Eat Bitter

(I copied and pasted a Dan Lok email. I discovered him in April and he’s great!)

I also discovered this on Hung Khen’s Facebook Page as well.

Eating Bitter 吃苦

There is a Chinese maxim: “Eat Bitter or “Eating Bitterness”, known as Chi Ku. It is a Chinese phrase for enduring hardship.It means to endure something unpleasant in good humor. Or to continue despite difficulties in a general phrase of encouragement meaning to stay focused.

Eating bitter seems to be an aged-old saying, like a parent to a child, upon having the child do something without complaint. It has the meaning of working hard and tolerate some agony in order to acquire what it is one is hoping to achieve. However, one should examine “eating bitter” beyond the psychological perspicacity.

Almost a manner to which one can exclaim; “Practice makes Perfect”, “Eating Bitter”, in a martial art sense, is taken to mean practicing very hard, enduring both the mental and physical hardships. Of which are required in Chinese martial arts, to excel. This is evident from the anxiety of practicing, which is the struggle to endure mental challenges. And the actual pain of training applications, the physical such as discomfort and injury. In all, to endure the aspirations, as well as certain desolations of martial art training.

In martial arts, this would seem appropriate of the mannerism and exchange between teacher and student. But in recent society, what is the extent of the commitment from either, the teacher or the student? In other words, unlike the very distant past, when it was exclaimed “teacher say, student do”, seem to implicate that a student should do as he was told without questioning.

The literal translation is, in fact, “eat bitter” or “eat bitterness”. It comes from the fact that life, or anything, is about good and bad, ups and downs, sweet or bitter., etc. When something is the opposite of positive, in this sense, it is a hardship. Without hardship, i.e., bitterness, there can be no sweetness.

==============Actual Email Now===============

Hi Alesha,

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there has been more and more rich Asians.

Not as rich as the “Crazy Rich Asians” in the movie, but still pretty rich.

And especially in Vancouver, where I live, you see them driving around in Lamborghinis, Rolls Royce, Range Rovers, Bentleys, etc.

Have you ever wondered…

How did the they get so rich?

Because, let me tell you, we weren’t always rich. In fact, China was one of the poorest countries just half a century ago.

So what changed?

Well, there are many factors (economic and political) but today I want to tell you about a much more personal and psychological reason.

It stems from a piece of ancient chinese wisdom.

In Chinese, it’s called “吃苦” (pronounced chi ku).

Translated into English, it literally means “eat bitter”.

I know it doesn’t sound too pleasant, but trust me — the results are amazing.

This is the spirit that many Chinese embodied throughout the years and I believe it’s what separated them from the rest of the world.

And I think we have a lot to learn from this.

But what does “eat bitter” really mean?

To put it simply, it’s a mindset.

It’s a mindset of enduring pain.

It’s a mindset of doing the things you know you should do, even when you don’t want to.

It’s a mindset of taking risks towards a better life, even when it’s terrifying.

With this mindset, the Chinese were able to immigrate to America, endure decades of discrimination, find the few opportunities available, and capitalize on those opportunities.

With the mindset of “eating bitter”, they were able to create wealth from even the meekest of circumstances.

But you might be thinking, why does “eating bitter” work?

Simple.

Think about what the opposite of “eating bitter” is.

It’s to “crave sweets”.

It’s to go after the short-term gains, the temporary pleasures, the empty rewards.

If the Chinese lived by this philosophy, all they would be doing is eating donuts, checking twitter, and watching Netflix…

Not the best recipe for success.

So, what does any of this have to do with you?

A lot.

See, you don’t have to be Chinese to “eat bitter” or to reap the rewards of “eating bitter” — because all it takes is a decision.

All it takes is a decision that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to create a better life.

To create a better life for your family, or your friends, or that one person who believed in you, or maybe… just yourself.

But all it takes is a decision to “eat bitter” today.

So…

Are you willing to make that decision?

Dan Lok

P.S. This is just one piece of wisdom I’ve gained over my 20+ years of experience.

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How I’ve eaten bitter. (And I hated a lot of these except my workouts).

1. Girls being mean and jealous in my schools years. Always treat people the way you want to be treated. I hated their behavior and to this day I stay away from them.
2. Depending on people period. Oh my shit one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made. I thought by asking for help and being vulnerable, it could make me a better friend. I’ve found that people have treated me meaner, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO SAY I CAN ASK THEM FOR HELP. This is why I’m more self-reliant. I’m very careful with who I trust. In the rare case that I do become a celebrity, I’ll be a loner. Geez.
3. My workouts are challenging and hard, but I do them everyday. Even if I don’t feel like doing them, it’s apart of my routine. I get into the mindset that they are fun despite the ass whooping I’m about to take.
4. The car my mom drove broke down prom weekend in high school. So I taught myself how to drive via friends. If you see me in a driver’s course, it’s my gift to myself. And I’m serious about learning stick stift driving. For some of the acting projects I’ve done, I had to learn how to crash cars with out putting fender benders in them.

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