If a man must live in a mud and go hungry and risk his flesh, you must give him a reason for it, you must give him a cause. A conclusion is not a cause.
Loc 1398
Hunger, the jungle, the Japanese, not one nor all of these could be quite as corrosive as the feeling of expendability.
Loc 2820
Right private has no chance against a wrong major.
Loc 3898
The nurses talked only to doctors and the doctors talked only to God.
Loc 4371
Heroes turn traitor, warriors age and grow soft — but a victim is changeless, sacrifice is eternal.
For certain there’s debate on the reliability of MBTI, for which I cannot argue. However, I believe the overall trend could be an interesting indicator. My rest from 2016 was ENFx; in 2024 it’s ENFJ. The way I react to events and how I perceive myself probably stayed.
At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.
Page 25
In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own Personal Legends.
Page 26
Most people learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being…maybe that’s why they give up on it so early, too. But that’s the way it is.
Page 34
The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.
Page 42
I’m going to become bitter and distrustful of people because one person betrayed me. I’m going to have those who have found their treasure because I never found mine. And I’m going to hold on to what little I have, because I’m too insignificant to conquer the world.
Page 67
He suddenly felt tremendously happy. He could always go back to being a shepherd. He could always become a crystal salesman again. Maybe the world had other hidden treasures, but he had a dream, and he had met with a king.
Page 129
There is only one way to learn…it’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey. You need to learn only one thing more.
Page 133
Why should I listen to my heart?……Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you’re thinking about life and about the world.
Page 155
When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.
The goal of savings in 2024 income is NT$500,000, the actual savings is NT$553,741; saving rate is 42.7% of my personal income.
That leaves excess of NT$53,741 for this year’s fun money.
1. For someone important: I bought an iPhone 14 (NT$22,300) for my wife since her phone’s breaking down
2. For myself: I spent NT$13,000 for a Tom Bihn Synik 22 (goods + shipping + import tax). I’d figure, it’s something that I use daily, just like bed and pillow, why shouldn’t it be comfortable?
3. For the family: the remaining NT$18,607 is flushed to travel budget.
