MODERN SUCCESS LESSONS FROM 50 TIMELESS VIETNAMESE PROVERBS

MODERN SUCCESS LESSONS FROM TIMELESS VIETNAMESE PROVERBS

Ăn cơm không rau như nhà giàu chết không nhạc

Translation: Eating without vegetables is like a rich man’s funeral without music. (In Vietnamese culture, when a rich man dies, his funeral is a noisy event where there’s a live band playing music during the entirity of the ceremony, which could last several days. So it would be very un-natural and boring to eat without veggies, just like a rich man’s funeral without music))

Lesson: Your diet should be mainly plant-based.

While being 100% vegetarian is difficult and arguably unhealthy if you are not adequately equipped with the nutritional know-how to plan your every meal, having a mostly meat diet is certainly a recipe for poor health. In fact, the world is now getting more globalized and the foods people eat seem to be similar every country we travel to. Unhealthy foods are undeniably more popular due to the key ingredients of plentiful meat, sugar, salt, fat and quick high-heat cooking. It comes as no surprise that an increasingly large number of people are plagued by more and more medical problems such as obesity, diabetes, cancers, depression, all of which lead to low self-esteem and low happiness levels.
To be healthier, happier and more energetic all day and all year long, we only need to plan our daily meals with more vegetables in mind. Vegetables should not be strictly limited to the dictionary meaning of the word. We should eat a lot of dark green leafy vegetables for every meal. When it comes to our staple food, whole grains should be the key word. Brown rice can taste even better than white rice if it is cooked with triple the amount of water used to cook white rice. Nuts and legumes are healthy plant-based sources of protein that are easy for the body to digest, not to mention the fun of chewing them. Next come the fruits. Fruits do contain sugar, but in a better form that takes longer to enter our bloodstream and thus keeping our energy level high longer, helping us avoid the notorious sugar crash that makes us feel miserable and crave for another bout.

Ăn trái nhớ kẻ trồng cây
Translation: When eating a fruit, be grateful to the grower.
Lesson: We should practice gratitude every day.
Gratitude towards others has been scientifically proven to be a universal human characteristic that can be found in all cultures around the world. According to Dr. Robert Cialdini, a world-renowned expert on the art of influence and persuasion, people naturally feel obligated to return a favor, thus giving a favor is one effective way to persuade others to do something we want by tapping into this inclination to reciprocity. He also established that individuals go to great lengths to follow this rule as its violation leads to punishment by the social group one is in. Therefore, practicing gratitude is not only a moral thing to do but also economically wise. That’s why thriving businesses are very good at saying “Thank you” to their customers and successful people never to thank others.
Also, being grateful also makes us healthier. The reason is that gratefulness can be extended to not only others but to the universe at large. We can be grateful for being born, for having a healthy body, for being alive and everything else we have no matter how insignificant they may seem to others. This practice of gratitude helps us feel luckier, happier instead of the usual envy and status anxiety that plague millions in today’s materialistic society. In a world full of negativity, any habit that can keep us feeling positive to strive for the betterment of our life should be cultivated.

Ba năm ở với người đần, chẳng bằng một lúc ghé gần người khôn
Translation: Three years spent with a stupid person is not as good as being around a wise one for a short while.
Lesson: Associating with intelligent people is one way to be more intelligent.

Intelligence is not a fixed number that one is born with as often mistakenly believed to be the case. We all can become smarter by being around and learning from smart people. When applying this rule, it is important to keep in mind that there are many kinds of intelligence: musical, spatial, kinesthetic, mathematical, intra-personal, interpersonal, social and linguistic and so on. That’s why we should bear in mind is that almost everyone we know has something to teach us, as Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher that has influenced Chinese thinking for more than a thousand years, said that in a group of three men, one of them could be his teacher. Of course, there are people who truly have nothing to offer and we shouldn’t waste our time on them.
Before we get to the next lesson, don’t forget that intelligent people can also be found in books. Books contain wisdom from the wisest of people, both contemporary and ancient. The biggest advantage of increasing our IQ by reading is that these teachers are always available, always patient, always waiting for us to give them our ears (or eyes) so that they can impart their knowledge to us.

