Tao Te Ching, Chapter 29

Translation

29. 1. If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed. The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it.

2.

The course and nature of things is such that What was in front is now behind; What warmed anon we freezing find. Strength is of weakness oft the spoil; The store in ruins mocks our toil.

Hence the sage puts away excessive effort, extravagance, and easy indulgence.

Practical Reading

Do not try to control the world. Attempts at total control produce total failure. In systems thinking, complex systems resist intervention. Small experiments beat grand transformations. Work with emergence.