Notes on “This World is Both Cruel and Gentle”

I had long heard about Sun Ge’s book, and read it recently. It did leave me with some reflections.

People nowadays always talk about stability, but stability is the biggest lie of all, and extremely hard to find. From my observation, only those earning a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand per year in the public sector could demand this, but clearly this requirement is extremely high.

People fear uncertainty. Bill Gates called Hewlett-Packard when he was twelve years old. The first step is extremely difficult to take; people are afraid of rejection, afraid of embarrassment, failure, afraid things won’t develop as expected.

Why I’ve Never Looked for a Stable Job

But who cares? Payment is by the word. The faster you translate and the more words you produce, the more money you can earn. And translators don't know their readers. Most people's attitude is to muddle through, speed up and finish the manuscript, and couldn't care less about publishing quality or the troubles, misleadings, and deviations they cause to readers. Very few people care about the dignity of the translation profession, or about your struggles and pains during translation. You gradually discover that a good translation and a bad translation are treated the same, with absolutely no difference; no one values diligence, effort, or talent. A conscientious person feels awkward in such an environment, while a loafer who loves stability finds it like discovering their own organization. At that time, I was immersed in translation. I overheard discussions among these veteran office workers mentioned in "Ode to Joy." All day they discussed their dream: when they could infiltrate an even more stable industry, one with lower quality requirements and even less regard for professional dignity; all day they thought most about how to cut corners, reduce materials, and make it even easier on this basis—there's no laziest, only lazier; their biggest daily hobby is to discourage newcomers who believe they can change something, achieve something, or take their work seriously.

The so-called “stability” is more like the soldiers in “Soldier Assault” who slack off in the grassland fifth squad, doing nothing, getting a paycheck and idling—that’s the so-called stability. When they see Xu Sanuo persisting day after day, they feel uneasy. It’s like a dorm full of people gaming, where the person who studies seriously is the odd one, because they disrupt the group’s stability.

Especially now with the sluggish social environment, people are more inclined to lie flat. As if you, as a striver, are the odd one. Not only do they want to slack off, they want to drag you down. As a striver, you’re called an idiot, but clearly, success still belongs to a minority. Those who lie flat will never succeed.

Ninety percent of people make ninety-nine percent of the choices, yet want one percent of the results—that clearly won’t work. Those who study seriously day after day, why shouldn’t success belong to them?

In my view, Sun Ge is more of a typical example—persisting at all costs for one thing. I always think I’m unlucky, that what I do doesn’t yield good results. But thinking about it carefully, I still haven’t truly put in genuine effort. Maybe I’ve only put in half an effort.

Do What Is Correct When Viewed from the Future

Courage and vision are essential prerequisites for success.

If an entrepreneur has met Bill Gates and Musk, they will no longer be satisfied with being merely an outstanding county-level entrepreneur. The sense of deserving is very important. Some people feel they don’t deserve it, or subconsciously think they don’t deserve it. All people are born equal, with two arms and two legs. We’re no different. The conveniences of birth are not reasons to divide people into classes or levels.

Focus on increments rather than stock

Don’t limit your gaze to immediate interests. Long-term investment, even if at a loss, if it can exchange for greater returns in the future, then it is worth it.

ALL IN to a Magnificent Cause

The internet has opened a new era, where connections between people have become unprecedentedly convenient. It has also opened a virtual parallel space.

When deciding to undertake a great cause, you must have the determination to ALL IN.

ALL IN doesn’t mean having no retreat, nor is it blind impulse. It requires keen judgment and perception of the future, having seventy to eighty percent certainty, and believing in your own judgment. Especially when changing careers, starting a business, or starting from scratch.