what does this quote mean. "This journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"-Lao Tzu?

That has got to be one of the best known “getting started” quotations ever. However long and complicated any endeavor might be, it always needs to be initiated with something short and simple. It could also be interpreted to show that no journey ever gets completed that isn’t started. There’s just so many useful ways that you can try to interpret those few words.

Once you get started, you only have to do one step at a time. Getting started is by far the hardest part.

If you need more help with the writing process, please feel free to let me know.

Good luck!

Oh I love Lao Tzu quotes...Start looking and they are everywhere.

This one means everything starts somewhere. All long journeys, big accomplishments, huge projects- you start with one step.

The quote reminds to think small sometimes, for that is where everything begins. Don't discount that some journeys are slow, step by step processes. too often we all want immediate gratification, immediate satisfaction, and are not willing to get in there and start working, slowly and methodically towards the goal.

Actually, while this is the most popular and widely recognized translation, it doesn't accurately reflect what Lao-tzu said. A better translation might be "Even the longest journey must begin from where you stand." Rather than emphasising the first step, he was emphasising that action, the journey, starts from stillness, where one stands now.

What a waste of education. Tell your teacher you could be doing more productive things than this!

But anyway, it has several similar meanings. One meaning is that you must take everything "one step at a time". Things may seem huge but they're really just alot of little things that are easy to tackle on their own.

Another meaning: you can't achieve anything great if you never start trying. You must take that first step towards your goal if you are to ever reach it.

You can make 2 paragraphs out of that. Then you just need 2 more.

The first step a baby takes is not his last but his first of a thousand miles. If you don't take that step the journey remains a thousand miles. Everystep in the journey is significant....because without each step the journey doesn't reach the thousand mile mark. The first step is the most significant because without it... the journey is not only not a journey at all but not existent. You create the journey with the first step. Just like you create the 4 paragraphs with the 1st word. Get going or it won't happen.

Because 1000 miles seems so huge and insurmountable, many people just avoid that first step. Of course, without taking the first step, you can never make the journey. However, with each step, the journey ahead becomes shorter. 999 miles doesn't sound as impossible as 1000 miles. By simply taking the first step, you make the journey possible.

No matter how big the task or how challenging the goal, you get there by just beginning. Without the first step, the journey will never happen. Somebody who dreams big but never acts to make their dreams real will never attain them. But even if the dream seems unattainable, by taking that first small step, you move towards making that dream come true. In fact, the whole journey is made up of small steps.

it could mean that every step you take that step begins a new journey! or if you want to take a thousand miles all you have to do is take a step in a new direction!

I don't know though so you might not want to use that on your paper!

aRe you in school still?

It means to take things in small steps. You can go 1,000 miles, and that's a great accomplishment, but you didn't just jump and land 1,000 miles away - rather, you started with one small step and worked forward from there.

You can then tie this in with real-life examples, say a business that started in someone's garage and is now worth 1 billion dollars.

Basically it means you cannot begin a journey without taking one step towards that journey. If you take one step back, you are just making a thousand miles seem like a million. And if you are afraid to make that journey, you will never reach your destination. I kind of take it like a goal thing. If you are afraid to reach for your goals, and instead of taking one step toward your goal, you will never make it.