After reading the "Shenghe Academy Three-Year Preparatory Class Study Materials," although the articles are scattered, they have been repeatedly discussing the same content. I feel that the content is similar to what I am currently learning in the training camp. Based on the framework of the training camp's principles, methods, and techniques, I have summarized several speeches into a mind map.
Below, I will write down my thoughts on a few points that have touched me.
What kind of mountain do I want to climb?#
The state of a business depends on what kind of mountain the business owner wants to climb.
This sentence reminds me of the philosophy I am currently learning in the training camp: "Everyone is born with their own mountain, and they should climb to the top of their own mountain to see the most beautiful scenery that belongs to them."
I am still confused about "What kind of mountain do I want to climb?" When faced with this question, my mind is still blank.
Since attending the workshop on the original family, there have been several moments when I saw mountains in front of me. These mountains are the accumulation of various problems and obstacles over the years, and they are all the kind that seems insurmountable.
Recently, I have started to sense the existence of the problem of "lack of goals." Two weeks ago, I played a psychological game called "What are you afraid of?" for the first time. It was the first time I spoke out some inner fears that I had never said before. Although I only answered some superficial answers, I now realize that they are the opposite of what I want.
There is also a psychological game called "What do you want?" I originally wanted to play it last week, but I didn't because of a change in groups. When I answered this question by myself, I found that my answer was the opposite of "What are you afraid of?"
Now, as I carefully reflect on these two games, I realize that when I played them before, the more I asked, the less I knew what to answer. Perhaps I am afraid of stating my goals, and it is very likely that when they are about to emerge, my brain habitually kills them off. So, deep down, I must be afraid of something, but I don't know what it is right now.
This reminds me of the past when my parents asked, "What do you want?" and my most common answers were "Anything" and "Whatever you want." I recall similar scenes from the past repeating themselves, and suddenly I feel so suppressed... so oppressed. At that time, I was always passively accepting, so the goals that emerged in my mind were always destroyed by myself. I don't know if this unconscious habit is due to the impact of these past scenes on me.
Although I am not clear about my answers now, I hope that in the future, I will be able to answer. I hope that one day I will be able to find my own mountain. Perhaps now is not the time.
Days of improving principles#
In the article "The Heart of Management," it mentions "the days of continuously improving principles." After careful consideration, I agree with this viewpoint. Having our own principles is what leads to having our own values.
Now I realize that many of the concepts we use in our daily lives are very vague. We use them every day without examining them, and we can say that we use them randomly.
Using concepts with vague meanings can greatly affect judgment and mislead ourselves into "making the right judgments." For example, the word "effort," if we seriously examine it, we will find that "effort" has no boundaries or degrees. It is easy to say it without thinking. Effort should be like what Mr. Inamori Kazuo said, "effort that is not inferior to anyone else's." Only in this way can we clearly compare our own behavior, rather than casually calling anything effort, but rather striving our best.
I think this is the essence of management. We should carefully consider the words we say, the language we use, and the actions we take. They should all reflect our own principles and showcase our personal charm and values in all aspects.
Effort that is not inferior to anyone else's#
The phrase "effort that is not inferior to anyone else's" reminds me of what I learned in the training camp, "1.01." "1.01" simply means doing a little better than others and doing it consistently.
When you first read this sentence, you might think it's just a motivational quote. But when you hear the real story of Xu Dandan, who only graduated from junior high school and, in 2008 and 2009, "achieved sales performance equivalent to a year of a regular salesperson" during the three-month probation period at the company, you will be amazed. She joined the company with a fake diploma and hoped to stay by achieving sales performance. During that time, she woke up early and worked late, traveled long distances to sell solar water heaters in rural areas. Later, she almost got fired because of the fake diploma, but she managed to stay by writing a letter to a higher-level leader to show how she achieved her results. Her efforts were recognized by the boss, and after some twists and turns, she was not only kept in the company but also sought after by various regional managers. She later took on the task of developing a new market worth 10 million yuan, which was highly unlikely to be completed. However, she completed this seemingly impossible task through various marketing activities and methods to help dealers sell products. This experience marked the beginning of a new stage in her life, and she achieved remarkable success. This story was told by Xu Dandan herself, and the first time I heard it, I was amazed.
The description here is simple, but looking back now, although it doesn't specifically describe the hardships she went through, listening to her journey, I can feel that the effort that is not inferior to anyone else's has been present throughout. Because she started from a low point, she had to work harder than others. So sometimes, I even think that not having a choice is actually a good choice. Now, having a job can basically solve the problem of survival and basic needs. There is no need to work hard just to have food to eat, as it was in the past. Many times, the choices we think we have are actually illusory choices, ways to escape. As long as we are not in a desperate situation, we will always feel that there are other opportunities.
