The most foolish fail because of not thinking things through at all. The less but still foolish think about their lives and goals but lose focus and easily get distracted by the superficial but flashy, by the unimportant but entertaining. The wise quickly recognize the consequential, see which courses of action lead to gain and which to loss, and prioritize their most diligent concentration and highest skill to the most important issues. For most however, "common sense is not so common" and they never lose their common sense because they didn't have any to lose. They make a big deal about things that don't matter and ignore the most important issues. The wise apprehend life's hidden and obscure treasures, deeply root them in their minds, and apply their most diligent and focused attention.

Awareness floats and drifts
Like an unmoored boat
Making no distinction between
Going this way and going that way.

Everything lives in its grace
And it denies nothing to anyone
Making no claims,
Having no desires.
Because it lacks the dualistic twist,
It’s considered insignificant
Though it gives birth to all things
Like the wind creating movement,
Water creating waves.

Because the wise never try to be great
They accomplish great things.

Everyone excels at something but few know what it is. Even less both know and cultivate their strongest quality; most do violence to it by status quo obsequiousness, conformity, and constant attempts to be someone else. The successful in life both see and understand their true strengths and weaknesses. They propagate and grow their good qualities leaving less and less space for the weaknesses.

Those who know others are clever,
Those who know themselves are wise.
Those who conquer others are briefly powerful,
Those who conquer themselves are always strong.
Those who know they have enough are rich,
Ambition wanders blind.
Those who stay where they have found their true home flourish.
Our bodies disappear
But the eternal present goes on and on.

One of the greatest lessons in life revolves around learning to refuse negative influences and external demands, to cut through sidetracks, to disengage from unimportant activities that steal precious time, and to disinvolve ourselves from people and affairs that don't directly concern us. This preserves goodwill, esteem, and the freedom to always choose the best course of action. The cultivation of this discipline also gives us insight and skill in preventing others from inappropriate involvement in our own affairs, inhibits the taking advantage of friendships, avoids the great failing of excess which always creates a vice, and promotes the important quality of moderation that keeps us in the good graces of others without having to abandon ourselves.

Uncontrived awareness goes on forever,
Undefined and nameless.
Small and like uncut wood in primal simplicity,
No one can control or manipulate it.

When rulers follow this Tao,
The world becomes like a guest,
Heaven and Earth harmonize,
Life becomes like the freshness of rain,
People become good for each other,
And all things take their natural course.

For practical wisdom,
Experience must be defined and ordered.
But when definitions proliferate,
It’s time to stop and understand more deeply.
If people know when to stop,
Danger dissolves.
True wisdom in the world
Is like a river flowing home to the sea.

For the wise, the greatest advantage of power, wealth, and fame becomes the ability to do more good than others. This creates a powerful reputation for graciousness and opportunities to conquer with universal good will. Making friends arises from being a friend and engaging in friendly activity. Those who corrupt their advantages with a lack of graciousness, with indulged nastiness and bad disposition can expect no true friends or authentic support.

Weapons of war
Are instruments of fear,
A spread of plague,
Hateful to living things.
Therefore the wise shun them.

Weapons are not auspicious tools,
And should be used only when no choice,
Then with only a calm, still mind
That doesn’t rejoice at victory.

To rejoice at victory
Is to enjoy killing people.
And to enjoy killing people
Is to lose share in the common good
And the possibility for worldly success.

The death of so many
Is cause for mourning.
Victory in war should be received
With funeral ceremonies.

Many blame bad luck for their own folly, for not choosing wisely. Doing this creates a contagious disease of disinformation while preventing solutions to prevent the mistakes. It opens a door to deeper, more dangerous problems. As in a card game where the greatest skill comes from knowing when and what to throw away, our lives turn on recognizing unlucky directions and changing course before they take over and destroy our reputations. When unsure, follow the lead of those with the most integrity and wisdom—sooner or later, they will prevail.

Those who with wisdom advise rulers
Counsel against conquest,
Using aggression & violence to rule.
The nature of weapons
Is to turn against their holder.
Where armies march,
Thorns and brambles grow.
War brings bad harvests.
Great conquerors
Are really great criminals.
Best to defend and stop.

The best leaders succeed
Without becoming arrogant,
Without bragging,
Without feeling proud,
Without feeling regret.
They only do what has to be done,
They succeed without using force.

Like waves in the sea,
Let life ripen and then fall.
The Tao - like the sea itself -
Doesn’t begin or end.
What goes against the Tao
Comes to an early end.

