積小為大（せきしょういだい）
大きな事をしたいと思えば、小さな事を怠らず勤めるがよい。
それは小が積って大となるからだ。
およそ小人の常として、大きな事を望んで小さな事を怠り、できにくい事に気をもんで、できやすい事を勤めない。
それゆえ、ついに大きな事を成し遂げられない。
それは、大は小の積んで大となることを知らないからだ。
たとえば百万石の米といっても粒が大きいわけではない。
一万町歩の田を耕すのも、一鍬ずつの手わざである。
千里の道も一歩ずつ歩いて行き着くのだし、山を作るにも一もっこの土を重ねてゆくのだ。
この道理をはっきりわきまえて、精を出して小さな事を勤めてゆけば、大きな事は必ずできあがる。
Lots of small things add up to a great deal
Mr. Sontoku Ninomiya's teachings still important today
If you want to do something big, you must work hard at the little things.
For small things add up to great things.
As is usual with small people, they want big things and neglect small things,
They are too concerned about what is difficult to accomplish, and do not do what is easy to accomplish.
Therefore, they never accomplish great things.
This is because they do not know that the big is the product of the small.
For example, a million grains of rice are not necessarily large.
Plowing a 10,000-machi paddy field is also a feat of handwork, one hoe at a time.
A journey of a thousand miles is reached by walking one step at a time,
To build a mountain, one has to build up the soil one step at a time.
We must be aware of this principle,
If you work hard at small things, big things will surely come to be.
and work hard at small things, big things will surely come to fruition.
