Daxu Hexagram 93: Strong Foundation Lets You Run Fast — "良馬逐 (Good Horses Chase)"’s Slow Accumulation for Sudden Leap

As we talked about for the first two lines, at the start of the *Great Taming Power of the Great* hexagram, you need to stay steady, pause, and lay a solid foundation.

So when have you saved up enough to finally make a move?

The Nine in the Third Place (九三) line is when it’s time to act.

The Line Text (Yao Ci) says: "良马逐，利艰贞。曰闲舆卫，利有攸往。"

"Zhu (逐)" means to gallop, to chase.

What does this mean? A fine horse begins to run. But remember: it is only favorable to uphold correctness amid hardship. You must regularly practice your chariot and defense skills, so that setting out will bring good fortune.

Think about the vibe here—you finally get to run, but before you do, you get two quick reminders: don’t get carried away, don’t let your guard down, and keep up with the training you’re supposed to do.

That’s the thoughtful side of the *Great Taming Power of the Great* hexagram: it lets you move, but not recklessly.

Only with a solid foundation can you have "良马逐 (A Fine Horse Gallops)"

The phrase "良马逐 (A Fine Horse Gallops)" paints such a vivid picture.

A fine horse, raised and trained for a long time, finally gets the chance to run free. It stretches its legs and charges forward—fast, steady, like the wind.

But you have to know: this horse wasn’t born knowing how to run like that.

What did it go through before it could "gallop"?

It probably spent years in the stable eating good fodder, building up its strength;

It was probably trained countless times by its handler—from walking, to trotting, to full gallop;

It probably fell, got hurt, got exhausted, time and time again, before building up that kind of stamina and muscle.

Without all the prior accumulation, there would be no "fine horse galloping" later on.

It’s the same for people.

Look at those who suddenly "blow up"—it seems like they got famous or made it overnight. But what you don’t see is that before that, they’d been quietly building their foundation for ten or twenty years.

A writer sells millions of copies of a book. You think they’re lucky, but you don’t know they’d already written over a dozen books that never took off, and millions of words of manuscripts no one read.

An entrepreneur takes their company public. You think they caught a trend at the right time, but you don’t know they’d failed several times before, lost all their savings, and almost gave up.

An expert has great prestige in their field. You think they’re naturally talented, but you don’t know they spent decades day in and day out in labs and piles of books, pulling countless all-nighters.

Wen Laoshi often says: there’s no such thing as sudden success. All "sudden" wins are "inevitable" results of long, accumulated effort.

The "fine horse gallops" of the Nine in the Third Place of *Great Taming Power of the Great* doesn’t mean you start running out of nowhere. It means you run only after you’ve built up a solid enough foundation.

Three common mistakes once you start running

"A fine horse gallops" is a good thing, but good things can easily turn bad.

Why? Because once people start running, they tend to get cocky, lose their heads, and make all kinds of mistakes.

The *Great Taming Power of the Great* hexagram is very down-to-earth. It doesn’t just tell you you can run—it also reminds you what to watch out for once you’re moving.

First mistake: forgetting about "jian zhen (艰贞, perseverance amid hardship)".

What does "利艰贞 (It furthers to persevere amid hardship)" mean? It means upholding correctness in difficult times brings benefit.

Many people can stay cautious when they first start running. But as they go, things get smooth, they pick up speed, they taste success—and then they start getting cocky.

They think they’re amazing, unbeatable, capable of anything.

Things they never dared to touch before, they now take on;

Rules they used to follow, they now break;

Things they used to hold in awe, they now dismiss.

What happens then? They’re running along, and then they crash.

Why does it say "it furthers to persevere amid hardship"? It’s telling you: don’t forget who you are just because things are going well. The smoother things go, the clearer you need to stay; the faster you run, the more you need to hold to your bottom line.

"Hardship" here doesn’t mean you should deliberately seek out suffering. It means you need to keep a "hardship mindset"—knowing that getting to where you can run wasn’t easy, knowing the road ahead is still long, and knowing one misstep can make you fall.

With that mindset, you can run steadily and go far.

Second mistake: not practicing "xian yu wei (闲舆卫, regular chariot and defense training)" in daily life.

What does "曰闲舆卫" mean? "Xian (闲)" means to practice, to familiarize. "Yu wei (舆卫)" means chariots and defense.

Put simply: you need to keep honing your skills and stay prepared on a regular basis.

