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?

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Verse 77

As it acts in the world, the Tao
is like the bending of a bow.
The top is bent downward;
the bottom is bent up.
It adjusts excess and deficiency
so that there is perfect balance.
It takes from what is too much
and give to what isn't enough.

Those who try to control,
who use force to protect their power,
go against the direction of the Tao.
They take from those who don't have enough
and give to those who have far too much.

The Master can keep giving
because there is no end to her wealth.
She acts without expectation,
succeeds without taking credit,
and doesn't think that she is better
than anyone else.

[For Personal Development]
  • The nature is in a state of balance. Exploiting nature always creates disasters and comes back to haunt us.
  • Instead of going against the flow of the universe, follow the path of least resistance and direction of the Tao,
  • Reduce what’s in excess in your life and then offer it where it can be utilized.
[For Coaching]
  • We partner with the client to expand the awareness and show them a bigger picture.
  • Self love comes before the love to others. It is only when we can be compassionate with ourselves; we can then be compassionate to others.
  • Have a strong reserve in the following six areas in life so we can better share our unique gift with the client: 1) time & space; 2) love & attraction; 3) money & freedom; 4) energy & vitality; 5) opportunities & momentum; 6) source & power.
Posted by at