Truly Great People Often ‘Play Outside the Box’

July 8, 2025, 1:09 a.m. Essays

Truly great people are special people – they are particularly perseverant, their hearts are particularly strong, their behavior is particularly quiet, and their actions are particularly persistent......

As written in 'The Analects of Mencius': 'The lower you go, the higher you become.' Great people are often inconspicuous, and even when they achieve great results, they remain silent and unnoticed, just like ordinary people. If you know their past, you will admire them from the bottom of your heart.

Truly great people often 'don't play by the rules.' Their thinking patterns can break through the conventional, which makes you feel unbelievable. Those who blindly follow rules are grounded and do things step by step, but they are more likely to lose themselves.

1. Learn to be alone, and don't go into the group.

My classmate Zhang Wei ming graduated from high school and 'disappeared' after that, rarely contacting his classmates. Last year, I asked in a classmate group in Nanjing: 'Are there any classmates living in Nanjing?', and after a while, class leader Zhang Hao said: 'Zhang Wei ming is in Nanjing, but I don't know how he's doing or if he'd like to have a meal with you.' I asked tentatively, 'I'll give it a try,' and contacted Zhang Wei ming.

Sponsored by isok.co Shorten the links behind every story Use isok.co to create clean URLs, QR codes and real-time source analytics for campaigns. Create tracked links

I had dinner with Zhang Wei ming at a music restaurant. I talked with him for two hours and a half. He said, 'These years have been very tiring, and I've been alone in my business. But fortunately, I have finally achieved some results, and I've seen a glimmer of hope.' It turned out that Zhang Wei ming had been working as a construction worker in Nanjing first, then he formed a construction team and undertook small engineering projects. In recent years, Zhang Wei ming disbanded the construction team and opened a decoration company, earning seven or eight hundred thousand yuan a year. I said, 'You've become a wealthy man, and you still say it's so tiring? Isn't that what I, a small worker, need?'

Zhang Wei ming in Nanjing can be said to be 'a lone warrior.' His social circle is not large, and according to him, he only contacts people with business dealings. He rarely has relatives and friends.

Truly great people are often not in groups. They eliminate unnecessary social interactions and focus on their own careers. They don't care about the size of their social circles, and they have eliminated many groups. In a society where everyone likes to be lively, he is 'out of sync' with others.

2. Be silent and then erupt in silence.

'Silence is golden.' As people reach a certain age, they become more and more silent. Because people have seen through the world and are indifferent to joy and sorrow, they gradually let go of the past, which is the true meaning of 'not speaking of joy and sorrow.'

Sponsored by isok.co See which shares bring real readers Compare traffic by channel, geo and device with stable short links from isok.co. Explore analytics

Truly great people are always quiet among the crowd, and they don't care much about the ups and downs of life. They are like water, flowing smoothly without resistance. It is said that 'doing business, rather than anger,' people are angry, damaging their health, angering good luck, and spoiling good mood. However, it's difficult for people to control their anger. Those who can control their emotions account for a small percentage, therefore they seem out of the ordinary.

Some are always grumpy: it's too cold in winter, too dry in autumn, too hot in summer, too humid in spring; it's too tiring at work, too poor to be miserable, too boring to rest; seeing children not vying for the family honor, seeing lovers not being considerate, seeing parents being too nagging, seeing colleagues not being courteous...... throughout the four seasons, every day, there is no good time.

Great people, whatever they see, can be seen with a good eye, and they can see the problem in a good direction, and they can find the exit of difficulties with a good thought. If the adverse environment is adjusted, it is also a favorable environment. If others are willing to be angry, let others be angry, and you sit on the sidelines freely.

Truly great people are 'not by the rules' people: they don't argue with others, even give up their own interests; they always 'move slowly' but at a uniform speed; they don't care about bad people and bad things, and they don't entangle with anyone; their ideals are not too far away, but they are definitely achievable; if they are injured, they will avoid it instead of confronting others......