It’s easy to guide a peaceful situation,
Easy to stop trouble before it starts,
Easy to break something when still fragile,
Easy to get rid of something when still small,
Easy to get clear before things get complicated and confused.

As a giant tree grows from a small seed,
And a tall building rises from a shovelful of earth,
Our 10,000 mile journeys begin with one step.
But rushing into action fails,
And grasping makes things slip away.

The wise therefore let things take their course and nothing goes wrong,
Don’t hold on and nothing is lost.
Instead of ruining things when on the verge of success,
They mind the end as the beginning,
The journey as the goal.

The wise only want not to want
And care nothing for hard won treasures.
They study what no one else studies
And turn back to the places
Others have gone on from.
They go along with things as they are
Without presuming to act.

Know the ground you stand on and throw straws in the air to see the wind. Most success depends on support so test for the likelihood of support before seriously starting a new venture. Before deciding, asking, or implementing; float trial balloons and listen carefully to the feedback. Critical when endorsements seem questionable, this process can also gauge and adjust the level of our own confidence and support. With more foresight, we can choose more intelligently which projects to abandon and which to embrace.

Learn how to use the subtle art of insinuation, innuendo, and veiled remarks. One of the most sophisticated and nuanced activities of human communication, using this kind of tactfulness spans the range from malicious envy to the most skillful accomplishment. It can help us understand the people we deal with, probe their hearts, and test their integrity; but it can also cause great harm, quickly destroy solid reputations, and destroy the good will of old friends, colleagues, supervisors, and subordinates. Understanding this dynamic also helps inoculate us from the skillful manipulation of others. A foreseen attack is most easily defended against. While an unforeseen intrusion has the power of an ambush, anticipating an attack gives the defense great strength.

Leave things before they leave you, break the mirror and find a new one before it starts reflecting failure. Know when your ability stops meeting the task, when the racehorse needs to stop racing, when your actions can no longer match your reputation. Pass on the power, the influence, the knowledge to others who can carry them forward with increasing skills rather than your diminishing ones. Like the sun going behind clouds as it sets leaving only the memory of its brightness, pull another victory out of the claws of entropy, old age, and death.

Less but more frequent goes much further than dumping everything at once onto a situation. Capacities for understanding differ and when we give someone too much too soon, eyes glaze over and—instead of being impressed—people can become confused and even resentful. Momentum means everything and it requires regular refueling. Too much on display today means not enough for tomorrow. Instead, pace yourself, never do more than enough, waste not knowledge or resource, and always keep something new in reserve.

Less fame, less fighting,
Less praise, less competition,
Less treasure, less theft,
Less desire, less delusion –
Therefore the wise leader begins by
Opening minds, emptying desires;
Weakening ambition, strengthening resolve,
Preventing external interference.
They do not-doing
And all goes well.

Lies always come first and drag the foolish into webs of hazardous pitfalls. Deceit normally manipulates the surface and so easily lures in the superficial. The wise, however, wait for the truth's slow emergence. It lives beneath the surface distorting the truth and making things often much different from what they seem. The wise remember that duplicity normally comes first and let one of their inner ears hear the presentation and patiently reserve a second ear for the truth's slow emergence. [cf. #13]

Life is a journey toward completeness—everyday we can move a little closer to a higher realization, a more clear understanding, a more mature judgment, a more firm will. We can join that rare fellowship of those who speak with wisdom and act with skillful judgment.

Like a horse rider staying in the saddle in spite of intense bumps and twists, don't let sensationalism seduce you. Never promote the sensational in order to not seem trite. At first, it may gain attention from its novelty or outrageousness but soon the deceit becomes known and the promoter only looks foolish. Both of these extremes—adherence to only status quo conformity and enthusiastic excitement about outrageous propositions—only bring disgrace. Enthusiasm based on uncertainty is like building on sand instead of a firm foundation. Instead, the wise always align their undertakings with the reasonable and sure. They don't sacrifice their integrity for short-term and unfounded attention.

