The old saying goes, "It is easier to start a business than to keep it."
Source: "Zizhi Tongjian·Tang Ji"
Original text:
I asked the courtier: "Which is more difficult to start a business or to maintain a success?" Fang Xuanling said : "In the early days of ignorance, it is difficult to start a business by wrestling with the heroes and then following them!" Wei Zheng said to him: "Since ancient times, emperors have always suffered from hardships and lost their comfort. It is difficult to maintain success!" The emperor said: "Xuan I have conquered the world with you since I was young, and died a hundred times to gain a lifetime, so I know how difficult it is to start a business, and conquer the world with me. I am always afraid that arrogance and extravagance will come from wealth, and disaster will come from neglect, so I know the difficulty of maintaining success. However, The difficulty of starting a business is over; the difficulty of maintaining success should be treated with caution." p>
Tang Taizong asked Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng and others: "Which is more difficult, starting a business or maintaining existing performance?" Fang Xuanling replied: "When the country was first founded, we competed with powerful people from all over the world to raise armies to make them surrender. "It's hard to start a business!" Wei Zheng said: "Since ancient times, emperors have always won the world in hard times and lost the world in easy times. It's hard to maintain the existing achievements!"
Taizong said: "Xuan Ling assisted me in conquering the world, and went through hundreds of battles and nine deaths, so he knew how difficult it was to start a business. Wei Zheng worked with me to stabilize the world. He often worried that arrogance would breed when he was rich, and chaos would happen when he was careless, so he knew how to keep what he had. But the difficulty of starting a business has passed; the difficulty of maintaining existing performance should be treated with caution." Xuan Ling and others bowed and said, "Your Majesty said this, it is a blessing to the world. ”
Extended information
It is difficult to maintain a success:
It is of course difficult to start a business, and it can only be completed after many hardships. Especially when the world was in chaos in ancient times, heroes were everywhere, attacking cities and territories, and wars were fierce. The difficulty of starting a business was obvious. It is more difficult to maintain it, because once people obtain it, they are prone to become complacent and corrupted by enjoyment. The decline of the country begins here, and the fruits of personal struggle are easily lost.
It is difficult to start a business: Since ancient times, if it were not for tyranny, entrepreneurial emperors would rarely perish during their reign. As far as I am concerned, if you have the strength and spirit to start a business, you will definitely be able to manage your own industry. They will settle for pleasure, but once they achieve success, all their bones will dry up, so it is still more difficult to start a business.