Failing to secure an order is not a disgrace, but failing to understand why you didn't get it is.
Having a dream is a form of intelligence, but realizing it is a form of ability. There is only one path we cannot choose, which is giving up; and there is only one path we cannot refuse, which is growing.
They seem somewhat out of place among the city dwellers. Even on holidays, the city remains filled with people rushing, struggling, and filled with anger. The city lacks leisure rather than passion. Men in the city dare not relax, fearing that any slight negligence will leave them overtaken, losing their chance to rise. Only a few clerks, as if seeing through the arrangements of fate, seize the idle moments to enjoy the happiness of the present.
The road of life can be a straight highway or a winding path; it may endure wind, frost, rain, and snow, or be graced by bright sunshine; there will be the long companionship of flowing water and the desolation of changing times; there will be unexpected surprises and landscapes that must be left behind; there will be obstacles and unexpected turns; there will be the confusion of worldly affairs and the anticipation of the future.