20 Classic Stories of Celebrities

1. The value of money lies in how it is used

The car king Ford was not a stingy person, but he rarely donated money. He stubbornly believes that the value of money does not lie in the amount, but in the way it is used. His biggest concern is that donations often end up in the hands of people who are not good at using them. Once, President Martha Betty of Georgia asked Ford for a donation to expand the school, but Ford turned her down.

She said: Then please donate me a bag of peanut seeds. So Ford bought a bag of peanut seeds and gave it to her. Ford later forgot about the incident. Unexpectedly, a year later, Ms. Betty came to his door again and handed him $600. It turns out that the students sowed the original bag of peanut seeds, and this was the harvest for the year. Ford said nothing and immediately handed over $6 million to Betty.

Ford’s worry is by no means unnecessary. Money that is obtained too easily often makes it difficult for recipients to feel the pain and wisdom hidden behind the money; I also appreciate Betty’s supreme attitude towards giving little by little. The respect she leads her children to spread is actually enough to prove their qualifications to receive favors from others.

3. Big mistakes and small mistakes

Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Japan's Panasonic Corporation, is known as the "God of Management" for his superb business skills and advanced management methods.

Houteng Qingyi was originally the vice chairman of Sanyo Electric Company, and later defected to Panasonic Company. When he was the director of the factory, the factory caught fire and burned down. Later Teng Qing was very frightened; he thought he would be demoted even if he was not dismissed. Unexpectedly, after receiving the report, Matsushita only said four words to him:

"Do it well!"

What Matsushita did was not to condone the mistakes of his subordinates. In the past, Hou Teng would be severely reprimanded by Panasonic even for inappropriate phone calls. This style can be said to be Panasonic's secret to managing people. Since he was not punished after the fire, Hou Teng would naturally feel guilty, become more loyal to Panasonic, and work twice as hard in return.

Panasonic’s approach cleverly captures human psychology. When he makes a small mistake, he probably doesn't care about it, so he needs to be severely reprimanded to attract his attention. On the contrary, when he makes a big mistake, a fool knows how to reflect on himself, so there is no need to give him harsh criticism.

5. Vent

One day, Secretary of War Stanton came to Lincoln and angrily told him that a major general had used insulting words to accuse him of favoring some people. Lincoln suggested that Stanton write a scathing letter in return.

"You can give him a good scolding," said Lincoln.

Stanton immediately wrote a strongly worded letter and showed it to the president.

"That's right, that's right." Lincoln shouted, "That's what he wants! Give him a good lesson, Stanton."

But when When Stanton folded the letter and put it in the envelope, Lincoln stopped him and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Send it." Stanton was a little confused.

"Don't be ridiculous." Lincoln said loudly, "This letter cannot be sent. Throw it into the stove. This is how I handle all letters written when I am angry. This letter is written Well done, you were relieved when you wrote it and you feel better now, so please burn it and write the second letter."

8. Horsefly Effect

After the 1860 U.S. presidential election, Lincoln was elected president. He appointed Senator Salmon Chase as Secretary of the Treasury.

There were many objections to this appointment. Because although Chase was capable, he was very arrogant. He originally wanted to enter the White House, but lost to Lincoln. He believed that he was much stronger than Lincoln, was very dissatisfied with Lincoln, and pursued the presidency as always.

Lincoln told this story to his friends who cared about him:

"My friends who grew up in the countryside must know what a horsefly is. Once, my brother and I When we plowed the cornfield on a farm in my hometown in Kentucky, I commanded the horse and he helped the plow. The horse was very lazy, but for a while it ran so fast in the field that even my long legs could hardly keep up.

When I got to the edge of the field, I found a big horsefly biting it, and I knocked it off easily. My brother asked me why I shot him and I said I couldn't bear to see the horse get bitten like that. My brother said, "Well, that's the guy who makes the horse run fast."

Then Lincoln said, "What if a horsefly called 'Presidential Desire' were biting President Tsai in the moment?" Mr. Si, then as long as it keeps Chase and his department running, I don't want to shoot it down."

