The leader shows that style is no substitute for substance, that creating an impression is more potent than acting from one's center.

About Laozi

Laozi (variously spelled; , low-TSUH; Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ) is the name traditionally given to an ancient Chinese philosopher, also identified as Li Er or Lao Dan, who is regarded as the author or originating teacher associated with the Tao Te Ching (Pinyin: Dào Dé Jīng), one of the foundational...

More quotations from Laozi

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

—Laozi

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves.

—Laozi

Those who justify themselves do not convince. To know truth one must get rid of knowledge; nothing is more powerful and creative than emptiness.

—Laozi

Nature, immune as to a sacrifice of straw dogs,/ Faces the passing of human generations./ The universe, like a bellows,/ Is always emptying, always full:/The more it yields, the more it/ holds.

—Laozi

To know how little one knows is to have genuine knowledge
Not to know how little one knows is to be deluded.
Only he who knows when he is deluded can free himself from such delusion. The intelligent man is not deluded, because he knows and accepts his ignorance as ignorance, and thereby has genuine knowledge.

—Laozi

The leader shows that style is no substitute for substance, that creating an impression is more potent than acting from one's center.

About Laozi

More quotations from Laozi

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