Carefully avoid all foolish ventures, in particular all those disreputable schemes that may bring an audience and notoriety but also disdain and loss of reputation. Eccentricity has its attractions and rewards but this attention can quickly become ridicule; the spotlight most often only brings laughter and disrespect. And since the path of right livelihood and wisdom often crosses status quo values and norms, the wise carefully cultivate anonymity and avoid public notice.

Those who try to improve the world with force
Only come to grief;
Tampering makes things worse.
Because life is sacred just as it is,
It can’t be forced.
Trying to change only harms,
Trying to control only spoils,
To grasp is to lose.

Sometimes things lead,
Sometimes they follow;
Sometimes they’re strong,
Sometimes weak;
Sometimes easy, sometimes hard;
Sometimes success, sometimes failure.

Always hold fast to the virtues of integrity and goodness. Regard deception as treason and embrace righteousness even when it conflicts with family, friendship, cultural norms, political influences, or any kind of self-interest. Many praise these values but few follow them, especially when danger or desertion threatens. The worldly wise make distinctions and compromise for pragmatic political demands. People of the highest integrity, however, hold fast to their path of goodness and follow the truth rather than the opinions and attitudes of their culture, country, or religion. This kind of unwavering loyalty to integrity transcends physical and spiritual materialism and readily leaves a fickle group when the group leaves the path of virtue.

Recognize the masculine
But turn back to the feminine
And become the world’s riverbed
Always true and unswerving,
Becoming a new born child again.

Recognize the light
But turn back to the dark
And become a pattern to the world,
True and unerring power
Going back again to boundlessness.

Recognize the glory
But turn back to the modest
And become the world’s guide
To boundless energy and power
Going back again to the natural,
An uncarved block of wood,
Primal simplicity.

A block of wood can be made into tools
But tools cannot be made into a block of wood
The wise can easily be made into leaders
But leaders not so easily made wise.
The greatest carver does the least cutting.

It is great and wise to be ill at ease when your deeds please the mob. When popular with the mob of public opinion, be concerned and more careful. Pleasing the gods of popular approval most often reflects a decrease of integrity. Don't be satisfied with empty and fickle praise which has no depth or intelligence and can abruptly change. The larger the crowd, the more admiration for foolish delusions. And so, don't follow the herd in anything, be common in nothing; and instead, watch for deception.

Good walking leaves no footprints,
Good talking leaves no confusion,
Good action leaves no trace.
The best door has no lock
Yet can’t be opened.
The best binding has no knots
Yet can’t be untied.

In this way, the wise
Take care of everything;
Rejecting no one,
Abandoning nothing,
They always follow
Their inner light
Teaching asleep, confused people
Who are the beginnings of the good.

Those who don’t respect and honor teachers,
Who don’t cherish and care for students,
No matter how clever and learned
Only go astray creating more confusion.

Understanding this and leaving no trace,
The wise alone are perfectly blind
Seeing clearly into the distance.

Value inspired focus over a large but shallow abundance; quality over quantity. The larger the quantity, the lower the perceived value; the broader the spotlight, the more mediocrity. Don't value books based on their thickness like they were weight-lifting equipment. The best are always few and rare, giants are usually really dwarfs. Intensity can achieve much more success than skill, experience, and intelligence alone. The more innate ingenuity and genius, the more temptation to spread too thin, neglect the most important, and dissipate capacity.

The root masters the trivial,
Stillness masters moving
And constantly transforms itself.
Therefore the wise
Never leave the root,
Are never seduced by the superficial.
They don’t ignore their body
Chasing external things,
Forgetting their true nature by
Following their emotions.

If leaders are frivolous,
They lose respect.
If impatient and restless,
They lose support.
If self-serving,
They lose all value.

As all politicians know, manipulating and controlling people becomes easy when you know what motivates them. Everyone idolizes something—most often fame, fortune, pleasure, or power. For many, this prime-moving motivation hides more deeply than the surface persona crafted by dogma and culture. It rules from a dark, hidden, and secret core of egocentric inclinations. When an external force or person understands a person’s dark, ruling passion, they easily appeal to it with words and images, tempt them into motion, checkmate their will, and capture their freedom. Understanding these basic and everyday-used techniques can help immunize us from the nearly constant manipulations of politicians, advertisers, rivals, and everyone else.

Something that contains everything,
Quiet and still, pure and deep;
Here before heaven and earth,
Alone and unchanging
Like a mother bringing up her children
Formless, it completes all things.

Not knowing its real name,
We call it the Way.
Not knowing how to describe it,
We call it sacred.
Sacred means always and never changing.
Always changing means indefinable.
Not defining means returning to this.

So the Way is sacred -
Heaven, Earth, and Humankind - all sacred.
Humankind imitates Earth,
Earth imitates Heaven,
Heaven imitates the Way,
And the Way follows what is
As the mother of all things.