The More You Boast, the Cheaper Your Value Becomes

The elders once taught: “If you know, speak. If you don’t, lean on a post and listen.” A rustic saying, yet deeply profound. True understanding always walks hand in hand with humility. But when the ego grows larger than one’s actual ability, when shallow knowledge is displayed like ultimate truth, that is when a person’s value begins to shrink—little by little.

In life, the most frightening thing is not evil people. Evil is often obvious; you can recognize it and stay cautious. Far more dangerous are those who suffer from what could be called “power delusion” — people who have nothing in their hands, yet carry an ego bigger than a village temple. They lack substance but believe they are exceptional. They have no real achievements but speak as if they stand on top of the world.

Vietnamese folk wisdom says, “An empty barrel makes the loudest noise.” A barrel with nothing inside echoes wherever you knock. People are the same. The less inner substance they have, the more they rely on noise, words, and appearances to compensate. They flaunt connections, parade minor experiences, exaggerate small wins, and convince themselves they’ve entered the league of “people with vision.”

A Painful Truth: Enthusiasm + Ignorance = Destruction

Ignorance in life is not just about not knowing. The most dangerous ignorance is not knowing but thinking you know, then acting with full enthusiasm. There’s a Vietnamese saying: “The ignorant love to show off their knowledge.” It describes people who gather scattered bits of information, attend a few talks, watch a handful of motivational videos, and suddenly believe they’ve grasped life’s ultimate truths.

Enthusiasm is valuable. But enthusiasm without understanding is like handing a steering wheel to someone who has never learned to drive. They may be passionate and energetic, but every decision they make risks derailing the entire group.

Some people read a few self-help books, check in at fancy cafés, post philosophical captions, and then go home criticizing their friends for “lacking vision.” They forget another old saying: “Talking is easy, doing is hard.” Books can broaden the mind, but they can’t replace real-world experience, setbacks, failures, and the price paid for growth.

Others spend just a few days on probation at a company and already want to teach the boss how to run the business. They see one small corner of the machine and assume they understand the entire mechanism. As the proverb goes, “A frog at the bottom of a well sees the sky as only that small circle above.” From down there, the sky looks tiny, yet the frog believes that’s the whole universe.

The Lesson from a Letter to a Billionaire

There was once a widely discussed story about a student who wrote a “ten-thousand-word letter” to Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, offering advice on how to manage the corporation. On one side stood a man who had built a global tech empire through decades of storms in the business world. On the other was a student who had never managed even a small real-life team.

Overconfidence made the student believe that classroom knowledge was enough to correct the mindset of a seasoned entrepreneur. The ending was far from romantic: doors of opportunity closed immediately. No one truly appreciates arrogance wrapped in the label of “being straightforward.”

That wasn’t personality. It was immaturity. The Vietnamese teach: “Learn how to eat, learn how to speak, learn how to wrap, learn how to unwrap.” Before trying to teach others about life, one must first learn how to position oneself properly.

Don’t Judge by Appearances

Another dangerous disease in society is judging people by how they look. See someone in cheap sandals and a plain T-shirt, and you curl your lip. Hear someone speak simply, and you assume they lack knowledge. But life is not that simple.

The old saying goes, “Good wood is better than good paint.” Strong wood remains durable even without polish. Shiny paint on rotten wood will fall apart sooner or later. Some people dress simply because they don’t need to prove anything. They work not because they lack money, but because they want to stay active, connected, and useful.

Meanwhile, others chase luxury brands, pose in glamorous places, talk big, yet at the end of the month can barely breathe under credit card debt. Outer glamour is often just a layer of gloss covering deep insecurity inside.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” has its Vietnamese equivalent too: “Don’t judge someone by their looks.” A simple sentence, but a lifelong lesson. When we rush to judge others, we expose the narrowness of our own perspective.

Ripe Rice Bows Its Head

In the fields, young rice plants stand upright. Only when the grains are full and heavy do the stalks bend low. This image became the proverb: “Ripe rice bows its head.” The more knowledgeable, experienced, and accomplished a person becomes, the more humble they tend to be.

They don’t need to brag because their results speak for themselves. They don’t need to compete over trivial matters because they understand life is vast. Today they may excel in one area; tomorrow someone else will surpass them in another. They are busy earning money, busy learning, busy improving themselves—not wasting time judging or showing off online.

In contrast, those with little experience are often extreme. They think what they know is the ultimate truth and their way of living is the universal standard. They love arguments to prove they’re smart, yet hesitate to listen long enough to realize their own shortcomings.

As the saying reminds us: “Beyond the highest mountain, there is always a higher one.” To truly remember this and remain humble—that is a form of wisdom.

The Bigger the Ego, the Narrower the Vision

An oversized ego is like a wall blocking your sight. When you only see yourself, you stop seeing others. When you only hear your own voice, you stop hearing sincere feedback.

Some people go everywhere trying to show they know more than others. They interrupt, correct, dismiss opinions just to maintain a sense of superiority. But the more they do this, the more isolated they become. No one enjoys working long-term with someone who thinks they are the center of the universe.

There’s a gentle proverb: “Endure one thing, gain nine good things.” Patience here is not weakness; it is knowing when to lower the ego. Knowing when to step back and see the bigger picture. Knowing when to stay silent and let others finish. That is the strength of the experienced, not the weakness of the incapable.

Your Mindset Shapes Your World

A profound truth is this: whatever fills your mind becomes the lens through which you see the world. If your heart is full of jealousy, every successful person looks like they just got lucky or cheated. If your mind is full of prejudice, anyone slightly different becomes irritating.

But with an open mind, everyone becomes a lesson. You see the capable and learn how they work. You see the failed and learn from their mistakes. You meet difficult people and learn patience. Every person who crosses your path can be a teacher—if you are humble enough.

As the Vietnamese say: “Travel one day, gain a basket of wisdom.” But you only gain that wisdom when you admit you still lack it. If you always think you’re already enough, you will walk past countless valuable lessons without ever noticing.

Lowering Yourself Is Not Humiliation

Many people fear being seen as “lesser,” so they constantly strain to appear superior. They think lowering themselves means losing. In reality, lowering yourself at the right time is how you travel far.

Bowing your head doesn’t make your crown fall. Instead, it helps you see the potholes ahead so you don’t trip. Humility doesn’t make you smaller in others’ eyes. On the contrary, it makes people feel comfortable around you and more willing to stay close.

The old teaching “Respect those above, yield to those below” shows that courtesy and humility have never been signs of weakness. They are marks of upbringing, depth, and quiet confidence—the kind that doesn’t need to show off.

In the End: Soften the Ego a Little

Life teaches people in many ways. Sometimes through gentle advice. Sometimes through painful failure. Sometimes through a hard slap that leaves no room for denial. But if we are wise, we can learn from others’ mistakes before paying the price ourselves.

Lower your face a little. Soften your ego a little. Remember that out there are countless people richer, more talented, and more experienced than you—yet living extremely simply. They don’t need to prove anything, because their lives are already proof.

True value is not in how loudly you declare your greatness, but in how deeply others feel it through the way you live, work, and treat those around you.

And sometimes, remembering one old line is enough to keep us from going too far:

“Ripe rice bows its head.”