The more one is obsessed with competing with others, the less likely they are to win—for subconsciously, people tend not to compete with those they see as inferior.

Busying oneself with futile tasks is still more valuable than doing nothing at all.

As we get better at a task, it’s natural we feel the urge to also speed it up. But in that moment, the quality we’ve worked so hard to build can sometimes start to slip.

Once a writer begins to make projects of his own creations, he will be kept away from the casual nature of creation itself. He cannot stop his work, yet he has to interfere with his work; as a result, his enjoyment is cut short, and what remains is taking pains.

To chase ideals, first guard your health; yet without ideals, health has little of its aim.

Patience means achieving natural results through consistent efforts that have become second nature.

Before encountering a superior, you reign supreme. Otherwise, you have already been defeated—a predicament you’ll soon face.

Should you seek to be confident, none can bar your way. Confidence is a matter of one’s own making—only you yourself can stand in its path.

We speak of destiny when we consider what has passed through our lives and what has not, the latter being all too easily overlooked.