“Being and non-being produce each other.

Difficulty and ease bring about each other.

Long and short delimit each other.

High and low rest on each other.”

Lao Tzu

In business and professional development there will always be highs that are followed by lows, or lows that are followed by highs. Think of a time where you were experiencing a rough patch in producing greater outcomes or reaching a high point in your career, what was the end result of your journey? Was it better or worse than you imagined? If we held on to the feeling of despair or shame, our mindset can turn a positive outcome into one that is perceived to be negative.

The Yin Yang approach to business here is to realize the complimentary aspects of good and bad, or highs and lows. Meaning understanding difficulty as a path to ease, as way to trick the mind to not become demotivated during a low point in our career or business development.

Therefore the sage produces without possessing,

acts without expectations

and accomplishes without abiding in (her) accomplishments.

This is a deeply philosophical concept that relates to non-attachment of ideas, products or success. In basic terms, we define this as producing or working without becoming attached to the end product. This is beneficial to long term business as holding onto something with greater or unrealistic expectations can often produce the opposite outcome.

Now, this isn’t to say you shouldn’t feel proud of your accomplishments or success, it is rather the feeling of producing and letting go to continue on the path of success without holding on to an expectation for the future. Don’t let yourself down on your journey if you aren’t seeing the results you are working towards, as the yin yang approach will always compliment your efforts.

If this concept rings true to you on your journey, I would love to hear about it. Please comment below your greatest example of a victory that came out of experiencing a lower point in your career or business venture.

I wish you all the prosperity in your path to greatness.