Lessons from Li Lao Shi
I
met with Teacher Li and mentioned that I want to bring my son to
Taiwan for part of his grade school education. “That's good!” he
said. “That's what you have to do. You're almost 40. You have to
bring him along with you, so he has a strong impression of what his
father did.” Then he chimes in with his joking nature, “Teach him
how to earn Chinese money.”
He
is joking, but he knows it is no joke, and continues into one of his
philosophy raps. Such is the way of Teacher Li. “How many PhD's are
there in the world today?” he queries. “So you know that a PhD
doesn't mean a crap. But in this new world that your son will live
in, how will people achieve value? It’s important to be able to do
something that brings value. Remember my nephew? The one who was a
straight-A student and went to England to study? He hurt himself and
had a hard time studying ever since. Now he is training to be a chef
in a famous kitchen here in Taiwan. After you graduate from school,
what do you have to do?”
I've
heard this particular rap a few times. So this time, on cue, I tell
him the answer, “Get a job.” He replies, “Yes, get a job, so
why not get a job right off, get to your goal sooner, and save
yourself a whole lot of trouble?”
Li
Lao Shi is an amazing character and, as a fortune teller, he knows
the other side of the story. He's just waiting to see how much of the
story we can piece together to create a guide for achieving the best
life possible. As a fortune teller, this must be one of Teacher Li's
favorite subjects.
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