Introduction

Good day to all. We continue with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a book by Stephen Covey. We have already covered the first three habits. If you recall, can you tell me which habits we’ve discussed? What is the first habit? The second? The third? We must first resolve issues of understanding.

I see some have already answered: Be Proactive, Begin with the End in Mind, and Put First Things First. Besides these, we also discussed the framework of The 7 Habits, and changing ourselves from the inside out – getting the inner self right so that external changes can occur. Now, how well have you all been implementing these habits? In my past pastoral work, I found implementation particularly vexing.

Some understand everything but implement nothing. It would be unfair to say you haven't implemented at all, as you've surely tried. But you find it just doesn’t work out. I guess it would not wrong to say you haven't implemented successfully. I don’t know if that is praising you, or criticizing you. Because in implementing, we discover many obstacles. Implementation is fraught with resistance! This is true of everything.

For example, I want to live well, but the moment I try to live well, things go awry. If I want to live well, I must study diligently. But then, everything hurts except my hair. Feeling terrible makes living well difficult. It's too hard! Seeing someone live a wretched life is painful for us and for others. Though alive, they’re just barely getting by.

The problem arises: the moment I want to implement, there's resistance. The moment I want to do something, I feel terrible. What to do? Some say, charge ahead! Charging represents what's inside us. Now, let's pause and discuss solutions. I want to live well, but change makes it worse, so I give up. Yesterday's life continues today.

When life is bad, I want to change. But change brings more pain, worsening the situation. Feeling worse, I give up again. I am stuck in this cycle, repeatedly tossing and turning. Some say, grit your teeth, dig in, and go the extra mile! I say, there must be wisdom and strategy. We must overcome a critical problem. Let’s address the common issues. Did I just strike a chord with everyone?

Bad Habit 1: Unwilling to Do What One Can, Unable to Do What One Wants

The first bad habit is being unwilling to do what one can. Disliking what one can do, and being unable to do what one likes, is fatal. Thinking one is terrible while doing something. Yet, all things begin from doing poorly. I find many are unwilling to do what they can, unable to do what they want, unable to produce what they admire, and disliking what they produce.

In my pastoral work, resolving problems means resolving bad habits. This bad habit is deadly. I speak of it almost weekly, monthly. What needs resolving is bad habits; bad habits can kill. Seeing large companies like Alibaba, some forget they started small. Seeing Tencent and Huawei, they forget they too grew from small beginnings.

What company starts with 30,000-40,000 employees? None! All start small. Every dynasty began with a small team working step by step. To build good habits, start with resolving bad ones. Perhaps I should write a book on overcoming bad habits.

Overcoming bad habits goes from negative to zero. Building good habits goes from zero to positive. Still in the negative, with many bad habits, let's start low: overcoming bad habits. When I speak of good habits, you'll find building them isn't hard. Start with eliminating bad ones. I have accumulated many such cases in my pastoral work.

Remember, change is a gradual process of daily improvement. People often say they don’t see their progress. I ask, do you see your decline? They haven't noticed that either. I ask, how are you compared to three years ago? They say much better. So that's progress! Raising a child, measuring their height today might show 1.2 meters. Measuring again tomorrow, it’s the same. Despite eating all day, their height doesn't change noticeably. It's too small to measure. But compared to three years ago, there's significant growth. Like planting seeds and checking for fruit the next day, it's too soon! Expecting fruit the day after planting is unrealistic.

How is that possible? Not even sprouts appear that quickly. We improve a little each day, unseen. Life's problems often require this imperceptible growth. Some speak as if angels, not humans. Calling them angels is like calling them demons, because demons are also transformed angels, detached from earthly realities.

Everything alive grows little by little. If you ask what to do when growth is invisible, my answer is: continue with faith! Many lack faith! Persist and you'll see significant progress. It is often the case. Being anxious is useless. Take it one step at a time. Improve a little in understanding today, a little in practice tomorrow. Persist more today, more tomorrow. If someone can't persist for a minute yesterday, but can persist for five minutes today, that's a fivefold increase! Persisting for an hour tomorrow is even more growth. So, see your progress, climb a little each day. This is my most valuable experience.

I relentlessly study every day, for decades now. People ask how I know so much. I study every day. I don’t watch TV or movies, have no time for games or mahjong. Just learning, growing a little each day. Daily growth is excellent advice. A little more growth than yesterday, a little more than the day before. This isn't in The 7 Habits.

