Part I On the Doctrine of Small Success (Selection)
CHEN Demian


It demonstrates there is YUAN between you and me (we have some fated good relations), since you happened to open our web and read it carefully.
We can often receive good wishes from others, such as “be healthy and longevous”, “be happy”, “be wealthy” or “wish you a successful career”, and “wish you a happy family”. Here, we want to send all of these wishes to you – my dear fated friends. Of course, the wishes normally also express the sender’s respect to you.
Well, how to reach the goal of being healthy and longevous, being happy, being wealthy or having a successful career, having a happy family, and get respected? I made a summary of that for the fated friends’ reference.


I. On Priority
Since life is limited, there might be some conflicts to achieve all the above five goals. So the key issue is to allocate time properly. In turn, to allocate time properly, the first thing to do is to make clear what the priority is.
I use four areas to illustrate different degrees of importance and urgency to make the following discussion easy (see Chart 1).

Nobody will make mistake when allocating time for things falling in Area I and IV, while many mistakes for things in Area II and III.
Many people usually misunderstand things in Area II by things in Area IV. Things being important and even very important, just because they are not urgent, they are regarded as not important. As for things that are important but not urgent, the key issue is perseverance. If you persist in doing these things, they will be achieved smoothly one day; if you treat them as unimportant and not adhere to them, they normally will change to the important and urgent, and it might me too late to work on them at that time.
Also many people misunderstand things in Area III by things in Area I. They thought things important only because they were urgent, while obviously, they were unimportant or even not important at all, so that finally got nothing although seemed busy all the time. One should have the courage to abnegate when facing unimportant things.


II. Facing Life Properly
Some take it for granted that they can use any kind of means, fair or unfair, or even illegal, to achieve their objectives. Some think people should drift along and not forgo any happiness since life is so limited. These two attitudes are both wrong. We should have proper attitude toward life.
So how to face life properly?
1. There must be dreams in a positive life. Dreams make life colorful. The significance and pleasure of life stands in the process of dreaming and the feeling of success after realizing the dream(s).
2. People should brew sweet dreams not nightmares. Dreams which accomplished through wisdom, efforts and fair approaches are sweet ones. If one wants to achieve his dream(s) by any kind of means, for instance, (a) breaking the law; (b) throwing away morality; or (c) giving up personality and dignity, what he finally gets will only be nightmares even he might reach his objectives.


III. Facing Difficulty, Frustration, Failure and Success Properly
There will not be always success in a person’s career. Instead, problems, difficulties, frustrations, even failures of this kind or that, will occur anyway. Normally, there are five processes of a person’s ultimate failure.
1) not well informed or having not enough understanding about the situation in advance.
2) without prepared solutions due to not seeing possible problems in advance, consequently, reacting not properly
3) plan frustrated due to improper reacting when facing problems and difficulties
4) without timely adjustment when plan frustrated and thus leading to temporary failure
5) losing confidence after failure, not summarizing experiences or without courage to have a new start, result in the ultimate failure

To summarize the processes of a failure, we can learn that:
1) one should take careful investigation and planning in advance, and get fully prepared for any possible problems and difficulties
2) when facing unexpected problems and difficulties, people should be calm and draw on the wisdom of the masses, rather than be a law onto himself
3) people should analysis the situation calmly and make adjustments when the plan is frustrated
4) when failed temporarily, people should not give up, instead, summarize lessons and experiences to play it again.
On the other hand, people must keep in mind that success is only relative. Succeeding once does not mean you can be successful all the time. People should guard against arrogance.


V. Treat People Surround You Properly
1. Thanksgiving
Anybody beyond you, relatives or friends, are all independent from you. It is your good fortune and fate, if you received any help. It is natural that people do not help you. You shall not have any blaming attitude. Only thanksgiving can make you happy.
2. On Honesty
Understanding and supporting from others is always needed. One will not go very far or be respected without honesty.
It is too easy to loose honesty, while it will take times more of efforts to regain trust, or you might even never get a chance to get it back once you lose it.
3. Proper Comparisons
Realize it or not, everybody will make comparisons between him and somebody else, between his current situation and the past. Making comparison is inevitable, but people should treat it properly. Always to compare with people less good than you, it might make you content with your lot while make no progress at the same time. Always to compare with people better than you, it might make you motivated, but also might make you jealousy, “sour” and unhappy. It is proper to make both of the above comparison to be content, confident, and motivated at the same time.
Proper comparison can make you be content with what you have and also help you find your deficiency, make clear of your objectives and add on motivity to move forward.


V. Epilog
Our wishes to you – being healthy and longevous, being happy, being wealthy or having a successful career, having a happy family – could be realized, when you carry out all the cultivation and practice stated above. Your career, however, might only be a relatively small success. Please move on to Part II if you want a big or even great success.