855; partnered with Clarke to start the company in 1859; founded Standard Oil in 1870; and became the first trust in American history in 1882. He founded the University of Chicago in 1890 and Rockefeller University in 1901. Today's push is a letter from Rockefeller to his son: "Heaven and Hell Are Near."
John Davidson Rockefeller
Wei Shaohua | painting
A letter to my son
Dear John,
There is a fable that is very interesting and touches me a lot. The parable says:
In ancient Europe, there was a man who, at the time of his death, found himself in a wonderful place where he could enjoy everything.
As soon as he stepped into the promised land, a man who looked like a waiter came up to him and asked, "Sir, do you need anything?" Here you can have everything you want: all the delicacies, all the possible entertainment and all kinds of pastimes, including many beautiful young women, to enjoy to the fullest. ”
After hearing this, this person felt a little surprised, but he was very happy, and he secretly whispered: Isn't this exactly my dream in the world! Throughout the day he spent the day tasting all the delicacies while enjoying the beauty.
One day, however, he was so bored with all this that he said to the waiter, "I'm tired of all this, I need to do something." Can you get me a job to do?"
He didn't expect it, but the answer he got was to shake his head: "I'm sorry, my sir, but this is the only thing we can't do for you here." There is no work available for you here. ”
The man was very frustrated; waving his hand angrily and saying, "This is so bad! Then I'll just stay in hell!"
"Where do you think you are?" The waiter said gently.
John, this humorous parable, seems to tell me that losing your job is tantamount to losing your happiness. Regrettably, however, some people do not realize this until they are unemployed. That's unfortunate!
I am proud to say that I have never tasted unemployment; it is not my luck, but that I have never regarded work as a pleasureless labor, but I can find infinite happiness in it.
I think that work is a privilege that brings more things than sustaining life. Work is the foundation of all business, the source of all prosperity, and the shaper of genius.
Work makes a young man motivated and does more than his parents, no matter how rich they are. Work is expressed in the most humble of savings and lays the foundation for happiness. Work is salt that adds to the flavor of life.
But people must love it first in order to work to give the greatest favor and to achieve the greatest results.
When I first entered the business world, I often heard that it takes a lot of sacrifice for a person to climb to the top. However, as the years passed, I began to understand that many people who are climbing to the top are not "paying the price". They work hard because they truly love to work.
Anyone who climbs the ladder in the industry is fully engaged in what they are doing, and they are dedicated to the work they love to do, and they will naturally succeed.
A love of work is a belief. With this belief, we can carve the mountain of despair into a rock of hope. A great painter said it best, "Pain will pass, but beauty will last forever."
But some people are clearly not smart enough, ambitious, but overly picky about their jobs and are always looking for the "perfect" employer or job.
The truth is that the employer needs an employee who works on time, honestly and hard, and he only leaves the opportunity for a raise and promotion to those who work extra hard, are extra loyal, extra enthusiastic, and spend more time doing things, because he is running a business, not doing charity, he needs people who are more valuable.
No matter how ambitious a person is, he must at least start first before he can reach the peak. Once you've started, it's not too difficult to keep going.
The more difficult or unpleasant the work, the more immediately you have to do it. If he waits longer, the more difficult and terrifying it becomes, which is a bit like shooting a gun, and the longer you aim, the slimmer the chance of shooting.
I will never forget my first job as a bookkeeper, when I had to go to work every day at dawn and the whale oil lamp lit in the office was dim, but the job never bored me, but it fascinated and delighted me, and even all the red tape in the office could not make me lose my enthusiasm for it.
And the result is that employers are constantly raising my salary.
Income is only a by-product of your work, do what you should do, do what you should do well, and the ideal salary will inevitably come.
More importantly, the highest reward for our labor is not what we receive, but what we will become as a result.
Those who are active-minded are not working hard just to make money, and what sustains their enthusiasm for work is more noble than the desire to amass only wealth— they are engaged in a fascinating cause.
Honestly I'm an ambitionist, and I wanted to be the richest man since I was a kid.
For me, the Hewitt-Tuttle company I was employed for was a great place to exercise my abilities and give me a try.
It sold all kinds of goods, owned an iron ore mine, and operated two technologies that made it survive: railroads and telegraphs that revolutionized the American economy.
It brought me into the interesting and splendid business world, taught me to respect numbers and facts, let me see the power of the transportation industry, and cultivated my abilities and qualities as a businessman.
All of this has played a great role in my future business. I can say that without the experience of Hewitt-Tuttle, I may have taken many detours in my career.
Now, whenever I think of Hewitt-Tuttle, and my old employers, Hewitt and Mr. Tuttle, I can't help but feel grateful in my heart, that period of work was the beginning of my life's struggle, laid the foundation for me to rise, and I will always be grateful for those three and a half years of experience.
So I never complained about his employer as some people do, saying, "We are nothing more than slaves, we are pressed to dust by the employer, and they are high up in their beautiful villa for pleasure: their safes are filled with gold, and every dollar they have is the result of squeezing us honest workers." ”
I don't know if these complainers have ever thought: Who gave you the opportunity to get a job? Who gave you the possibility to build a family? Who gave you the possibility to develop yourself?
If you're already aware of the oppression that others are doing to you, why don't you end the squeezing and walk away?
Work is an attitude that determines whether we are happy or not.
Also stonemasons, also sculpting stone statues, if you ask them, "What are you doing here?" One of them might say, "You see, I'm chiseling a rock, and when I'm done chiseling this, I'll go home." ”
This kind of person always regards work as punishment, and the word that comes out of his mouth most often is "tired".
Another person might say, "You see, I'm making a statue." It's a hard job, but it's well paid. After all, I have a wife and four children, and they need food and clothing. ”
This kind of person always regards work as a burden, and the phrase that often comes out of his mouth is "supporting the family".
A third person might put down his hammer, proudly point to the stone sculpture and say, "You see, I'm making a work of art." ”
This kind of person is always proud of his work, and the most common sentence in his mouth is "this work is very meaningful."
Both heaven and hell are built by themselves. If you give meaning to your work, no matter how big or small, you will feel happy, and the self-set grades, no matter how high or low, will make people happy about the work.
If you don't like to do it, anything simple can become difficult and boring, and when you shout that the job is tiring, even if you don't work hard, you will feel exhausted, and vice versa. That's the thing.
John, if you see work as a pleasure, life is heaven; if you see work as an obligation, life is hell. Check your work attitude, it will make us all feel happy.
Love your father!
Absolutely calm, absolutely confident, thoughtful, say less or not.