I think I explain it better than the author. Mine is implementable, easy to implement, very easy. After listening to me, things become simple. I don't talk philosophy or grand theories, no Hegel. Daily improvement is about being practical. Of all great men, I admire Deng Xiaoping most. He said: a black cat or white cat, if it catches mice, it is a good cat!

Keeping a cat that steals fish is really annoying. I haven't even eaten the fish yet, and there is demand for it!? So be down to earth, persist a little more each day. Some used to watch dramas every day. Since following my studies, they have not watched for over a month. That's progress! Watching again yesterday to enjoy it, I don't blame you. You persisted for a month. Persist for two months starting tomorrow. That's progress!

They used to watch dramas every day, their minds filled with them. But when asked to perform, they failed. After watching so many Korean and Hong Kong dramas, they can’t perform. You should be able to act after watching! But you can't. Previously done daily, they now do once a week, then once a month. That's progress! No time for TV now. Most importantly, watching is useless.

Someone who loves telling jokes was advised to enroll in Zhao Benshan's school. Their jokes are good, and they might outshine Zhao one day. But when auditioning, the interviewer asked them to tell a joke. They couldn't say anything. Good at nonsense, useless for real work. That's fatal.

You find me unusually modest, but I would applaud if you surpassed me. The reason is simple: don't despise your work. If I make a cabinet, and the right angles are not right, and the plane is not plane. It looks bad. But it's ok, eventually the cabinet becomes plane, the corners becomes right. Eventually I am able to correct each imperfection.

My early sermons are embarrassing, with a novice voice and content. I think I did the best at that time! I listened, then edited, then preached again, then listened. I developed a habit of enjoying listening to my sermons. It sounds narcissistic, but it's an advantage. Some are speechless and helpless when faced with it.

I don't mean anything else, I have to improve. I know I am lacking. But one day I will do well. That's called faith. Once, a pastor said that people don't like his preachings. When I asked if he had listen himself, he said he dislikes it, and can't even listened until the end. I responded If you do not like, then how could other like it? All preachings are the result of an iteration from bad to good.

Early preachers must sing. How can they lead worship without singing? I always sang off-key. Someone praised my singing improving a little each day. They encouragingly made that statement, and I can acknowledged. I originally sang off-key, turning Andy Lau's Give Me a Cup of Oblivion into Liu Deshui's Give Me a Cup of Oblivion Hua.

Singing with grimaces, even dogs grimaced. But I keep improving. I have thick skin, so here I am today. Cultivate the habit of thick skin, of improving a little each day. I'm still improving today. You say, where to improve? I say, towards the coffin. Just kidding. Even if I'm in a coffin tomorrow, I'll improve today!

My determination to improve is great. You must be inspired. You may be in your twenties, thirties, or forties, but it doesn't matter. You may one day be older than me today. But I'm determined to improve. Unwilling to do what one can, unable to do what one wants, is the first bad habit to combat. After listening today, you may decide to start combating bad habits tomorrow. Actually, start now.

Bad Habit # 2: Lack of Thinking, Deliberation, and Planning

I often encounter people who dislike thinking, deliberating, and planning, preferring to jump straight into action, only to fail miserably. Why? Because working becomes a torment. You must understand that I possess many good habits. I encourage everyone to frequently think, deliberate, and plan, identifying problems. Solve small problems one by one, making progress bit by bit. Progress lies entirely in thinking, deliberating, planning, correcting, and seeking out problems.

I often hear people say, I'll do it myself. I retort, You're already doing it wrong, why insist on doing it yourself? Why is that? Because they don't think or deliberate before acting. It's not that they don't think at all, but there's no concept of progress within them. When we observe others working, we should pay close attention. If they do it this way, we should emulate them. Consider, have I not been discussing these points in the previous lectures? For instance, when we work, we have a drill but no drill bit, a gun but no bullets, a shovel but no cement. How can we proceed? And as soon as we erect the board, the spirit level and laser measure are nowhere to be found. How can we proceed? The work simply cannot be done. Each time, without a plan, without a blueprint, and without thinking, they rush into action blindly.

Remember that any endeavor undertaken blindly is futile. Every task should first be planned out in the mind, sketched on paper, and then carefully considered to identify the problems to be solved, the strategy to be employed, the methods to be used, and the tools required. Upon hearing this, you might feel I am describing you. When you start working, you are always lacking something. Where were you earlier?

