Alphabetical Index of Authors

1. The best soldier does not attack. The superior fighter succeeds without violence. The greatest conqueror wins without struggle. The most successful manager leads without dictating. This is intelligent nonaggressiveness. This is called the mastery of men.
2. A tree that can fill the span of a man's arms grows from a downy tip; A terrace nine stories high rises from hodfuls of earth; A journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath one's feet.
3. Yard by yard, life is hard - Inch by inch, life's a cinch.
4. The words of truth are always paradoxical.
5. Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.
6. To see things in the seed, that is genius.
7. Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.
8. When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.
9. Wise travelers always stop short before they come to danger.
10. Do not fear the aging of the body for it is the body's way of seeking the root.
11. A good manager is best when people barely know that he exists. Not so good when people obey and acclaim him. Worse when they despise him.
12. The Way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure. The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.
13. The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. Through this I know the advantage of taking no action.
14. There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontentment. And there is no greater disaster than greed.
15. Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them-that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.