25. Premier Zhou's "bet"

In 1961, "Red Guards of Honghu Lake" performed in Beijing for the second time. During this performance, there was an interesting story about Premier Zhou's "bet" with Chen Yi and Li Xiannian. In the second scene, Liu Chuang and the Red Guards went to Pengjiadun to touch the village's robbery gun. After successfully robbing the gun, Liu Chuang pulled out a sparkling dagger, inserted a note saying "My surname is Tian, ??and I live by Honghu Lake. I came to borrow a gun today, and I will conquer the country tomorrow." On the plaque in Peng Batian Hou Hall. This detail aroused the interest of the chiefs. Chen Yi and Li Xiannian said that Liu Chuang had two tricks, and he was very good at throwing the knife. The Prime Minister said that Liu Chuang's performance was good, but the knife-throwing was fake. The Prime Minister said, I dare to say that he is fake, because Liu Chuang's knife was thrown from an angle of 45 degrees, but the knife stuck on the plaque at an angle of 90 degrees, which exposed the flaw. Liu Chuang's skill lies in hiding the knife well.

The three chiefs couldn't argue, and a secretary came to me backstage to ask what happened. After hearing this, I was very emotional and told my secretary that the Prime Minister was right and the knife throwing was fake. To be honest, this incident not only allowed me to see the Prime Minister’s discerning vision, but also made me have stricter requirements for my future performances.

32. Washington’s hesitation

In 1796, the first president of the United States, George Washington, refused to run for re-election after his two terms and returned to civilian life. At that time, federal government officials still had unpaid positions. Washington had not received a penny since he became the commander of the Continental Army. After 20 years, he had nothing to do. In order to thank him for his free service to the United States, the James River Shipping Company in his hometown decided to donate a batch of stocks to Washington, worth $50,000. This was a considerable fortune at the time.

Washington has never been rich. He did not receive a complete school education. He worked as a land surveyor in his teens and used the salary he earned to buy some land that was very cheap in that era. However, North America has fewer people and more land, and the benefits from the land are very limited. When he ended his presidential career, he needed money to maintain his life in his later years. For him, $50,000 in stocks was nothing less than a "help in times of need." But Washington hesitated over and over again before this legal gift and could not make up his mind. He went to seek the advice of his old friend Thomas Jefferson (the author of the Declaration of Independence, later Washington's Secretary of State, and later the third President of the United States). Jefferson said that although the money was legal, it should not be taken because it was about honor. What to do? It's better to donate it and donate it to charity.

At this time, Lexington's schools were in financial trouble and faced bankruptcy. Washington donated the James River Navigation Company stock to the school. This was the largest donation ever received by a private school in the United States at the time, and the money saved the school. Two years later, the school board decided to change the school's name to Washington College.

41. Learn from Jordan’s patriotism

Basketball God Jordan refused to take the Mercedes-Benz and BMW provided by the organizer during his recent trip to China, but named the United States dodge goat. It turns out that Jordan has an important business principle, which is to "never advertise only American products." Therefore, the car incident is closely related to "patriotic spirit."

In a sense, Jordan off the court gave a good ideological and moral education lesson to the teenagers who admired him. This is the true moral conscience and social responsibility of a "star".

On the contrary, our various "stars" are also the idols that teenagers worship. How do they perform? We know that some singers are not very good at singing, but they are keen on taking grotesque forms to extremes; some movie stars are bad at performing, but they can't get out of the vicious cycle of scandals; and there are also those so-called football stars who are very good at playing football. It sucks, but scandals such as drinking and fighting are never ending. In terms of ideological and moral construction of minors, our "stars" have an unshirkable social responsibility. From this perspective, should we learn from Jordan?

43. Celebrity Goddess

Tutor: Bao Zheng is a fair and honest official, and is respected by the people as Bao Qingtian. He was worried that his family members would take advantage of their power to become corrupt, so he recounted his family motto: "The descendants of future generations of officials who have committed stolen property will not be allowed to return to their own family; after the epidemic is over, they will not be buried in the big tomb. Those who do not follow my aspirations are not my descendants." "

Inscription: When Su Mai, the eldest son of the poet Su Dongpo of the Song Dynasty, went to serve as the county magistrate, Su Dongpo gave him an inkstone with an inkstone carved by himself: "This way you will always feel thirsty. Use this to make progress and always be surprised; use this to manage wealth and always be like giving; use this to study and jail and always think about life."

