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"It is easy to manage when the situation is stable; Easy to plan ahead before things look ominous; Easy to crack when things are fragile; Easy to scatter when things are little. Act before something happens; Take control before there is turmoil. A tree with the girth of a man’s embrace Grows out of a tiny shoot. A terrace nine stories high Rises from a basket of dirt. The journey of a thousand li Begins under your feet. Those who act fail; Those who hold lose. That is why the sage does not act and so does not fail; He holds on to nothing and so has nothing to lose. People doing business Often fail on the brink of success. Take caution at the end as at the beginning, And there will be no failed business. That is why the sage desires what no one else desires, Sets no store by rare goods, Studies what no one else studies, And balances off the excesses of the multitude. He aids all things as they grow without taking over."