I am a highly methodical person. I don't easily take action without first sketching it out in my notebooks. If you were to open my notebooks, you would find stacks of them filled with plans for what I intend to do. Plans for what I will do, how I will do it, what problems I will solve, to what extent I will solve them, what I ultimately seek to achieve by doing these things, and what my objective is.

Not working aimlessly, unaware of what you are doing. Isn't it distressing to be unaware of what you are doing? I become uneasy when I see people working blindly. But it's alright, let's gather our confidence. I declare with faith that the unsettling things we see today will witness their growth by this time next year. Over these years, my colleagues have made significant progress. Therefore, I often encourage people to make plans. Some are very enthusiastic about making plans, but then lose steam as soon as they start working. Why? Because although they have written a plan, it is a very bad one. The moment they start implementing it, they encounter obstacles. How can they possibly continue? Either they are lacking something or the other, or even if they complete the task, it is not done correctly. If the entire process goes smoothly when you start working, you will definitely enjoy it.

Reflect on this: you will enjoy anything that you can pick up and do easily. If, however, you struggle and grimace as soon as you start, finding it unpleasant, then you will be less inclined to do it. If I clean and organize my home to be exceptionally neat and comfortable, I can stand there, make a cup of tea, and admire it, feeling very satisfied and pleased. But if you finish cleaning your home and it is smoky, dusty, and messy, and you haven't made any progress after working for so long, then it's problematic. Therefore, the plan must clearly state: Why am I doing this? How should I do this? What do I need to do this? Do I understand? If I don't understand, should I ask others how to do it? Whom should I ask? Do you understand now? What's so difficult about it? In reality, you understand everything.

Do not work blindly. For example, building a house, only to discover when you've reached the third floor that you forgot to install the pipes on the first floor. You've built to the third floor and forgotten to plan for the bathrooms. What do you do? Of course, there are also those who build to over twenty stories and suddenly realize they forgot to build the elevators. This person will experience a lifetime of frustration. Writing plans that are empty, false, and full of slogans is not planning. If the plan is done correctly, the result should be a clear understanding in your mind of what you need to do.

For example, if I want to make a cabinet, the issues of the boards, materials, how the boards and nails will be assembled, and whether it will be sturdy will all have a solution on paper. Then calculate the dimensions, assemble and nail according to the dimensions, and it's done. So, separating planning and implementation means separating what you want to do from the plan of what you want to do. Never work blindly while simultaneously deliberating blindly.

The problem is that if we are doing an exploratory project, don't make the task too big. That's when the plan is not clear, and we are doing something exploratory. So, we must first list all the potential challenges in the implementation of the plan and then solve each challenge before implementing it. Don't wait until after implementation to remember that there are still unresolved problems, which will lead to chaos.

Separating learning and work means we need to cultivate a good habit of learning. The first problem we plan to solve is: Why am I doing this? For example, if doing this would cause you to lose a million dollars, would you still do it? You certainly wouldn't. It's hard to earn a million dollars, but it's easy to lose a million dollars. So, we need to resolve why we are doing this, what the rewards are, what the benefits are, and whether it can edify people. We need to resolve why we are doing this, and the objective will become clear.

If there is a great return for doing this, then next, I need to resolve how to do this. How do I do these things? What challenges are involved? Have they been resolved? Has the biggest challenge been resolved? Have the technical problems been resolved? Has the second biggest challenge been resolved? What is the biggest challenge? It's the one that would cause the whole thing to fail if it were not resolved. That's what we call the first, second, third, and so on, biggest challenges. So, once we have clarified the objective, we proceed to do it. What to do first, what to do later, and how to do it, dividing a complex problem into several simple problems, which makes it easier to solve. If the task is eighty or ninety percent certain, then you can be very confident. Then the whole project can be launched.

A person who is idle, without direction in their work, doing it today but not tomorrow, working sporadically, and struggling with everything, basically has too many bad habits. Plan what to do, why to do it, what my challenges are, what my objectives are, what my methods are, what my tools are, and what my resources are. Write all these things down. I have cultivated the habit of planning in this way. Wherever I go, I have a plan sketched out in my mind.

This is cultivating the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Isn't it good? I think I explain the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People better than the author does, so starting today, let's address the problems you have in a down-to-earth manner. If you don't know how to write a plan, find a pastor. I have trained a large number of people to be a resource to everyone rather than a burden. The matter is this: this place is for edifying people, not for collecting money.

