There’s a line in an English book that goes something like this: Truth and wisdom are “stolen” from time and space. That was the first time I really felt the weight of the word “steal”—what a perfect way to put it. It might be from Ego Is the Enemy.
有本英文书里说过一句话，大意是：真理和智慧，都是从时空中”steal”的。这个是我对steal这个词第一次有种感觉，那个人形容得真好。可能是ego is enemy这本书。
Steal. Not invent, not create—steal. How should I describe the use of this word? Or the feeling it stirred in me when I first read it? It’s hard to put into words.
偷。不是发明，不是创造，是偷。应该怎么描述这个词的应用。或者当时看到内心的体会。非常不好形容。
In college, my inspiration was especially vivid. Back then, I realized something: if an idea flashes through my mind, it will flash through someone else’s too.
我大学的时候，灵感特别好。那时候我就明白了一个道理：灵感闪过我的大脑，也一定会闪过别人的大脑。
Truth and wisdom don’t belong to anyone—they’re just there, like air, available for anyone to breathe.
真理和智慧不是谁的专属，它就在那里，像空气一样，谁都能呼吸到。
The difference is, some people breathe it in and forget. Others breathe it in and seize it.
区别在于，有人呼吸到了，然后忘了。有人呼吸到了，把它抓住了。
Having inspiration is important, but what’s more important is bringing it to life. If inspiration isn’t grounded, it’s just a passing breeze—gone as soon as it comes.
有灵感重要，更重要的是把灵感实现出来。灵感不落地，就只是一阵风，吹过去就没了。
There’s a famous saying about Michelangelo sculpting David: “David was already in the stone. I just removed the excess.” That line is well-known, but does it fully capture this idea of stealing from time and space?
有个话：米开朗基罗雕大卫像，他说：大卫本来就在石头里，我只是把多余的部分去掉。这个话非常有名，但是还能足够形容这个从时空中偷。
Maybe everything already exists—it’s just a matter of whether you’re willing to take it from time and space.
或许可能就是一切都是已经存在，你是否愿意从时空中取出来。
He didn’t “create” David—he “saw” him. But seeing wasn’t enough; he also carved him out. Many might have seen, but he was the one who acted.
他没有”创造”大卫，他只是”看见”了大卫。但光看见不够，他还动手把它凿出来了。看见的人可能很多，动手的只有他一个。
Similarly, when life throws something at you, some people steal something valuable, while others only get hit by an apple.
同样被砸，有人偷到了东西，有人只吃到一个苹果。
It’s called “stealing,” but it’s not really theft. The good things, the beautiful things in this world, are all around us—nearby, not far away. They aren’t hidden or concealed; they’re right there in the open.
说是steal，但其实不是偷。这个世界上好的东西、美好的东西，就在周围，在不远的身边，而不是远在天边。它不藏着，不掖着，大大方方摆在那里。
It’s just that some people see them, and some don’t. Those who see them reach out and take them—and just like that, they’re theirs. Those who don’t see them can walk past them ten thousand times and still leave empty-handed.
只不过有人看得见，有人看不见。看见的人伸手一拿，就是他的了。看不见的人，从它身边走过一万次，还是空手。
So, people should be humble. Humble because these things aren’t invented by you—they were already there. You just happened to “steal” them.
所以人应该谦虚。谦虚是因为，这些东西不是你发明的，是本来就在那里的，你只是碰巧”偷”到了。
But people should also be confident. Confident because you can see, you can reach out, and you can take them. That in itself is an ability.
但人也应该自信。自信是因为，你能看见，你能伸手，你能把它拿过来。这本身就是一种能力。
Liu Bang was uneducated. He hadn’t read The Art of War, Tao Te Ching, or phrases like “understand the situation, be resolute, use the right method.” Yet every step he took aligned with these principles.
刘邦没读过书。不懂《孙子兵法》，不懂《道德经》，不懂什么”情况明、决心大、方法对”。但他每一步都踩在这些道理上。
Why do I keep mentioning Liu Bang? He’s absolutely one of the strongest examples I’ve discovered in recent years—though he’s impossible to imitate. There’s no clear way to learn from him.
