An inspirational story from failure to success

Examples of hard work in the face of setbacks are even more common in China. The following is a very famous allusion in Chinese history, "head hanging beam, cone thorn", the hero is the Warring States period Su Qin.

During the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), the state of Qin became stronger and stronger through reform. It wanted to unify the other six states, so it often attacked other states. Because Qin was so powerful, other states were worried about it, but they could not find a proper way to defend themselves against Qin.

Su Qin lobbied all the states and put forward the idea of "Hezong" against Qin, that is, the six states should unite to resist Qin together.

Su Qin was born in Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Su Qin was born in such a place, and he had some talents. He wanted to make a difference. So he went to see the King of Zhou, but he did not succeed.

Su Qin was very angry, so he sold his family property and went to another country to show his talent elsewhere. However, he traveled around several other countries, found nothing, ran out of money, could not live, and had no choice but to return to Luoyang's home.

When he came back, his family was angry at him because he had sold up and left without caring for them, and now he had come back with nothing, in rags and shoes.

His mother scolded him so much that his wife didn't even look at him, just weaving. Su Qin was so hungry that he wanted his sister-in-law to cook for him. However, his sister-in-law turned away to do something else, ignoring him as well.

Su Qin was greatly stimulated, thinking that he had achieved nothing, and even his own family would despise him. So he decided to study hard, must be successful.

He studied the book of war day and night, reading until late at night, sleepy, taking an awl stick thigh, a pain will wake up a lot, and then continue to read. Sometimes late at night sleepy doze, he will find a rope, a head to tie the hair, a head tied on the roof of the beam, a nodding head down, because there is a rope pulling, the scalp will be pulled pain, so he began to sober reading. It was from here that what was later called "the head of the beam, the cone of the thorn" came.

Su Qin studied hard for more than a year. Feeling that he had learned something and gained something, he packed his bags and lobbied all over the world again. First of all, he urged the state of Zhao to join forces with other states to fight against Qin. The king of Zhao thought Su Qin's argument was reasonable and agreed. He also rewarded Su Qin with many golds and silver treasures.

With the support of Zhao, he went back and forth to other states to persuade them to agree to join the plan of the United Forces against Qin. They made a covenant and appointed Su Qin as the prime minister of the six states. It was a great thing for an ordinary person to be the minister of a state. Su Qin was all of a sudden the minister of six states at the same time. The king of Zhao even named him Lord Wu An.

When Qin heard the news that the six states were ready to defend themselves together, he was quite surprised. For more than ten years, Qin did not dare to launch any large-scale war against the six States.

There is an interesting twist to this story.

When Su Qin was down and out, he returned home and was unanimously despised by his family. However, when the news reached Su Qin's hometown that he had been honored by the king of Zhao, his family's attitude made a complete U-turn.

His brothers, wife, and sister-in-law all regretted the way they had treated Su Qin before. So when they heard that Su Qin had to pass through Luoyang, his hometown, to return to Zhao, the whole family prepared a rich banquet, ran to a place 30 miles away, cleaned the road, and knelt to welcome Su Qin.

This kind of before and after comparison left Su Qin with mixed feelings. Su Qin's frustration not only came from his failure, but also from his family's contempt for him, which stimulated him a lot, and finally made Su Qin turn his frustration into motivation to study hard and finally succeed.

The reason why a person is successful, even becoming a legend, is not in one move but experiencing numerous setbacks and failures, and after the setback of hard work comes. Such legends are not uncommon today.

What these examples show us is that setbacks can be devastating, painful, and disappointing, but they can also be uplifting, invigorating, and maturing. When we can look at life's setbacks in this way, we change the way we think about people and things in general.