Solve the Rockefellar puzzle

Author: Cui Jizhe, Luo Jinxian / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: In 1996, I worked for a foreign company. At that time, I was very interested in improving people's comprehensive qualities and desperately wanted to find some practical methods to do so. I read many books and gathered a lot of information, gradually forming my own ideas. However, I still had to work and support my family, which left me little time for research. This troubled me greatly. At that time, I knew an American who, after learning about my situation, strongly supported me and promised to provide me with living expenses. So, I quit my job and devoted myself entirely to research. However, the living expenses he provided to me suddenly stopped after three months, with no prior warning. Like the young Rockefeller in the story, I was caught off guard and lost my financial source, and my life immediately fell into chaos. At that time, I was full of resentment toward him. If he hadn't made the promise, I wouldn't have quit my job. I might have delayed my full-time research, but it certainly wouldn't have ended up this badly. Later, I learned that this American himself was not financially well-off and had little surplus money to help others. At that time, he himself was facing difficulties and had to stop the living expenses he had promised me. But because of pride, he didn’t tell me, which led to many misunderstandings between us during that period. This incident had a great impact on me. It made me realize that breaking a promise doesn’t always mean someone has a character issue—it can simply be due to a lack of resources. Like this American, when a person doesn’t have enough resources to support their own life, how can they have the resources to fulfill promises to help others? Once I understood this, my resentment toward him lessened. Although he didn’t continue to help me afterward, his promise provided a new form of support for my research. Soon, I found new supporters and continued my work. P4-5