There was once a man from the Zhou Dynasty who dreamed of becoming an official. But he never succeeded. When his hair turned white, he thought about his broken dream and sat down by the road and cried. A stranger came up to him and asked the old man, “Old man, why are you sitting here and crying?” The old man replied, “I have always wanted to become an official, but I have never been hired. Now I am old and whenever I think of my broken dreams. I cannot help but feel sad.”
The stranger asked him, “If you are talented, why did you not get hired?” The old man sighed and replied, “When I was young I learned history and literature, and I applied to become an official. But the king happened to prefer wise men with experience. So, I was never hired as an official. Afterward, a new king ascended the throne, but he preferred generals. So, I started to learn martial arts. After I finally mastered the martial arts, a new king took the throne. And now he likes to use young men, but I’m already old! So many years have passed and I am still nowhere. I feel so sad for myself.”
After listening to the old man's story, the stranger shook his head and sighed,“If you persisted in your area of expertise, you would have had a chance to succeed; But you changed your direction with every setback, and wasted so much time, no wonder you did not succeed.”
