“Manage affairs before they are in a mess.”

“Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in trade, in short in all management of human affairs”

“Never confuse good luck with good management. Know when you are lucky and know when you have managed your affairs appropriately and appreciate both.”

“Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without the use of speech.”

“Certainly, affairs should not even be thought of before you are thirty.”

“I'm still kind of a mess. But I think we all are. No one's got it all together. I don't think you ever do get it totally together. Probably if you did manage to do it you'd spontaneously combust. I think that's a law of nature. If you ever manage to become perfect, you have to die instantly before you ruin things for everyone else.”