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, March 29, 2010

Verse 46

When the world is in harmony with the Tao,
running horses are retired to till the fields.
When the world runs counter to the Tao,
warhorses are bred in the countryside.

There is no greater sin than desire,
No greater curse than discontent,
No greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself.

Contentment alone is enough.
Indeed, the bliss of eternity can be found in your contentment.

[For Personal Development]
  • Desire is endless. The more we have, the more we want; the more we want, the more it takes to satisfy us.
  • We are as happy as we believe ourselves to be.
  • Contentment is the freedom from anxiety, want or need.
  • Craving creates attachment ; all suffering is caused by attachment.
[For Coaching]
  • Simplify your life. Less is more.
  • Gratitude is a key to contentment and happiness.
  • Abundance thinkers focus on what is possible and appreciate what they have while reaching for what they want in life. Scarcity thinkers focus on what they don’t have (or don't have enough of), what they might lose, and what hasn’t worked.
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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Verse 48

In pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can't be gained by interfering.

[For Personal Development]

  • Life is effortless.
  • Surrender the ego and let your life unfold moment to moment.
  • Don't sweat the small stuff...and it's all small stuff [Richard Carlson]
  • Perfection is a form of self-abuse.

[For Coaching]

  • As coaches we partner with clients to remove their blocks, zap their tolerations, strengthen their boundaries, so they can return to their authentic self, recognize their inherent strengths and talents, and find their own answers.
  • We learn to coach by coaching; no amount of study will make you into a coach.
  • You cannot fill a cup that is already full. Sometimes, clients are just not ready to receive coaching in certain areas.
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Sunday, March 7, 2010

Verse 12

Colors blind the eye.
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Precious things lead one astray.

The Master observes the world
but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
His heart is open as the sky.

[For Personal Development]
  • Over stimuli creates stress instead of pleasure.
  • Living off adrenaline may be fine for a moment but it exhausts you over time.
  • Happiness is not out there in the material world. True peace and satisfaction comes from inside.
  • Trusting your inner knowing. The deepest level of truth is observed from the heart.

[For Coaching]

  • Simplify your life; less is more.
  • As coaches we trust our intuition when observe the client’s world. Instead of getting caught up by the client’s story, we see things from the deeper place of “who”.
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