Son, it took me 40 years to understand this truth. The sooner I know it, the better.

Child: School has started, and you feel sad and have serious resistance. Last night I urged you to do your homework, but you were a little annoyed and said, \”Why are you forcing me? Do you know how painful it is to study?\” Of course I know, kid. Mom doesn\’t want to force you to read. Mom just wants to tell you why we should read more. I live to be forty, and many of the ideas I had when I was twenty have been completely overturned, but I will probably stick to this matter of \”you must study hard\” until I die. But I only live to be forty, so I can’t say that all my views are correct. What I say next is for your reference. A few days ago, my friends and I did some joking calculations: It takes a total of sixteen years for a child to go from elementary school to undergraduate degree. If he does not study and spend money during these sixteen years, but goes out to make money, then his net worth will be at least half a million. . But almost all parents would rather give up the five hundred thousand to let their children go to school in pain. We are not stupid, so why do we have to do such a thankless thing that wastes people and money? That\’s because, compared to other ways, studying is easier. My mother has always believed that reading is useful. First, of course, you can learn knowledge by reading. This is what the teacher told you on the first day of school, and it is also the standard answer you can blurt out now. But I think you actually don\’t know the real use of knowledge-except for getting high marks on the test paper. Then let me tell you now, the dead knowledge in your eyes now will come alive in the future. If you learn the word \”spin\” now, you will understand it when it appears in the washing machine manual in the future. If you understand all the words in the manual, you can successfully learn to use the washing machine. Instead of being like the illiterate grandma next door who used a mobile phone and had to be taught by her daughter for a week before she could barely make a call; she used a rice cooker to call the manufacturer and asked at the top of her lungs for forty minutes but still couldn’t figure it out. In the end, both she and the customer service staff were confused. collapse. The words you learned in Chinese class can not only help you understand the instructions, but also allow you to express your thoughts appropriately, such as reporting to your boss or writing a love letter to your lover in the future. The formulas in math class can help you quickly calculate the down payment, taxes, and whether a loan or full payment is more appropriate when buying a house. The common sense you learned in geography class allows you to know where the fish is the best and where the coffee is the best. The aesthetics learned in art class let you know that wearing purple with yellow will be ugly, and pink with gold is a taboo… Knowledge is the tool you use to live in this world. When your tool warehouse has everything you need, you will definitely be able to live comfortably – —You have airplanes to travel far away, ships to cross rivers, and off-road vehicles to go to the suburbs. And if you lack knowledge, it means you don’t even have a broken wooden boat, then a three-meter-wide river can block you, and you will never be able to go to a place hundreds of miles away. I dare not say that all the knowledge you learn now is useful, but a considerable part will benefit you throughout your life. In the end, you may forget whether the word \”percent\” was taught by your Chinese or mathematics teacher, but you will use it countless times and can\’t even live without it. Second, studying can bring more generous income. Maybe some people will say: You said studying is good, that master\’s student is working for the boss who graduated from elementary school, a certain person sold sesame cakes for his old lady and earned three houses, and whose son graduated with a doctorate is still there. Rent and live. Does such a thing exist? certainly. But this is a special case. It is not scientific at all to use special cases to deduce common sense. Just like someone choked and died after eating, can you advise everyone not to eat to prevent choking? I specifically checked the statistics: the proportion of wealthy families is 30 times higher among families with a master\’s degree or above than among families with a high school degree. On average, people with a doctorate earn six times more than those with a high school degree. I don’t want you to take money too seriously, but I have to tell you seriously: money may be really important to us ordinary people. Now you spend my money and you don’t feel it. In the future, when you grow up and no longer depend on me, you will know that money is a relatively important matter in life. What will happen if you don’t have enough money? You might go three stops to save a dollar. Maybe because I can\’t pay the rent, I don\’t know where I will live tomorrow. Maybe you don’t dare to buy your child’s favorite set of toys because you don’t have money. besides. When you get married in the future, even if the other person is the one you love the most, you will face