Bầu ơi thương lấy bí cùng, tuy rằng khác giống nhưng chung một giàn.
Translation: Despite being of different species, winter melons and gourds are grown on the same structure, in the same place, so they should love each other.
Lesson: We should be tolerant and altruistic towards everyone around us, regardless of their origins.

As humans, we actually have more similarities than differences. With the Internet and cheaper air travel, we now have more opportunities than ever before to come into contact with people from all walks of life and from all over the world, which allows us to witness for ourselves that no matter where we are from, we basically share the same earth, dress in similar ways, eat similar foods and use similar machines to function every day. Regardless of our skin color, we all desire the same things: basic material possessions (and some luxuries if possible) and experiences such as travelling, trying new cuisines, and most important of all, we all want to be understood, respected and loved. This shared human experience should be reason enough for us to make a daily attempt to practice compassion for others and show that we care for others, albeit strangers. In writings and speeches by the Dalai Lama, compassion and love are frequently mentioned as crucial to our happiness, the truest meaning of life.

Cá không ăn muối cá ươn, con cãi cha mẹ trăm đường con hư
Translation: Fish without salting will go rotten, children who disregard parental advice will inevitably go astray.
Lesson: Listen to your parents and learn from their wisdom when you have not developed your own.

When we are teenagers, we tend to think our parents are old-fashioned, conservative, misinformed, self-righteous old people who unjustly impose their will on us. Adolescents today are more prone to this pitfall now that they have the Internet to look for information and this may give them the illusion that Professor Google knows it all, and thus no reason to listen to their parents. Well, Google is great, but it doesn’t have all the anwers to the vast array of problems in life. In fact, Google misses a great deal of information that is hidden in the Deep Web where they cannot access countless databases of information.
Once we are older and wiser, we wish we had listened to or parents’ words and taken their advice as they could have helped us avoid painful setbacks and saved us tons of time and money. Too many people have had to learn important life lessons the hard way. You don’t have to – if you are still young and living with your parents, that is. Next time you parents dispense advice, take it more seriously. Who knows? They may very well be right as they have more years of experience under their belt.

Cần cù bù thông minh
Translation: Hard work compensates for lack of intelligence.
Lesson: A high IQ is over-rated. Hard work is the key to achievement.
We have to admit that clever people have it easier in life: They learn faster, solve problems quickly and grab opportunities to get ahead more readily than their less intelligent counterparts. However, as you have read earlier, an IQ is not a fixed number, but one that can be enhanced through learning from people and from books. By working hard, any average person can become smarter and more skilled in their chosen endeavor.
In fact, hard work can also make up for lack of talents in many fields. It has been well-documented that to become an expert in any field, one needs to expend a minimum of 10,000 hours of training. Working hard is also the basis of creativity. For the longest time, people have held a common myth about creativity that it is the product of a sudden God-given eureka moment when a great idea just comes to their mind out of thin air. This myth was very well busted in the book entitled How to fly a horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery by Kevin Ashton. In this book, Ashton persuades the reader that creativity is the hard-born child of persistent labor, no matter how talented you are. We all know Mozart was a genius, but even the great Mozart had to work hard to create his masterpieces: He did not just imagine his symphonies and write them down whole and perfect in one uninterrupted session. So, if you want to be great at something, just remember the rule of 10,000 hours, which claims that if anyone invests 10,000 hours in learning anything, that person will master it at an expert level.

Chỉ đâu mà buộc ngang trời, tay đâu mà buộc miệng người thế gian
Translation: No thread is high enough to tie around the sky, no hand is large enough to cover the mouths of the public.
Lesson: Public opinions are always divided, and critical opinions are unavoidable.

