The Story

When East meets West… when Lao Tzu wrote down the 81 verses of the Tao Te Ching 2,500 years ago in ancient China, he may not have realised the impact its philosophy would have millenniums later in the West and the newly-emerging profession of life-coaching.

When Julia from Taiwan met Nick from England on a coaching course, they didn’t realise at first that they had a common interest in the work of Lao Tzu. This joint interest soon became a course project. As we explored a few verses of the Tao, we began to see how Lao Tzu’s teachings could be related to personal development and coaching principles.

On this blog we intend to continue this work by exploring one verse of the Tao Te Ching each week. We invite you to join us on our journey and add your own thoughts to deepen our learning. How do you interpret Lao Tzu’s message? And how does it speak to you as a coach?

Monday, April 5, 2010

Verse 41

When a superior man hears of the Tao,
he immediately begins to embody it.
When an average man hears of the Tao,
he half believes it, half doubts it.
When a foolish man hears of the Tao,
he laughs out loud.If he didn't laugh, it wouldn't be the Tao.

Thus it is said:
The path into the light seems dark,
the path forward seems to go back,
the direct path seems long,
true power seems weak,
true purity seems tarnished,
true steadfastness seems changeable,
true clarity seems obscure,
the greatest seem unsophisticated,
the greatest love seems indifferent,
the greatest wisdom seems childish.

The Tao is nowhere to be found.
Yet it nourishes and completes all things.

[For Personal Development]
  • How can a finch understand the ambitions of a swan! (Chinese proverb)
  • Visionary leaders are often ahead of their time; their ideas are so revolutionary that people laugh at them.
  • Paradox is the true essence of life.
  • To evolve we must step into the darkness of the unknown.
  • Have a dream so big so you cannot achieve it until you can grow into a person who can.
[For Coaching]Hold the client to a higher standard than they might hold themselves.
  • Coaches go deep with the client and look beyond the surface, to see the truth underneath.
  • Be curious and stay curious- the client has his/her own reason, even if it does not seem to be apparent at a first glance.
  • The power of coaching lies in getting our own agenda out of the way so that the client can grow.
  • The cleaner and simpler the questions, the greater the opportunity for the client to express themselves.
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