为什么老提刘邦，刘邦绝对是我这几年发现超级强的一个代表，不过没办法学。无从下手。
He didn’t “learn” these principles—he “stole” them. From where? From the streets and alleys of Pei County, from all kinds of people, from repeated failures and narrow escapes.
他不是”学会”了这些道理，他是”偷到”了。从哪偷的？从沛县的街头巷尾，从形形色色的人，从一次次的挫败和侥幸里。
Chairman Mao read many books and also “stole” them. He summarized what Liu Bang did in nine words: “Understand the situation, be resolute, use the right method.”
毛主席读了很多书，也”偷到”了。他把刘邦做的事情，总结成九个字：情况明，决心大，方法对。
Liu Bang lived it; Chairman Mao read it. One stole from life, the other stole from history. But what they stole was the same thing.
刘邦活出来，毛主席读出来。一个偷的是生活，一个偷的是历史。偷到的是同一个东西。
Some people read their whole lives and steal nothing. Why? Because they’re “learning,” not “stealing.”
有人读了一辈子书，偷不到。为什么？因为他在”学”，不在”偷”。
What is learning? It’s being fed chewed-up bread by someone else. What is stealing? It’s reaching out and taking it from time and space yourself.
学是什么？是别人嚼过的馒头喂给你。偷是什么？是你自己伸手，从时空里把它拿过来。
What you learn is dead; what you steal is alive. What you learn stays in your mind; what you steal becomes part of you.
学出来的东西是死的，偷出来的东西是活的。学出来的放在脑子里，偷出来的长在身上。
So, is reading useful? Yes and no.
所以读书有用吗？有用，也没用。
It’s useful because books are things others have stolen and written down for you to see. You can borrow their eyes to know where the treasures are.
有用是因为，书是别人偷到的东西，写下来给你看，你可以借他的眼睛，知道哪里有好东西。
It’s useless because seeing others steal doesn’t mean you can steal yourself. The wisest way to read is to borrow others’ eyes to train your own hands—see how they steal, then go steal yourself. The dumbest way is to memorize what others stole and think it’s yours. It’s not yours—it’s a copy of stolen goods.
没用是因为，看别人偷的，不等于你自己会偷。最高明的读书，是借别人的眼睛，练自己的手。看他怎么偷的，然后自己去偷。最笨的读书，是把别人偷来的东西背下来，以为那就是自己的了。那不是你的，那是赃物的复印件。
Inspiration flashes through your mind, and it flashes through others’ too. There are too many smart people in this world—what you can think of, others can think of too.
灵感闪过你的大脑，也会闪过别人的大脑。这个世界上聪明人太多了，你能想到的，别人也能想到。
But most inspirations flash by and are gone, with no one seizing them. If you seize them and bring them to life, they become yours.
但大部分灵感，闪过就闪过了，没人去抓它。你抓住了，你实现了，它就是你的了。
It’s not that you’re smarter than others—it’s that you acted, and they didn’t.
不是你比别人聪明，是你动手了，别人没动。
Liu Bang was illiterate, but he was a master thief. He stole from life, from failure, from every person he met. In the end, he stole a 400-year Han dynasty.
刘邦不识字，但他是顶级的小偷。从生活里偷，从失败里偷，从每一个他遇到的人身上偷。偷到最后，偷出一个四百年的大汉王朝。
His hands never stopped moving.
他的手从来没停过。
Truth is right beside you; wisdom is all around you. You don’t need to search far away or seek out masters. It’s right here—in your daily life, in the people you meet, in the experiences you go through.
真理就在你身边，智慧就在你左右。不用去远方找，不用去高人那里求。就在这里，在你的日子里，在你遇到的人里，在你经历的事里。
But it won’t jump into your pocket on its own. You have to reach out, take it, and make it yours.
但它不会自己跑进你口袋。你得伸手，你得去拿，你得把它变成你的东西。
Seeing is the first step, reaching out is the second, and grounding it is the third.
看见是第一步，伸手是第二步，落地是第三步。
I’ll have more to say on this topic later. Sometimes it’s strange—you can read an entire book and remember little, yet end up remembering just one word from the preface.
关于这个话题，以后还要继续说。有时就是这么奇怪，有些书，你看了整本，没多少记得的，结果把人家序言的一个字给记住了。