Chim khôn hót tiếng rảnh rang, người khôn nói tiếng dịu dàng dễ nghe
Translation: Smart birds sing pleasant songs, smart people speak in pleasant tones.
Lesson: It’s not what you say but how you say it that gets you what you want.

Cờ bạc là bác thằng bần, cửa nhà bán hết tra chân vào cùm
Translation: Gambling is the root of poverty and loss of freedom.
Lesson: Stay away from all kinds of gambling.

Có công mài sắt có ngày nên kim
Translation: If you are persistent enough, you can make needles out of metal bars.
Lesson: Perseverence can turn any dreams into reality.

Có qua có lại mới toại lòng nhau
Translation: When favors are exchanged, both sides are happy.
Lesson: In life, people should learn to reciprocate rather than just receive favors from others.

Có thực mới vực được đạo
Translation: Only with food can one achieve enlightenment.
Lesson: We are more productive with proper nutrition.

Còn ăn còn ngủ còn gân, không ăn không ngủ có mần được chi
Translation: If you can eat well, sleep well, you are still energetic. Without sufficient food and sleep, you cannot do anything.
Lesson: Besides nutrition, sleep is vital to your well-being and productivity.

Đi đêm có ngày gặp ma
Translation: Keep walking late at night and eventually you will encounter a ghost.
Lesson: Life is about probability. The more often you take a risk, the more likely you will experience the bad consequence.

Gần mực thì đen gần đèn thì sáng
Translation: What is in close contact with ink will be black, what is near light will be illuminating.
Lesson: Associate with the right people.

Giàu đâu đến kẻ ngủ trưa, sang đâu đến kẻ say sưa rượu chè
Translation: Riches never come to those who sleep in and those who overindulge in drinking.
Lesson: Hard work and abstinence from vices are crucial to getting wealthy.

Họa hổ họa bì nan họa cốt, tri nhân tri diện bất tri tâm
Translation: When an artist paints a tiger, he can only paint its skin, not his bones. When we observe people, we can only know their appearance, not their truest intentions.
Lesson: It’s difficult and error-prone to judge people based on their appearance.

Khéo ăn thì no, khéo co thì ấm
Translation: One can manage to be full with little food, one can try to be warm with a small blanket.
Lesson: Learn to live simply.

Không thầy đố mày làm nên
Translation: No one can accomplish great things without teachers.
Lesson: Learn from teachers in all areas of life.

Lắm mối tối nằm không
Translation: A man with too many choices for a partner will be lonely at night without any partner.
Lesson: Learn to overcome the paradox of choice and choose wisely.

Lời nói chẳng mất tiền mua, lựa lời mà nói cho vừa lòng nhau
Translation: Words cost nothing, so choose the right words to make everyone happy with you.

Một cây làm chẳng nên non, ba cây chụm lại nên hòn núi cao
Translation: One tree cannot amount to anything, three of them together can look like a mountain.
Lesson: Learn to harness the power of team-work.

Một tiếng chào cao hơn mâm cỗ.
Translation: A word of greeting is more satisfying than a feast.
Lesson: Master the art of small talk for success.

Mười năm lưu lạc giang hồ, một ngày tu tỉnh cơ đồ lại nên
Translation: A man can wander around clueless for ten years, but once he is awakened to the truth, he can achieve great success.
Lesson: It’s never too late to be successful.

Người đẹp vì lụa, lúa tốt vì phân
Translation: People look attractive because of good clothes, rice grows well because of good fertilizer.
Lesson: Invest in a good wardrobe for success.

Nhà giàu tham việc, thất nghiệp tham ăn
Translation: Rich people are eager to work, poor people are eager to eat.

Nhất nghệ tinh nhất thân vinh
Translation: Master one trade and you will have a comfortable life.
Lesson: Be an expert in your field to be successful.

No mất ngon, giận mất khôn
Translation: Food loses its taste when the eater is full, a person loses his wisdom when he is angry.
Lesson: Learn to control your emotions for success.

Thuận vợ thuận chồng tát biển đông cũng cạn
Translation: When a husband and his wife are of the same mind, there’s nothing they cannot achieve.
Lesson: Marital harmony is important for success.

