The Dao: The Highly Effective People

The Dao attempts to create an outlook on a life of pureness, grace, and peace. It is a set of life guidelines that push our comprehension of life to different ways of thinking. It preaches unselfishness and tolerance. Certain metaphors create greater meaning out of simple things such as water and unhewn wood. It also is a representation of yin and yang; the combination of forces. The overall moral of the 81 chapters of the Dao create hope for a better opportunity for personal development. This personally affects my everyday life. Learning how to run a business is something that I have been forced to do over the past year. The Dao teaches life lessons about the un-importance of money and the importance of gratitude for the world and equality in the spread of materialistic things. The metaphorical references help one obtain a life of inner as well as …show more content…
In an overall theme, the book teaches that in orde to change we must look to change our inner before looking to change the outer. In other words, if something is wrong, don 't look at what went wrong, rather what caused the initial problem which cause the wrong. Similar to the unhewn wood, we overlook what the problem, tool, situation, inner roots are. If you can find the origination of something, you will have a better understanding of the overall picture. Both books signify a zen lifestyle where you are in control of your own destiny. The both insist harmony and proactivity are important in success. In order to be someone who is truly happy, we must recognize all factors, not just some. For me I use Yin and yang for business. Yin is customer satisfaction. Yang is money. If you do not ultimately rise your customer satisfaction to it’s apex, you will never be able to have substantial profitability. Humility is key. Focus on non materialistic aspects, and you will overcome any problem.