In 1931, someone posted a $5,000 prize for proving that the Earth is spherical. Within the posted terms, the challenge turned out to be no easy cake. A solid proof outside of the challenge, though, lies with Foucualt’s pendulum and gyroscope demonstrations.
A year after I founded a startup with 4 guys in a dorm room, things were not looking good. For about half a year, the direction we were headed was unclear, and the the future seemed bleak. One day, It suddenly hit me that I was responsible for the livelihood of dozens of families—not just persons, but families. The thought continued to stress me out. I tried to be brave in front of my coworkers, but still broke down occasionally.
At first I told myself to work hard and fix the problems. But nothing got better. What do you do when you feel the whole world is against you? You emulate 007. Think about it. James Bond was designed to be perfect. When you see a Bond movie, everything is always against him, yet he always triumphs. So my advice to others had been to imagine yourself as James Bond. Do as Bond would do. In short, I applied that advice to myself, but surely enough, that did not work either.
One day my father came to visit me, and I broke down again. He was trying to be a good father, trying his best to be supportive. But what could he say to someone that had tried everything and failed? What was the one thing anyone can say to someone that felt the whole world was against him?
“Have faith.”
