Calm, Sustained Effort Is the Best Response to the Outside World

Recently China and the United States have fought a trade war, and Huawei has been targeted by the full power of the United States; public opinion has boiled over. But Ren Zhengfei's response to the world has left a typical good impression—at once the steadiness of a traditional Chinese and the openness of a modern corporate leader. That Huawei has developed to where it is today was no easy matter, and it is closely tied to Ren's consistent low-profile, pragmatic, ambitious, and hardworking personal and managerial style.

Disputes between China and the United States did not begin today, nor will they end today. There have been many frictions in the past; it is just that in recent years the frictions have moved into the technological realm. Today it is 5G technology; in the future, the United States will surely rub against China on more technologies. This is the inevitable phenomenon described by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides when a rising power challenges an established one.

Between nations, between people, and between a person and the outside world, there will always be contradictions of one kind or another. For a rational and steady adult, the best way to handle things is to avoid argument, work calmly and steadily, and do one's own job well.

Buddhism says: the resolution of right and wrong lies in not debating them. A person living in this world will almost certainly have people criticizing them. Many will misunderstand us in various ways; some will even take measures against us—all of this is normal. The best response is to make no explanation at all and strive to do one's own work well.

Perhaps it is age; now I am too lazy to make unnecessary explanations to anyone. Past life experience tells me that once two different people hold different views, it is very hard to achieve genuine mutual understanding through explanation. Better to be silent. Those who can understand each other never needed much磨合 in the first place.

A person should spend his time and energy on self-growth, not on arguing and fighting with others. In my work, I often encounter all kinds of displeasure; inner emotional ups and downs certainly exist, but basically they last only an instant. The next instant, all returns to calm.

I think a rational adult should first understand that his most precious possession is fleeting time. Life is short; once this moment has passed, there will be no more of this moment.

So if someone curses me because he does not like the sight of me, at most I will avoid him and will not curse back. If someone questions me, I likewise avoid him and make no further explanation. If someone seriously discusses a professional issue with me, I will listen attentively. My time is valuable; wasting it on verbal sparring and on trying to persuade others with earnest exhortations is hardly worth it.

Each of us has many shortcomings that take time to perfect. A person who cannot manage his own emotions or plan his own time will live a chaotic life and waste enormous amounts of time and energy—time and energy that, if spent on deepening his own profession, would certainly allow him to learn more, grow more, and become more confident and happy.

A person does not need the flattery and understanding of others, but he does need to be responsible for himself and to spend time on what matters most. So it is with a company, a nation, and even our entire human community. Only by setting aside controversy and working calmly and steadily can we achieve the goal of self-perfection.

Each person sets different growth goals for himself, so how to perfect oneself is an individual matter. But after all, there are some common principles of growth worth taking seriously—for example, diligence, focus, and lifelong learning. I believe these are basic qualities that anyone pursuing self-growth should possess. It is best to make some basic qualities into life habits; this helps us keep moving forward with perseverance. Slackness and indolence are terrible, but habits can overcome them.

A person's starting point and talent are both important and unimportant. If a person is genuinely interested in a cause, then the level of his starting point and talent may not matter so much, because interest is the best teacher. Moreover, someone who truly loves a cause, besides loving the cause itself, would not normally care much about the附加 things it brings—fame, wealth, achievement, and so on.

Strive to do well what you love; that is enough. Why must one pursue a particular outcome? Caring too much about the outcome damages happiness. The so-called craftsman spirit, put plainly, is perhaps a kind of self-forgetful joy in the work itself.

Only when a person truly takes joy in it will he truly forget himself. Otherwise there is always an "I" present—what benefit can I get from this? Am I suited to do this? Once an "I" appears, all sorts of troubles arise for no reason.

Only when one forgets the self and does not care at all whether one is suited to do it—actually, anyone in the world is suited to do anything, as long as he enjoys it. Whoever asks whether he is suited to do something, from the moment he asks, is already unsuited to it. True love cannot be stopped by poverty, status, or any of the difficulties that look daunting to onlookers. People with such love are blessed, because they can harvest from life true and lasting joy and confidence.

As for those who calculate the gains and losses of a thing, they are merely slaves to the cause. What they chase is not self-growth but the increase of wealth and reputation; the cause is merely a tool for achieving wealth and reputation. If a cause is treated only as a tool for wealth and reputation rather than loved, it is of course tedious. Facing a cause you do not love day after day—how can you not grow weary and exhausted?

If a person engages in a cause entirely out of love and nothing else, then what do the unceasing storms of the outside world have to do with him? I personally believe such a person is the most calm-hearted, because he has already thrown his whole body and mind into the cause he loves. The cause itself is enough to make him deeply fulfilled.

People focused on their profession grow fastest in mind. To onlookers such a person may seem unsophisticated, but such a person is precisely the one who does not care at all about worldliness. Worldliness is truly the thing in this world that most easily drains a person's time and energy. How ignorant and bored must a person be to waste his short and precious life on worldliness!