What's this?
This sentence comes from Wang Yangming's "Zhuan Xi Lu". The full text has nineteen characters, and the meaning is very straightforward:
> People must hone themselves in specific things before they can stand firm; they can maintain concentration whether they are quiet or in action.
In today’s words:
> It's not "going to study", not "going to attend lectures", it's "going to do things".
> It's not "learned a lot", it's "sharpened a lot".
Note that this sentence is not a moral preaching of "endure hardship". It talks about Practical Philosophy - you have read a hundred books about swimming, and if you have never been in the water, you can't swim. What Wang Yangming said is not that "it is glorious to endure hardship", but that knowledge is not yours if it is not tested by experience.
This is not a chicken soup of "learning makes people progress", this is a practical formula.
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Why is it important?
Most people living in the world have an illusion: "learning" means "knowing".
So we spend our lives accumulating knowledge - studying for MBAs, taking certificate exams, listening to online classes, and taking notes. But Wang Yangming tells you: the most valuable "ability" is not the words on the certificate, but the cocoon polished from the experience. The most powerful "concentration" is not obtained through meditation, but is achieved in times of crisis.
Come, take a look at some amazing examples.
Case 1: Piano Theorist
A man has studied piano theory for ten years. Scales, chords, musical form analysis, music history - all are excellent. But he never played on stage.
During the first performance, when the lights came on, his hands shook. The knowledge in my head is still there, but my fingers are no longer obedient. Forgot music, chaotic rhythm, shortness of breath - he has studied "quietness" for ten years, but has never been tested by "movement".
Wang Yangming said, "Quietness can also make you calm, and movement can also make you calm." This does not mean that you can be quiet in the piano room, but that you can also be calm on the stage. There is no "hard work". When you are quiet, you feel very calm, but when you move, everything will be scattered.
This is the price of undiminished knowledge: You think you are a master, but you will be exposed as soon as you come on stage.
Case 2: PBLcoach’s practical business studies
In the 25 years since I came to Europe, I have founded a practical business school. The core method is just four words: grinding things first.
I don’t distribute training manuals or give PPTs. I throw a newcomer directly into a real client project - set the bottom line (no loss of money, no harm to customers), give him a list (weekly reports, key node inspections), and then let him carry out indicators, solve problems, and deal with emergencies.
In the first month, the man breaks down. In the second month, he started looking for a way. In the third month, he didn’t need me anymore—he could take care of the project on his own.
This is Project-Based Learning (PBL), which Wang Yangming said two thousand years ago. Classroom training is "quiet", while real projects are "moving". For those who have not experienced "motion", no matter how confident they are when they are "quiet", it will still be fake.
Case 3: Wang Yangming’s Dragon Farm
Wang Yangming was demoted to Longchang, and everyone thought he was finished. Miasma, plague, language barrier, cultural conflict - not even a voice to speak to.
But it was the "things" in Longchang during those years that sharpened his mental skills. If he had been an official in Beijing, writing poems and giving lectures, he would never have become Wang Yangming. Stillness is also calm, and movement is also calm - it is not achieved by meditating, but by carrying things.
"People have to work hard at things" - Wang Yangming is not preaching to you, but setting an example with his own life.
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This reminds me of Project-Based Learning
There is a concept in modern education called PBL (Project-Based Learning): learning is not through listening to lectures and exams, but through completing real projects. In each specific project, students encounter real problems, make real decisions, and bear real consequences.
Wang Yangming's "grinding on things" is completely consistent with this concept - professional knowledge is not imported, but grinded out. The only difference is: PBL is the darling of education reform in the 21st century. Wang Yangming said it in nineteen words in the 16th century.
Even more interesting is Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset. Her research found that people with a fixed mindset believe that "ability is innate", while people with a growth mindset believe that "ability grows through challenges." This is exactly the same as "working hard" - you don't "learn" it and then do it, you learn it by doing it.
> If you haven’t dealt with it, you don’t really understand it.
When you see an "experienced" person who is still calm in a crisis - don't envy his "determination", it is the cocoon he has worn out from countless "things". Concentration is not a gift, it is a scar.