Many people have a wrong idea: they think once they can run, they don’t need to practice anymore. I’m already this good, why practice?

That’s not right. The better you get at running, the less you can slack off.

Look at professional athletes: the better their results, the harder they train. Because they know if you don’t advance, you fall behind. If you don’t practice and others do, in a couple of years you won’t be able to keep up.

It’s the same with work. Just because you’re doing well now doesn’t mean you always will. Times change, environments change, competitors change. If you don’t learn and improve, you’ll get left behind sooner or later.

Then there’s the "wei (卫)" part—defense.

Once you start running, you can’t just focus on what’s ahead; you have to pay attention to what’s around you too.

When you succeed, people will watch you; when you run fast, someone will try to trip you up; when your tree grows big, it naturally catches more wind.

Staying prepared regularly doesn’t mean you should be paranoid. It means you need risk awareness. Don’t wait until something goes wrong to react—by then it’s too late.

Third mistake: running too fast and forgetting why you started.

"利有攸往 (It furthers to have a place to go)"—taking action is favorable. But before you set out, you need to think clearly: where are you going?

Many people forget their original goal as they run.

At first they wanted to give their family a better life, but they run farther and farther, until they don’t even have time for their family anymore;

At first they wanted to do something meaningful, but they stray further and further, until all they care about is money;

At first they wanted to realize their self-worth, but as they run, they start comparing themselves to others—who’s faster, who’s higher up, who’s more impressive.

Run too fast, and your soul can’t keep up.

So while you’re running, stop once in a while and ask yourself: Where am I going? Am I still heading in the right direction?

If the direction is right, running fast is a good thing; if the direction is wrong, the faster you run, the faster you’ll crash.

How to tell if you’ve entered the "Nine in the Third Place" stage

A lot of people might ask: How do I know if my foundation is solid enough? How do I know when it’s time to run?

Actually, you don’t need anyone to tell you—you already know in your gut.

But if you’re not sure, you can check against these three standards.

First standard: Do you feel "unflustered"?

What does unflustered mean? It means you have confidence in what you’re doing.

When problems come up, you don’t panic, because you have a general idea of how to solve them;

When challenges arise, you don’t freeze up, because you’re confident you can handle them;

When things change, you don’t get disoriented, because you have enough accumulated experience to adapt.

This feeling of being "unflustered" is a sign your foundation is solid enough.

If you’re always on edge when doing something, never sure of yourself, always gambling on luck—that means your foundation isn’t strong enough yet. Don’t rush to run; keep building it up.

Second standard: Do you have "extra" energy?

What does extra energy mean? It means beyond handling your daily tasks, you still have energy left to do more, to take on higher goals.

If you’re exhausted every day, using all your strength just to get by, you definitely can’t run. Even if you force yourself, you won’t get far.

But if after finishing what you need to do each day, you still have energy to learn, think, and explore new possibilities—that means your energy is sufficient, and you can try taking a step further forward.

Third standard: Are opportunities "coming to you"?

A lot of the time, you can’t just run whenever you want—you need the right opportunity.

When you’ve accumulated to a certain point, opportunities will come to you on their own. Maybe someone reaches out to collaborate, maybe a good chance pops up, maybe you suddenly discover a direction where you can make a breakthrough.

At that point, don’t hesitate. Seize the chance and start running.

But what if no opportunities come? Then keep building up. Don’t run just for the sake of running, forcing yourself to charge in some random direction—that’s not bravery, that’s recklessness.

When opportunities haven’t come yet, build up your strength well;

When opportunities do come, don’t hold back.

Final thoughts

The "fine horse gallops" of the Nine in the Third Place of *Great Taming Power of the Great* is the most inspiring line in the entire hexagram.

It tells you: all the things you’ve saved up and built won’t go to waste. One day, you’ll be able to run, and run fast and steady.

But it also reminds you: once you start running, don’t get cocky, don’t slack off, don’t forget your roots.

Practice "perseverance amid hardship"—the smoother things go, the more you need to uphold correctness;

Practice "regular chariot and defense training"—keep honing your skills and staying prepared in daily life;

Know where you’re going, so you don’t stray off course as you run.

"Thick accumulation, thin release"—that phrase is easy to say.

"Thick accumulation" requires patience, the ability to endure the slow grind;

"Thin release" requires courage, the ability to seize the moment.

Being able to get through the slow early stage, and also handle the fast later stage.

That is true *Great Taming Power of the Great*.