This morning, I awoke to a message from a man who says he hails from an inland village in the Chinese Hunan province. He lives and works in Canton, a coastal city in southern China. I get messages from all over the world, and I read every single one of them. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to tell what's real and what's spam. Since the English in this email was quite broken, I was skeptical. I wrote him back to ask him a few questions and he responded quickly, assuring me that his message was sincere. He even sent me a picture of himself.
Just look at his beautiful smile! In light of his two messages and the photo, the circumstances point to him being a real person in a difficult situation in a foreign country where he does not have the freedoms that we enjoy and sometimes take for granted here in America. His words made me pause today to take stock of the many blessings we have, chief among them, the ability, as our new friend from China says, "to arrange your life freely."
Here are the words from his messages, edited a bit to correct grammar.
First email:
I can't help but write to you after reading your words on your blog so far. I am a Chinese young man who is working in a foreign funded company, which makes me feel very constrained and bored because I find that I nearly lost my freedom and I work from day to night, very tired, however, I cannot get equal pay. I envy that you can arrange your life freely, and am inspired by your Indie action and words. Thanks for your encouragement and advice. I will be your fan forever.
Second email, after my reply asking if he was serious:
Rest assured the email was not spam or virus. It is only what I am eager to express after reading your blog. I am deeply inspired by your Indie lifestyle, which many Chinese young men such as me dream about always. [He told me his name here.]
I am 24 years old this year. I am a sales and order supervisor employee. I work a long time every day, get up early and go home late according to the schedule of my company. However, the salary is not equal to the work hour and work strength. It's only about $235US each month.
Furthermore, I feel very constrained because I can't arrange my freedom. Sometime, I would like to have a small business but I don't have enough start-up funds so I gave up finally.
After reading your blog, I was deeply motivated and encouraged by your lifestyle and attitude toward life. Hence, I won't surrender to the reality. Business prosper!!
I am moved
Consider his words.
Arrange your life freely.
What a blessing! Having been born and raised in America, it's hard for me to imagine a culture where my passions and desires are disrespected and extinguished. But there are people all over the world who live in conditions that are imposed solely for the purpose of controlling and devaluing them.
Our new Chinese friend probably works too many hours to be able to spend much time online, but I told him that, if he was for real, people who read this blog would post comments in solidarity with him. That we would pray for him and send him good thoughts that one day, a way would be made for him to pursue his dreams of business ownership and have the precious ability to arrange his life freely as he sees that we are able to do in America.
Will you send a comment of encouragement to our new friend? Please post your own personal hopes and prayers for him and people the world over who are striving to one day have the option to arrange their lives freely.
Wow. I wish you peace of mind and a mind full of wonder, always.
Wow. I wish you peace of mind and a mind full of wonder, always.
Keep the dream alive! Think of or do a small thing every day to build the future of your business. Is there a micro-lending fund that could help? Best wishes and luck to you from all of us indies!
Keep the dream alive! Think of or do a small thing every day to build the future of your business. Is there a micro-lending fund that could help? Best wishes and luck to you from all of us indies!
@Laura, @Roberta: Thanks for stopping by and taking a moment of your time to uplift our new friend. My heart goes out to him, but I’m so glad he reached out so others could encourage him. All of us should take note of that. We can all use as much encouragement as we can get! Thanks again!
@Laura, @Roberta: Thanks for stopping by and taking a moment of your time to uplift our new friend. My heart goes out to him, but I’m so glad he reached out so others could encourage him. All of us should take note of that. We can all use as much encouragement as we can get! Thanks again!
I was so touched when I read this post. It truly hit home to the fact of how blessed I really am to be able to start a business in this country without the constraints that other countries place on their citizens. I am also eternally grateful to be a part of the Indie Beauty Network, where like-minded individuals can find the support they need to fulfill their dreams.
To our new Chinese friend: Keep your dreams in front of your face at all times and NEVER give up. May God bless you. =-)
I was so touched when I read this post. It truly hit home to the fact of how blessed I really am to be able to start a business in this country without the constraints that other countries place on their citizens. I am also eternally grateful to be a part of the Indie Beauty Network, where like-minded individuals can find the support they need to fulfill their dreams.
To our new Chinese friend: Keep your dreams in front of your face at all times and NEVER give up. May God bless you. =-)
Dear Sir, Sometimes we feel like giving up on our dreams. But in truth, they never give up on us. Keep faith that the right thing always does happen, where there is a will to succeed there is a way to succeed, and that you have new Friends in America and beyond that are cheering you on every step of the way! 🙂
Dear Sir, Sometimes we feel like giving up on our dreams. But in truth, they never give up on us. Keep faith that the right thing always does happen, where there is a will to succeed there is a way to succeed, and that you have new Friends in America and beyond that are cheering you on every step of the way! 🙂
@Kelley: Thanks for the encouragement. I got an email from our Chinese friend this morning. He said this:
“Even though I was born in a inland village ,I am eager to
communicate and interact with outside. I have an open and passionate heart. Though
experiencing difficult days, I am positive always.”
What an indomitable spirit he has! I think we may benefit from his Indie spirit at least as much as he benefits from ours!
@Kelley: Thanks for the encouragement. I got an email from our Chinese friend this morning. He said this:
“Even though I was born in a inland village ,I am eager to
communicate and interact with outside. I have an open and passionate heart. Though
experiencing difficult days, I am positive always.”
What an indomitable spirit he has! I think we may benefit from his Indie spirit at least as much as he benefits from ours!
Dear maria, I appreciate that you share my thoughts and story with your friends and others who are concerned about me , thank you all ,your spirit and charitable personality inspired me greatly ,and I come to realized that distance is not problem because the love has no distance at all.
