The higher the position, the fewer hard requirements and the more soft requirements.

You’re individually extremely capable, but if you lose your mind the moment you get resources, who’s going to hire you? So it’s only by staying grounded that the rope of fate outside this well becomes your ladder.

The rope that changes destiny swings back and forth in the well all day long.

Nine out of ten people refuse promotion—they don’t even bother reaching for it, or they’re afraid of their colleagues’ gaze, the eyes of people around them. And those who are willing to give it a try—the ones commonly called “ambitious”—actually just grab the rope, swing around once, and fall back down. Because they’re riddled with bad habits: chasing petty gains, short-sightedness, jealousy of the talented, eagerness for quick results. Even if luck carries them to the top, they’ll still fall after one look around. What you earn by luck, you’ll pay back with skill.

The weak cannot bear wealth.

It’s not that hard to develop someone; the hard part is finding someone willing to be developed.

When a person stands at the bottom of the well and looks up, they’re actually in a posture of taking.

I want to find a promising boss—that’s me hoping he’ll give me opportunities, delegate to me. I want to find a wealthy husband—that’s me hoping he’ll hand me wealth so I can step onto a higher platform.

But if we’ve never touched power or money, we have no idea what the other side worries about. Of course they’ll be concerned about your loyalty, but before that, what they really fear is that if they pull you out of the well haphazardly, you’ll be at a loss. You’ve never dealt with power and money; you just see them as good things, like magic artifacts or Genie’s lamps granted wishes. But those who hold resources know very well that power and money are like a sword—specifically, a double-edged sword.

Handing a double-edged sword to a kid, the most likely outcome isn’t him slaying Hua Xiong, but him clumsily cutting himself right away.