Even when dealt a terrible hand, play it with everything you have — stay optimistic and positive, take responsibility, resist wishful thinking, and never give up on yourself.
No matter what comes, face reality with calm acceptance, draw your lessons, and keep moving forward.
When I was young, my father taught me chess by starting with endgames. He told me: “By the time you sit down at the board, it’s already an endgame. You can only play the endgame well — win through wisdom and courage. And if you can’t win, fight for a draw. That way, you get to play another game.”
Aim for the highest and you’ll land in the middle. Aim for the middle and you’ll land at the bottom. That is real life — never quite perfect. Do you see those mosaic patterns on the ground, made from small ceramic tiles? Every one of those tiles is a broken fragment, a leftover scrap. And yet the picture they form is still beautiful. People crave perfection only when they are weak. As they grow stronger, they learn to assemble something beautiful from the broken pieces.
The only thing humanity truly worships is strength. And the greatest strength in this world comes from life itself. Every other form of strength comes from tools — and tools are always just tools. A tool’s power only reveals itself when wielded by human hands. Why is the role of a father so difficult to play? Because he is the very source of his children’s strength.