Respect from the wise and even from the foolish arises from a deep, authentic presence, a true communication from a genuine heart. It easily wins over esteem and recognition as it reveals itself in everything we do—in our words, actions, even in the way we walk and move. It cannot be faked with pompous, arrogant talk or pretentious, phony imitation. Only an honest and true expression of a selfless and skillful compassion attains this level of honor.

Saying "no" risks good will, friendships, and all kinds of relationships. Learning how to do this in a skillful way therefore determines—to a large extent—our success in life. "Yes" and "no" are short words quickly spoken, but, because of their deep and profound consequences, require serious and thoughtful consideration. The arrogant and power-intoxicated tend to maintain "no" as a first response and, as a consequence, lose good will even when they later approve. Instead of creating resentment, a wisdom-inspired "no" can invoke more appreciation than a cursory "yes". It substitutes politeness, charm, and fine words for acquiescent action. Not capricious or abrupt but gilded with positives, this kind of "no" usually evolves slowly and incrementally over time. Never "final", it always leaves room for hope and change.

Scams, con-artists, and unscrupulous promoters of everything from religion to politics to cosmetics constantly entice us to believe in lies. This struggle pits wisdom against goal-oriented strategy. The strategic approach relies on deception, hides its intentions, and waits for an opportunistic moment to ambush and strike. The way of integrity and wisdom sees through this corrupt intent by not falling victim to these deceptions, by maintaining an open-minded skepticism, a hesitancy to believe without proof, an inscrutability that waits for the second or even the third level of confirmation. When lies are exposed, the liar dissembles by using truth, cheating by not cheating, using candor to promote fraud. But the watchful insight of wisdom sees the shadows concealed by light, reads the real intent under the deceptions. Like an arrow from the Greek national divinity, Apollo, penetrating insight cuts through self-deception and lies, discovers the hidden truths.

Seductive details easily capture our attention and distract us from what's important. Most people endlessly rehash unimportant trivialities, see the trees but not the forest, the leaves but not the roots, and then have no time for the important priorities. Instead, focus on the cause instead of getting side-tracked by the symptoms. Immediately go to the heart of the issue instead of getting confused by the surface appearance. Distinguish clearly between issues best left alone and ones important to prioritize.

Self-satisfaction only leads to contempt. Unlike genuine confidence, conceit always looks for applause, for constant approval, for a flattering “Bravo!” after every word. Always only listening to themselves, the arrogant and vain speak with an echo only hearing themselves, ignoring those around them. Infatuated with themselves, they try to monopolize all the credit but only increase their debt. They may fool the foolish but only receive disdain from the wise.

Skill without wisdom and good intentions poisons results, creates unnatural monsters, corrupts with more subtlety, and only ruins with more ability. Knowledge without good sense only makes failure more harmful.

Smart people learn from their mistakes. Smarter people learn from other people’s mistakes. The smartest people learn from smart people’s mistakes. And the smartest people are the smartest people because they have learned from the most mistakes. Instead of letting jealousy and competitiveness exclude; invite and recruit those more intelligent, skillful, and wise. If not in service, at least as friends they can protect from the dangers of ignorance, untangle complicated difficulties, distill the wisdom of the best books, and—with little effort on your part—confer the fame of an oracle. As many sages speak through your mouth as were consulted beforehand.

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.

Stabilize awareness
And the world will arise
Safe, serene, and at peace.

Music, fancy food, and entertainment
Make wayfarers briefly pause
While the Tao
Seems flat and insipid,
Without substance or flavor.
It looks like nothing much,
It sounds like nothing much,
We look but don’t see it,
We listen but don’t hear it.

Stop always cramming more and more information into your head
And realization may dawn dissolving all difficulties.
Yes and no,
Agreement and rejection,
Beautiful and ugly,
Good and bad…
Won’t seem so different and far apart.
How foolish to fear something just because others do.

When people get what they want,
They are wreathed in smiles, joyous and beaming,
Drowning in what they love.
The wise stay unmoved
Knowing that nothing is ever lost or gained.
Alone, aimlessly wandering like a child,
Like a baby too young to smile,
Not belonging, not fitting it,
They remain with nowhere to turn, no one to turn to.

Fools accumulate more and more but never have enough.
The wise with nothing remain completely content.
Fools thinking they know become more and more convinced
While falling further and further from truth.
The wise remain uncertain, unconvinced, open without answers,
Drifting without anchor like waves on the sea;
Without direction like the restless wind.