Edifying people is a human resource-intensive industry. We edify layer by layer, clarifying things one by one. We put effort into doing these things every day, and then they in turn train the people below them, and then those below continue to train those below them. The entire team is making progress every day, which feels very good. Looking out, it is simply a field of abundant crops, yielding extremely rich returns.

Bad Habit # 3: Failure to Utilize Resources

Do not fight alone. Fighting alone is definitely not a virtue. You must cultivate the habit of utilizing resources. Do you know what resource is the best resource? It is having a good teacher to lead you. Failing to make good use of this resource is a great waste. How do you use it? Ask questions when you encounter problems. You must actively think first and then ask questions. If you don't ask questions, that is a huge waste of resources. Doing it yourself, struggling and tinkering on your own, progress is very slow. People are self-righteous, making mistakes and continuing to make mistakes.

Some people keep patching up walls badly. They keep patching up badly made walls. Isn't this just a flawed life? When things are done like this, you need to start adjusting. If you don't know how, start learning to utilize resources. The most important resource is people. One of the greatest regrets of my life is that I never encountered a good mentor. So, I learned by looking here and there, stealing a little from the left and a little from the right. Talented people were too lazy to bother with me. They thought it would be too much effort to train me. So, I had to secretly observe how they did things. Now, this regret has become my motivation to train everyone. I hope you will not have the same regret as I did. So, everyone should start utilizing resources. The primary resource is people.

The second is books. Nowadays, books are all online. Reading a good book is an effective communication with the author of that book. Ask questions and seek answers to those questions. Either find people or find books. Of course, books are written by people. Think about it, weren't all the talented people of the past taught by Guiguzi? If Guiguzi hadn't trained them on the mountain, they would still be worthless people after descending the mountain, unable to do anything. So, you either find people or find books. Books may be written by people two thousand years ago or a thousand years ago. These books are all good. Read classic books. If you don't digest them properly, that's okay. We are here to lead everyone in reading the Bible and these other books. If you have spiritual enlightenment, many problems will be easily solved.

You will encounter many problems in the process of building good habits. Encountering problems is good. Then, with the problem, either look up information or find a teacher. Among us, if your small group leader doesn't know the answer to your question, that's okay. If he doesn't know, he will have to study the problem with you. Will he be edified this way? Yes. If he loves you very much, your problem is his problem, and his problem is your problem. This is loving each other.

So, ask questions if you have them. Don't keep silent. Encountering a problem is a good start. I once had an employee (at that time, I was still quite naive and didn't understand these things well, even though I was a manager in charge of dozens of people) who was very obedient, very good, and very likable. I asked him, “Have you encountered any problems?” He said no. A month later, I asked him again, “Have you encountered any problems?” He said, “No problems. Boss, don't worry, everything is fine and smooth.”

As a result, half a year went by, and his task was due. I told him to implement the task in the following week. At that time, I had no experience and didn’t check on his work. In the end, when I looked, no problems had been solved; there were only problems. Because I knew what I had assigned to him, and I thought it was very simple, but he hadn’t done anything for half a year.

Then I asked him, “Has this been resolved?” “No.” “Has that been resolved?” “No.” None of them had been resolved. “All are problems. What have you been doing for the past six months? Didn’t you say there were no problems?” Then I showed him how I would do it. I completed the task in one week, and he was very embarrassed after seeing it. From this, I learned a lesson: what I fear most is an employee who has no problems. If I ask them if they have any problems and they answer that they have no problems, that is actually the biggest problem.

I am not afraid of people asking me questions; I am afraid of them not asking. Do you know how to read a book? If you don’t know how, why don’t you ask? Do you know how to make a plan? If you don’t know how, why don’t you ask? If people have no problems, that is the biggest problem. Not progressing or growing is the problem. You thought I was bragging about completing half a year’s worth of work in one week. The task was originally a week’s worth of work, but the problem was that he did nothing for half a year.

Everyone should cultivate a good habit of thinking carefully, of planning, and of learning. If you want to do something, you will definitely encounter problems. Then you need to think about how to solve the problem. You will definitely encounter problems first. Having no problems is the biggest problem. Why did people hire you? They hired you to solve problems. So, many times people don't know what a problem is, and that is problematic. So, we humans have many problems in the process of living our lives. Don't pretend there are no problems and just live like that. That is fatal!