endless conflicts. And being poor will seriously aggravate conflicts, while having money will help you resolve some unnecessary disputes. For example, if you don\’t have money, you might have an unpleasant quarrel over who will take care of the baby, but if you have money, you can hire a nanny to eliminate this problem. There are countless similar things. You will encounter many difficulties in this life, you will often be unable to do what you want, and you will feel lonely from time to time. Maybe having money will make your situation easier. Of course, you don\’t have to make a lot of money. I just hope you try your best to live a better life and not be so embarrassed. In addition, I also want to say to you, it is good to realize the importance of money. If you have no money but still live a happy life, then your mother sincerely wishes you happiness and this is a good thing. Third, studying can make you live a clear and wonderful life. The difference between graduating from elementary school and graduating with a doctorate is not just about earning 4,000 a month and 24,000 a month. What is ten times more important is that these two kinds of people lead different lives. Last time we went to listen to a lecture by an education expert. When we came back, you were full of praise and said that the expert was so elegant and wise. You must also be able to imagine that behind this elegance and wisdom is erudition. It is the knowledge in her mind that allows her to think clearly and explain many particularly reasonable truths, which makes her look so charming. Otherwise, if a person is ignorant, vulgar, and speaks dirty words, you will not like her no matter how good-looking she is. And erudition is not achieved in a day. It takes a lot of hard work to achieve it bit by bit. This process is very torturous. Firstly, it is hard work, and secondly, there are no short-term results. Many people give up because of this. Just like you are studying and studying now, but you don\’t know what the use of learning is, so you are irritable, discouraged, and can\’t find the meaning. I don’t think you have to figure it out. You just need to know that every word you recognize and every mathematical symbol you learn is useful. Because there are countless predecessors who have explored the road for you, and walking along this road will be a scene of brilliant lights. I went back to my hometown last year, and one day I made an appointment with a cleaner to clean at my grandma’s house. Unexpectedly, the visitor turned out to be my junior high school classmate, and we had a pretty good relationship back then. She was a little embarrassed when we recognized each other. I chatted with her while working. She has been working for people since she graduated from junior high school. Over the years, she has sold cold drinks, delivered express delivery, and cooked meals.Waiter at the hotel deli. She stretched out her rough hands to compare with me and said, look, back then we were both listening to classes and writing the same homework in the same classroom, but now there is such a huge gap. She was full of curiosity about my life, asking me if I had ever been abroad, how I used computers to make money, and whether I would get airsick when flying… In fact, my mother is also an extremely ordinary person, but the envy shining in her eyes made me feel heartbroken. . She always said that she regretted not studying well when she was a child. She could even tell which semester she regretted the most – the second semester of the third grade of elementary school. Because she had a teacher she didn\’t like, she often skipped classes. If she ran away, she couldn\’t keep up. The less I could keep up, the less I liked studying. I barely managed to survive until I graduated from junior high school. I couldn\’t pass the exam anywhere and had to go home… These all made me extremely regretful. Don\’t be afraid of being ordinary, I\’m afraid of your ignorance. Don\’t be afraid of hard work, I\’m afraid of your incompetence. Don’t be afraid of being unique, I’m afraid you’ll be boring. Don\’t be afraid of failure, I am afraid that you will be hopeless. Knowledge and books are the most expensive treasures of mankind. They are accumulated by countless of the best brains in the world who have devoted their talents. And you are standing in this treasure now. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can make it your own. have. If you are really smart, you will definitely know that this deal is a good deal. Even if you go through all the hardships, you should hide as much of the treasures here as possible with yourself and take them away with pride. These babies will help you see the more wonderful side of the world and gain more happiness. With them, you have the energy of thousands of troops, because there are countless talented people quietly supporting you behind your back. My mother firmly believes that reading is useful. But at the same time, my mother also firmly believes that interest is the best teacher. So dear child, let’s do our best together. I will help you fall in love with learning, and I will help you discover the happy things in learning. When the flowers bloom in the future, they will definitely be beautiful.