Holding a strong desire in one's heart#
If a goal that must be achieved is made without any uncontrollable factors, it must be given sufficient reasons. Holding a strong desire in one's heart is one of those sufficient reasons. Only when there is a belief in the heart that one must achieve something, can one face any obstacles without forgetting where they want to go and have a lasting impact.
Looking back on two experiences in my life where I had a strong desire and made significant changes, one was changing classes in high school to participate in the college entrance examination, and the other was overcoming a long-standing communication barrier this year.
Changing classes in high school was the first time I took the initiative and was a strong desire in my heart. Since my scores in the middle school entrance examination were not enough to attend a regular high school, I had to attend a vocational school. At that time, there were two options for enrollment: one was a five-year continuous education class that could go to a junior college without taking the college entrance examination, and the other was a class for the college entrance examination to pursue a bachelor's degree. At that time, I felt inferior and chose the easier class. However, in the first semester of my sophomore year, the teachers changed, and the quality of teaching deteriorated. In the first week of school, I started to feel a strong sense of disgust, and I even started to dislike going to class. I would daydream and lose focus. It was the first time I felt such a terrible feeling. At that time, two classmates transferred to the college entrance examination class, which made me realize that there was another path I could take. The desire to change classes became stronger and stronger, and I was confident that I could achieve it. However, I still had a lot of worries and fears in my heart. Whenever I thought about the college entrance examination, I would think about my poor math and Chinese essay writing skills. Countless voices told me to give up, but the terrible feeling I had in class and my desire to "stand out" and pursue a bachelor's degree (very few people in my neighborhood could go to a bachelor's degree at that time) made my desire to change classes very strong. During that time, I thought about this matter constantly.
In order to transfer to another class, I first talked to the class teacher, and she told me to bring my parents to talk to the head teacher together. Then I started thinking about what I could do to increase my chances of transferring, such as having good English grades and being a member of the school competition team. I asked my father to go to the head teacher's office proactively, but she didn't give a clear response, and I didn't know what was going on. I wondered what else I could do, and the class teacher who would receive the transfer was also important, so I went to her office. Later, the head teacher approached me again and told me that the reason she didn't respond when I came with my parents was to see if I really wanted to transfer.
I will never forget this experience, but since then, I have never had that same feeling of longing, and my goals have never been so firm. At that time, I never thought about how other classmates would think if I did this. My mind was filled with the thought that I had to do this. If I hadn't done it at that time, I wouldn't be able to write these things now.
The second experience is breaking through the communication barrier that had troubled me for many years. The first step was taken this year. I used to envy those who could talk to anyone without fear, but I could never do it until I participated in the online training camp's group meetings and took the first step.
Before participating in the training camp, I realized that if I didn't break through in "communication with others," it would be a huge obstacle to my future career and personal development. On the day when the first group meeting was about to start, I couldn't resist the fear in my heart and made an excuse to run away. I regretted it afterwards and realized that if I wanted to change the situation, I had to make a breakthrough and change. This idea was particularly strong at that time.
Luckily, there was another group meeting after the first one, and since then, although I was always nervous during the group discussions, always preparing a script in advance for what I wanted to share, I never missed a meeting. In February of this year, I had a particularly good conversation during a research interview by chance. It was the first time I felt the joy of expressing myself. Since then, combined with consciously persuading myself at work not to overthink, I can now basically communicate with people for the sake of a goal, without being influenced by the habit of the past.
Reflecting on these two experiences, I realize that holding a strong desire in one's heart is indeed as powerful as I have experienced. It gives me the power and courage to overcome any obstacles.
Maximizing sales, minimizing expenses#
Since some time ago, I have started to pay attention to my finances. In the past, my expenses were relatively simple. I could easily see where and how much money I spent by checking my Alipay bill. But this year, my expenses have become more complicated, and I use various payment platforms, making it difficult to clearly know where I spent my money. I have always had a principle of "absolutely no debt."
The core of "maximizing sales, minimizing expenses" is that one must never go into debt, whether it is for a company or an individual. Once in debt, one will be bound by debt and have an extra layer of concerns when making the right choices. For ordinary people, their salary is the price they sell themselves for, and their daily expenses are the costs. Salaries are usually fixed, so it is best to control costs. By reducing the desire for consumption, unnecessary expenses can be reduced. No matter what the future holds, as long as there is no debt, there will be room to maneuver.
Therefore, even if I use financial products like Huabei (a credit line), I will never exceed what my personal assets can afford. Especially when buying a car, many people around me take out loans to buy cars that they cannot afford to pay for themselves, just to satisfy their temporary vanity. I would rather not go into debt and buy a car that I can afford through my own efforts.
I will always adhere to the direction of "maximizing sales, minimizing expenses."