The foolish stay busy, settle into habits and endlessly chase goals.
The wise are not seduced, don’t interfere, and remain content with what is.

Stop trying to be kind and just –
You will discover Basic Goodness.
Stop believing in wise words and reason –
You will become your own sage.
Stop always striving for profit and gain –
Competition, robbers and rivals will disappear.
Forget even these three rules –
You will discover ordinary mind.

Study people with as much attention and time as you would study an important book. Instead of accepting the polished surface, look deeper into the more rough-cut reality. As with buying a product, better to be cheated by the price than by the quality. But with merchandise, it's much easier to ascertain the truth. Understanding people to this degree requires a very open mind as well as discipline and penetrating intelligence.

Substance doesn't go far without a good appearance. Even the most just and reasonable cause falters with an unsavory presentation. A little charm and grace, however, opens almost every door, gilds and sweetens the truth, wins over people's hearts, adds beauty to old age itself, and can—with only a simple expression or tone—help us out of many difficult situations. The "how" of the way things are done can be as important or more important than if they are done not.

Success in life depends on making good decisions but often even the most intelligent and highly educated continually make choices that undermine their own happiness, accomplishments, and goals. Not intelligence, experience, or education assure good judgments. To be able to choose at all requires an objective and clear self-awareness. To make good choices requires an experiential understanding of cause and effect, an appreciation for the power of goodness, and a dedication to virtue.

Successes of ability and attainment become insipid when clung to and not forgotten. Conceptual identifications and cultural truisms easily become stale attachments that limit and blinder. The more something is heard, the less importance it holds. Semi-relevant "breaking news" easily overshadows much more important but older accounts. For these reasons, always work on reinventing yourself, your opinions, your fortunes. Like the sun, arise reborn each day, if possible each moment.

The ancient sages of old
Focused on uncontrived awareness
And realized the union of wisdom and compassion.
Inscrutable, you can only describe their appearance:
Mindful and slow like someone crossing a river in winter,
Meek like one aware of danger on all sides,
Polite and quiet like visiting houseguests,
Ephemeral and yielding like melting ice,
Simple and blank like uncarved blocks of wood,
Empty, receptive and expansive
Like a hollow in a valley,
Mysterious and obscure like turbulent water.

Who can wait and use stillness
To let what is troubled settle and grow clear?
Who can use action
To let what is still become full of life and movement?

Followers of the Way
Don’t look for praise or fulfillment.
Complete without effort,
Not seduced by hope and fear, grasping and fixation,
They are not swayed by a desire for change.

The best military experts advise:
Retreat when not strong enough to advance,
Advance when your opponent not strong enough to attack.
March without moving,
Roll up your sleeves without flexing your muscles,
Be strong and powerful without weapons,

Give an attacker no opponent -
Nothing is worse than attacking what yields,
To attack and find no enemy.
Aggression destroys our greatest treasure.
When opponents are evenly matched,
The most compassionate prevails.

The best plans undertaken at the wrong times fail. Beauty has its day; even wisdom fails when applied too early or too late, when it does too much or too little. This is why for most, nothing ever seems to work out well and others always seem to have the best luck. When the time is ripe, insight shines, lucky stars rise, and success becomes effortless. At such times, don't waste a moment or lose the smallest opportunity; seize the day. To discover these creative moments, take small steps to test the response and watch carefully. If roadblocks and unexpected problems quickly arise, quickly withdraw. If instead unanticipated good fortune appears, advance with haste.

The disgraced and dishonorable have little respect for honesty and virtue. With a bad reputation, they have little to lose. Crossed ethical and legal boundaries become much easier to cross again. Much better to avoid the dishonorable as much as possible and to only associate with the trustworthy, with those true to their word. The honorable treat even rivals and adversaries better than the dishonorable treat their "friends."

The foolish chase appearances
And forget the essence.
The wise follow the essence
And forget about everything else.
This brings the greatest Power of Goodness,
A goodness elusive and intangible
Yet projecting images and forms,
Thoughts and feelings.

From beginningless time,
This Goodness shines
Illuminating all of creation.
Existing yet not existing;
Dark and distant
It waxes and wanes,
Form as empty
Empty as form.

Without the Way,
Goodness would have no Power;
Without Goodness,
The Way would have no Form.
How do we know?
Through here-and-now
Empty-hearted this-ness.