Trăm hay không bằng tay quen
Translation: Talent is no match for practice.
Lesson: Practice makes perfect, or better yet, perfect practice makes perfect.

Ăn cắp quen tay, ngủ ngày quen mắt
Translation: Steal once and your hands may pick up the stealing habit, take a nap once and it your eyes will want to shut every afternoon.

Lesson: DO not underestimate the power of habits.

Kiến tha lâu cũng đầy tổ
Translation: Ants can fill their colonies with food after a long time.
Lesson: Patience is the key to success.

Năng nhặt chặt bị
Translation: Pick up things and put them into a pack often enough, and before long the sack will be tight.
Lesson: Remember the power of patient accumulation and disdain get-rich-quick schemes.

Khôn ngoan đến cửa quan mới biết, giàu nghèo ba mươi tết mới hay
Translation: Whether a person is smart or not can only be ascertained when he faces government officials, whether a man is rich or not can only be known on the last day of the lunar year.
Lesson: One should not boast of one’s wisdom or wealth.

Nói chín thì phải làm mười, nói mười làm chín kẻ cười người chê
Translation: If you speak of nine, you should do ten. If you speak of ten and only do nine, people will laugh at you.
Lesson: Under-promise and over-deliver, not the other way around.

Mật ngọt chết ruồi
Translation: Sweet honey kills flies.
Lesson: Use artful communication to get ahead in life.

Rượu nhạt uống lắm cũng say, người khôn nói lắm dẫu hay cũng nhàm
Translation: Drinks with low alcohol levels can intoxicate if consumed excessively, wise people can be boring if they talk too much.
Lesson: Only speak enough to communicate your ideas and keep relationships alive.

Đi một ngày đàng học một sàng khôn
Translation: A day of travelling can bring much wisdom.
Lesson: There is much to be learned from the outside world, so one should travel and talk to people to learn more.

Tiên học lễ hậu học văn
Translation: First learn proper behavior, then learn book knowledge.
Lesson: Knowing how to treat people is of utmost importance, even more so than book knowledge.

Một câu nhịn chín câu lành
Translation: Avoiding a conflict with others will bring long-lasting peace of mind
Lesson: Successful people always try to be less egotistic and refrain from arguing or fighting with anyone else.

Buôn tàu không giàu bằng hà tiện
Translation: Trading ships cannot make you as rich as being frugal.
Lesson: Frugality is key for wealth-accumulation.

Hay làm thì giàu, hay cầu thì nghèo
Translation: Always working will make you rich, always wishing will make you poor.
Lesson: Wishing is not enough, doing is more important.

Mưu cao chẳng bằng chí dày
Translation: Being clever is not as good as being persistent.
Lesson: Persistence beats intelligence when it comes to success.

Lạt mềm buộc chặt
Translation: Soft ropes can tie well.
Lesson: Soft words can work better than offensive tones.

Quen sợ dạ, lạ sợ áo
Translation: We fear people we know well for their nature; we fear strangers for their outfits.
Lesson: Appearance is important for success.

Thương người người lại thương ta, ghét người người lại hóa ra ghét mình
Translation: Like others and they will like you back; Hate others and they will hate you back.
Lesson: Learn to look at people’s positive sides and like them as they will do the same towards you.

Việc to đừng lo tốn
Translation: Don’t worry about making big investments when it comes to worthwhile goals.
Lesson: Money makes money. You have to be willing to invest to reap the rewards.

Một người biết lo bằng kho người hay làm
Translation: A planner is much more valuable than many workers.
Lesson: Having a plan is necessary for success. Hard work alone is not sufficient.

Thua keo này bày keo khác
Translation: If you fail this time, plan to try again next time.
Lesson: Failure is part of success. Never give up.

Có đức mặc sức mà ăn
Translation: Be honest in all dealings with people, and you will have more than you can eat.
Lesson: Honesty is key to economic success.