Whispering teaching: Yue Yun joined the army at the age of 12 and once rode downhill without paying attention to the terrain. , people also fell into the ditch. Yue Fei ordered Yue Yun to be whipped according to military law, but the generals begged for mercy but refused and gave him a hundred lashes. After that, Yue Yun trained hard and fought bravely. When he attacked Suizhou in 1134, he wielded an 80-pound hammer and was the first to climb the city. Yue Fei's principles in teaching his children are: suffer more than the soldiers, fight before the soldiers, and receive merit after the soldiers.

Famous teacher: In 1945, the 6-year-old son of revolutionary veteran Lin Boqu was going to primary school. Mr. Lin said to his son: "When you go to school, you should have an authentic name. I think you should call it 'Yong San!'" The son was puzzled. Mr. Lin explained: "Yong Sanzhi, San Yong means using your brain to think. The problem is, make machines with your hands and be down-to-earth with your feet!”

United Education: The proletarian revolutionary Wu Yuzhang once wrote a couplet and hung it in front of the hall. The first line of the first line reads, "It is difficult to start a business, and it is also difficult to keep a business. Knowing that material resources are difficult, do not strive for dignity in everything." It educates future generations to start a business with hard work, be diligent and thrifty, and must not be extravagant and wasteful, and pursue vanity; the second line: "It is easy to stay at home, but it is not easy to run a family. "If you want to set an example for yourself and set a good example in your actions," he pointed out that elders should set an example at all times, teaching by example is more important than teaching by words, and set a good example everywhere, and become a model for the younger generations to follow.

Teaching the rules: Mr. Lao She’s rules for educating children: First, you don’t have to get a hundred points in the exam; second, you don’t have to go to college; third, you should play more, without losing the innocence of children; fourth, you should Have a sound body. In short, Mr. Lao She believes that children do not need to strive to be "superior" and vanity is absolutely forbidden.

55. Knowing well

It is said that during the Three Kingdoms period, one day Zhou Yu just stepped out of the threshold with one foot and bumped into the oncoming Cao Cao. So Zhou Yu asked Cao Cao: Do you think I want to enter now? Will you still withdraw? Cao Si thought: If he says he wants to advance, he can go back; if he says he wants to retreat, he can move forward because his legs are on Zhou Yu's body. When Cao Cao was unable to advance or retreat, a flying insect suddenly flew in front of Cao Cao. Cao Cao stretched out his hand to catch it. Coincidentally, he caught it. At the same time, inspiration came to him, and he immediately answered with a rhetorical question, asking Zhou Yu: Do you think the flying insect in my palm is alive or dead now? Zhou Yu was stumped and thought: Let’s talk about it alive, as long as he tightens his hand slightly, the flying insect will be killed; let’s talk about death, seeing how loose his grip is, the flying insect might be peeing in his hand now. Leh?

For a long time, the two of them laughed about it. Because they all know very well that the autonomy of the questions they want to answer is not in their own hands, but in the hands of others.

59. Mandela’s epiphany

Mandela in South Africa was imprisoned for leading the opposition to the white apartheid policy. The white rulers imprisoned him on a desolate Atlantic island. 27 years on Robben Island. Although Mandela was already old at the time, the white rulers still abused him like any other young prisoner.

However, when Mandela was released from prison and elected president in 1991, Mandela shocked the whole world with a move at his presidential inauguration.

The presidential inauguration ceremony began, and Mandela stood up to deliver a speech to welcome his guests.

He first introduced the dignitaries from all over the world, and then said that although he was deeply honored to receive so many distinguished guests, what he was most happy about was that when he was imprisoned in Robben Island Prison, the three former prison guards who guarded him Personnel can also be present. He invited them to stand so that he could introduce them.

Mandela's broad mind and generous spirit made the white people in South Africa who brutally abused him for 27 years ashamed, and made everyone present stand in awe. Seeing the elderly Mandela slowly stand up and respectfully salute the three guards who had imprisoned him, all the guests present fell silent.

Later, Mandela explained to his friends that he had been very impatient and had a bad temper when he was young. It was in prison that he learned to control his emotions and survived. His years in prison gave him the time and encouragement to learn how to deal with the pain of his own suffering. He said that gratitude and tolerance come from pain and suffering and must be trained with great perseverance.

He talked about his mood on the day he was released from prison: "When I walked out of the cell and stepped through the prison door leading to freedom, I already knew that if I couldn't leave my grief and resentment behind, then I am actually still in prison."

The reason why we are always troubled, always full of pain, always complaining about others, and always have so much dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction is because we lack Mandela. What about tolerance and gratitude?