When Heaven is about to bestow a great task on someone, it first denies them what they wish for, so that they come to know how winding and how hard the ways of the world are, and that those ways do not follow the heart;
It must make things difficult for them, so that they learn that Heaven cannot be leaned on, that the earth cannot be depended upon, and that people cannot be wholly trusted;
It must reduce them to utter poverty and then raise them to wealth and honor, and only then watch whether they have lost their resolve, so as to examine their heart and test their nature.
Having lived through the decline of the age, the failure of their undertakings and the departure of those around them, they come to understand the principle by which all things rise and fall, and gain the knack of how to act and whom to employ.
Help them attain the Way, so as to benefit all under Heaven.
This article was first published on my WeChat official account “左手编程右手文化” (Left Hand Programs, Right Hand Culture), account ID: devopscd. Welcome to follow.