Like the potentially destructive power of water increasing when dammed, doing a careless, bad job on a project creates less harm than lack of determination—not carefully considering, looking ahead, and strategizing that same plan. Most don't see clearly and get stuck. Mired in indecision, they become mindless followers. Some see the problems and ways forward but lack the resolution and determination to accomplish anything. Wise and true leaders not only see the problems and solutions clearly, they also skillfully and without hesitation apply the solution to the problem accomplishing successful outcomes and quickly moving on to the next challenge.

Like water that "knows no enemies" and absorbs at least a little of everything it passes through, our lives absorb the influences of our nation, culture, family, social position, and era. And all of these have a shadow, particular and shared faults that most blindly inherit. By becoming aware of these shared faults and correcting them in ourselves (or at least learning to hide them), we rise above the status quo and the expected. Because others expect to find a fault and instead see a virtue, the credit expands and esteem grows quickly.

Like water wearing through stone,
The soft and weak become more powerful
Than the strong and hard.
What doesn’t exit finds space anywhere.
This shows the value in not doing.
Beyond the understanding of all but a very few,
This is wordless wisdom,
Accomplishment without effort, without trace.

Manage a big project
With the same care and attention
As cooking a small fish.

Always follow the Tao
And evil loses strength,
Outside nothing troubles,
Inside, nothing frightens,
Obstacles lose power
And transform into opportunity.

Many believe that by bragging and showing off they gain approval and respect. However, the opposite normally results. Crowing over accomplishments only invites resentment, even hatred. This becomes more extreme when the victory is over a superior or someone in a high place. Superiority in appearance or personality is more easily accepted but not that of intelligence. Much better to be like the stars, complementing but not rivaling the sun, to take Lao Tzu's advice and have "weak wishes and strong bones." Triumph and superiority over others only makes us a target for competition, criticism, and conflict. Much better to hide our virtues, our achievements, our competence like a person hiding their beauty in old clothes.

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.

Many tend to automatically take the other side of an opponent or an adversary's opinions—even when it's clear the rivals are in the right. This means losing before beginning. It's almost impossible to find success without good resources. Doing this in words has less detrimental consequence but doing it in action can bring catastrophe. The obstinate and stubborn often make this mistake when they contradict and quarrel with the truth for misguided personal gain. The wise hold fast to reason instead of passion, either focus on finding the best way first or on improving it later if someone else does. This way they lead their foolish competitors into making and letting their own obstinacy undermine their strength.

Mediocrity is comforting but cowardly. It can avoid stress but pays by also avoiding success. Fear fools us into mistaking comfort for happiness. By avoiding challenge we only assure our own failure. The great revel in challenge, eschew mediocrity, and excel in the most excellent. They prefer the more difficult, see problems as opportunities, and easily inspire admiration and good will. To be excellent in little, unimportant ways is to be unimportant with little excellence. Much better to pull out the stops and seize the day.

Most associations, partnerships, and social cohesion in general appear to have foundations based on common goals, material reward, and various kinds of advantage. Though enough to initiate a team, it seldom creates meaningful work, happiness, loyalty, or longevity. These grow instead from a more subtle source—a deep and natural like-mindedness based on a non-verbal affinity. The mystery and practical usefulness of this more authentic and genuine foundation evolve a type of respect, esteem, and goodwill that persuades without proposal, accomplishes without effort, and can look almost like magic.

Most of us have accepted a one-dimensional social mask and have practiced to perfection performing an externally imposed role. Like an unfinished house with an elaborate, palace-like exterior but shabby, dilapidated interior rooms; superficial personalities often glow while character and integrity steep in a murky darkness. They may fool the undiscerning with their surface facade but the clear-sighted easily see through the deceptions. Conversations start with cheery platitudes but quickly end in an uncomfortable silence. Words soon end when they have no contemplative wellspring. Instead, become a genuine person of substance with deeply rooted but hidden depths of thought, understanding, and realization.

Most often, more wisdom transmits through a joke than through philosophical discourse. Conversation supplies a context, meaning, and openness for insight. By avoiding gossip and prejudiced speculation, the wise become able to apply knowledge and understanding to current events and situational problems; their insight finds an educational openness and creates positive change.