A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
千里之行、始於足下。
Philosophers
Laozi
Semi-legendary Chinese philosopher of the 6th century BC who taught wu wei -- effortless action aligned with nature. His Tao Te Ching founded Taoism and shaped twenty-five centuries of East Asian thought.
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Laozi's Other Quotes
The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The highest goodness is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete; it dwells in places others disdain, and so is close to the Tao.
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.
Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet nothing surpasses it in overcoming the hard and strong.
In the pursuit of learning, one gains daily. In the pursuit of the Tao, one loses daily -- losing and losing until one arrives at wu wei. Through non-action, nothing is left undone.
Related Quotes
It is hard to retain what you learn unless you practice it.
-- Seneca
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.
-- Marcus Aurelius
The beginning is half of the whole.
-- Aristotle
Courage begins the difficult deed, but fortune governs its outcome.
-- Democritus
Think by becoming the thing; act by becoming the thing.
-- Kitarō Nishida
To know and not to act is not yet to know.
-- Wang Yangming