I want to declare to everyone that care me
that I won’t give up myself no matter how
difficult the reality is .I will spare no efforts to win my future—-an indie life .
thank you once more !
Dear maria, I appreciate that you share my thoughts and story with your friends and others who are concerned about me , thank you all ,your spirit and charitable personality inspired me greatly ,and I come to realized that distance is not problem because the love has no distance at all.
I want to declare to everyone that care me
that I won’t give up myself no matter how
difficult the reality is .I will spare no efforts to win my future—-an indie life .
thank you once more !
Just keep looking up. Hold on to your dreams and eventually the universe will present a way for you to fulfill them. In the meantime, try to find joy in something you do each day. That will sustain you and keep you on the road to success. I know it must be very hard, but never give up. Best of luck to you and let us know how you’re doing.
Just keep looking up. Hold on to your dreams and eventually the universe will present a way for you to fulfill them. In the meantime, try to find joy in something you do each day. That will sustain you and keep you on the road to success. I know it must be very hard, but never give up. Best of luck to you and let us know how you’re doing.
@Maggie: I was hoping you would come and share your special brand of encouragement. Ben (and everyone), check out Maggie’s site for one of the most focused and successful Indie Businesses ever! “Try to find joy in something you do each day.” Solid advice. And speaking of which, gotta get my cuppa Joe now. Lots of small pleasure there!
@Maggie: I was hoping you would come and share your special brand of encouragement. Ben (and everyone), check out Maggie’s site for one of the most focused and successful Indie Businesses ever! “Try to find joy in something you do each day.” Solid advice. And speaking of which, gotta get my cuppa Joe now. Lots of small pleasure there!
@PRIIA: Thanks for encouraging Ben. You know what it’s like to feel like outside forces are holding you back. But you are triumphing over every one of them. And now, you have received your first wholesale order, before you even officially launch your business. Amazing!! It speaks volumes and sets a great example for all of us.
@PRIIA: Thanks for encouraging Ben. You know what it’s like to feel like outside forces are holding you back. But you are triumphing over every one of them. And now, you have received your first wholesale order, before you even officially launch your business. Amazing!! It speaks volumes and sets a great example for all of us.
I’d love to hear what his dreams are for a business. I bet there are ways around the issue of ‘no financing’. The lack of actual hard cash does not prevent starting up a business. There are a multitude of ways to creatively finance a business, and they are age-old methods that work in almost any culture and economic reality. Political repression can put a monkey wrench in new business endeavours..I’d love to hear more specifically what kinds of limits he faces in this arena. Is he lacking cash? transportation? access to delivery services? Is his dream something that would be localized, or world-wide? Obviously, there is internet access, but is it limited by his company?
Sorry to be so long-winded, but sometimes, dreams just need some water and sun to grow..
Deb
I’d love to hear what his dreams are for a business. I bet there are ways around the issue of ‘no financing’. The lack of actual hard cash does not prevent starting up a business. There are a multitude of ways to creatively finance a business, and they are age-old methods that work in almost any culture and economic reality. Political repression can put a monkey wrench in new business endeavours..I’d love to hear more specifically what kinds of limits he faces in this arena. Is he lacking cash? transportation? access to delivery services? Is his dream something that would be localized, or world-wide? Obviously, there is internet access, but is it limited by his company?
Sorry to be so long-winded, but sometimes, dreams just need some water and sun to grow..
Deb
I wish our friend all the blessings in the world. One of my goals is to participate in acts of benevolence with profits from my company. I would really love to make a difference in his life.
My prayers go out to him as well as my support. Hang in there and believe that you can achieve whatever it is you put your mind to!
I wish our friend all the blessings in the world. One of my goals is to participate in acts of benevolence with profits from my company. I would really love to make a difference in his life.
My prayers go out to him as well as my support. Hang in there and believe that you can achieve whatever it is you put your mind to!
@Desiree: Thanks for stopping by and wishing blessings. That means a lot to all of us. It’s great to see the outpouring for Ben. It uplifts all of us! We all have to hang in and support each other!
@Desiree: Thanks for stopping by and wishing blessings. That means a lot to all of us. It’s great to see the outpouring for Ben. It uplifts all of us! We all have to hang in and support each other!
@Deb: What great question you ask! I love how your comment reminds us that we should focus on the exact things that are holding us back instead of generalizing. Sometimes getting to the heart of the matter exposes the solutions that elude us when we speak in generalities. I can use that today! Thanks for sharing.
@Deb: What great question you ask! I love how your comment reminds us that we should focus on the exact things that are holding us back instead of generalizing. Sometimes getting to the heart of the matter exposes the solutions that elude us when we speak in generalities. I can use that today! Thanks for sharing.
universal love to ben…
i will send out blessings in my meditations of prosperity and abundance to you.
keep the vision alive and the law of attraction in combination with the universe will gift what you need to be free…time each day toward your dreams even 5 minutes of setting the intentions of your dreams will make a it happen in time.
onelove from qadeera of goddessfuzion and divinity veganatural:)
universal love to ben…
i will send out blessings in my meditations of prosperity and abundance to you.
keep the vision alive and the law of attraction in combination with the universe will gift what you need to be free…time each day toward your dreams even 5 minutes of setting the intentions of your dreams will make a it happen in time.
onelove from qadeera of goddessfuzion and divinity veganatural:)
I spent a month in China and let me tell you, when you are there, you have a completely new found appreciation for many things. I think his “mantra” to arrange your life freely is something to remember. We have so many choices. If something doesn’t work, keep trying. The point to remember is not to stop. Thank you for sharing this!