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How to do it?
1. Every time you learn a principle, ask yourself "What specific thing can I try it on?"
"Read a negotiation book?" → "I will try a technique at the meeting with the supplier next week."
"Learned a management method?" → "I will host the team meeting in a different way next month."
"Do you know a marketing strategy?"→"This quarter's promotion, I have a new idea."
In the twenty-five years since I came to Europe, I have seen too many people read books as decorations-the bookshelves are full of books, but the knowledge in the books has never been tested on one thing. The "grinding" that Wang Yangming mentioned does not mean repeated reading, but repeated use.
2. When reading history, look for those losers who "got into trouble without getting through it"
When reading about the Three Kingdoms, Yuan Shao was the fourth and the third Duke, and he had many soldiers and generals, but he never really took on major events independently. In the battle of Guandu, Cao Cao's military strength was far inferior to his, but Cao Cao was honed through countless actual battles. Yuan Shao's "quiet" looked very stable, but fell apart when he moved.
Reading history is not about memorizing years, it is about finding out who has experienced it in practice and who is just talking about it on paper.
3. When leading a team, do less training and more projects
After coming to Europe for 25 years, I learned from an Italian family business: the best training is not in the classroom, but in projects. Give young people a real project, set bottom lines and checklists, and let them carry it out. If he can bear it, he will be a general. If you can't bear it, you know where he still needs to grind.
The practical business philosophy of pblcoach.com is based on this logic - throw the person in charge into a new project, work hard on things, and make decisions while moving.
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when?
"People have to work hard at things" is not a patent of the ancients, it is a basic thinking that you can use today:
When you feel that you have "learned a lot but can't use it" - it's not that you haven't learned enough, it's that you've polished it too little. Find a specific thing and pour your knowledge into it.
When you interview someone with "many certificates but zero experience" - the certificate is "static" and the project is "moving". Asking him what he has done is ten times more important than seeing what certificate he has passed.
When you read history and think, "Why were the ancients so stupid?" - Ask yourself: If I were in his position and hadn't done what he did, would I have done better than him?
When you do team training – Stop doing PPT. Give the team a real project to work on. The change after three months is ten times greater than your three months of training.
When you feel that you "can't calm down" - It's not that you don't meditate enough, it's that you don't work hard enough. A person who has truly endured things does not need to force himself to be quiet, because he knows that he can handle it regardless of movement or movement.
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Where?
The rule of this sentence is applicable everywhere.
In psychology, the core of Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset is that abilities are not fixed but grow through challenges. It's not talent, it's hard work. This is the psychological version of "scrutiny".
In education, John Dewey's "Learning by Doing" is one of the most important educational theories in the 20th century. He said: "Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself." It is exactly the same as what Wang Yangming said about "working on things" - not preparing for the future, but carrying it now.
In business, Amazon's "Two Pizza Team" - the team is small enough to feed two pizzas, but it is given real projects, real targets, and real responsibilities. It’s not something that comes from training, it’s something that comes from projects. Jeff Bezos said: "The best way to learn is to fail." But the prerequisite is that you must fail in real things, not in a simulator.
In sports, any top athlete knows: 10,000 shots on the training field are not as good as the last shot on the game field. Training is "quiet" and competition is "moving". Without the "hard work" at critical moments, no matter how much training you have, you won't be able to achieve success.
In Italian family businesses, the secret to three generations is not an MBA degree, but apprenticeship. I have been in Europe for 25 years, and I have seen the longest-lived Italian company. Young people enter factories, stores, and customer sites at the age of 18—not learning how to make leather goods in the classroom, but learning in the process of making leather goods. Stillness is determined, and movement is determined - it was not determined in the classroom, but was honed through customer complaints, order delays, and material price increases. Italians don't say PBL, they call it "imparare facendo" - learning by doing. What Wang Yangming said is happening every day in the Florence workshop.
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One sentence summary
> If you haven’t practiced anything, knowledge is just paper.
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Original article by Coach Liu. Please cite source when sharing.