Dear Brothers and Sisters,

One of the biggest differences between a winner and a loser is their focus – loser focuses on theory, winner on practice.

I am not even sure I am using correct language when I say, “Loser focuses on theory.” I don’t think you can focus on theory – people who read theory all the time only read like they do Internet surfing, glancing over everything very quickly and not really focusing on anything.

Many people like to surf over many things in a day, just because they like surfing – skimming ultrafast through an article on Buddhism, an IT piece, an advice on love, a cooking lesson, a health article on swimming… and they never do anything with what they read. Surfing over many things gives them the same enjoyment as reading a long novel.

And these surfers enjoy the fact they gain so much “knowledge” about so many things through skimming that they can converse with many people about so many different things. And they feel a sense of power from having such a versatile conversing skill.

But they really know nothing. You cannot read about guitar playing and know about guitar playing, without practicing guitar every day for at least several years. You cannot read a cookbook and know how to make a good bowl of Pho, without actually making Pho for at least 20 times. You cannot read a Kungfu book and can defend yourself from being beat up by a bully, without practicing Kungfu every day for about 3, 4 years…

Everything in the world requires you to focus on practicing it regularly for a long time, to become well-versed in it.

That means, in order to know something, we need to practice it regularly for some time. True knowledge only comes with regular practice. Reading without practice only gives you a bunch of empty words to babble and talk nonsense for fun. That is only the jabbering game of gibberish for the illiterate and the uninitiated.

If you really want to have true knowledge about something, practice that thing, be it mathematics, English, Kungfu, cooking, singing, drumming, philosophy, Bible, Buddhist Sutras…

True knowledge will bring you success, however you define success. Pseudo-knowledge gives you a bunch of chattering ghosts who will pull you down to a failed life.

Focus on true knowledge. Now. Not 40 years later – that may be too late for you.

Wish you all be wise and successful.

With compassion,

Hoành

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Trần Đình Hoành
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