Want to avoid losses away from home? Top Line of Increase Hexagram Teaches You This Bottom Line

The top line of the Increase Hexagram carries a warning. As the sixth and final line of the Hexagram, it marks the point where things most easily go off the rails: when gain goes too far, decline sets in.

Have you ever noticed,

how so many people get scammed easily when they’re away from home?

Getting ripped off while traveling, cheated when buying a car,

taken for a ride with franchise schemes, or talked into bad investments —

there are all kinds of traps out there,

and people keep falling into them.

Are these people stupid?

Not necessarily.

A lot of them are pretty sharp in daily life.

So why do they lose their heads the moment they’re away or face a tricky situation?

The answer is actually pretty simple —

just two words: greedy for gain.

They’re so desperate to get a good deal,

so eager to grab a little extra,

so set on having all the good things come their way.

And what happens?

They don’t get the bargain they wanted —

they end up taking a huge fall instead.

This very thing

was warned about long ago in the top yang line of the Increase Hexagram in the I Ching (Book of Changes).

The Line Text (Yao Ci) says: 莫益之，或击之。立心勿恒，凶。

What does it mean?

“莫益之” — no one comes to add to his gain,

no one gives him benefits;

“或击之” — instead, someone comes to strike at him,

to attack him, to cheat him;

“立心勿恒” — his mind cannot settle,

he lacks perseverance and has no firm principles;

“凶” — misfortune, inauspicious, trouble is coming.

Putting it all together:

the more you crave easy gains and extra benefits,

the less likely you are to get them —

and the more likely you are to get cheated, scammed, or hurt.

If you have no firm principles and can’t hold to your bottom line,

big trouble is on the way.

The Increase Hexagram talks about gain all the way through,

but its final line throws cold water on the whole idea.

Why?

Because when a good thing goes too far, it stops being good.

When gain reaches its extreme, it turns into loss.

Why People Get Scammed When They’re Away From Home

Why does the top yang line of the Increase Hexagram say “no one adds to his gain; instead, someone strikes at him”?

Why do people who only want easy benefits

end up losing out in the end?

There are three reasons.

First, when greed kicks in, your IQ drops.

When people get greedy, their brains stop working properly.

They can’t see through scams that would be obvious at a glance.

Why?

Because all they see is the benefit —

they can’t see the risk.

Tell them “guaranteed principal with high returns,” and they believe you;

tell them “sure profit, no loss,” and they hand over their money.

It’s only when their money is gone for good

that they slap their thigh and say, “How could I be so stupid?”

Second, when you’re away from home, you’re in unfamiliar territory.

“At home, a thousand days of ease; away from home, even one day is hard.”

In a strange place,

you have unequal access to information, don’t know the local rules,

and have no friends or support system to rely on.

You have to take people at their word.

Scammers love targeting out-of-towners.

Why?

Because they’re easy marks — and once they’re scammed, they can’t even find the person who did it.

Third, “立心勿恒” — no firm principles.

What does that mean? It means you have no clear sense of things:

you don’t know what you want,

you don’t know your own limits,

you don’t know what you should and shouldn’t get involved with.

If someone says something is good, you think it’s good;

if someone says something makes money, you think it makes money.

People with no mind of their own

are doomed to be led astray wherever they go.

Wen Laoshi often says —

when you’re away from home,

the number one rule isn’t to get a good deal —

it’s to not get taken advantage of.

Not losing out is the best deal of all.

What the Top Yang Line of the Increase Hexagram Teaches You About Holding Your Bottom Line Away From Home

So when you’re away from home,

how can you avoid losing out and getting scammed?

The top yang line of the Increase Hexagram gives you three bottom lines to hold to.

First bottom line: don’t be greedy.

The flip side of “no one adds to his gain” is —

don’t always assume someone’s going to give you something for nothing.

Pies don’t fall from the sky.

What falls is either a trap or a heavy iron disc.

Any time you hear “free,” “sure profit,” “guaranteed principal with high returns,”

“last few spots left,” or “inside information,”

keep your guard up — all of it.

Good things don’t just come your way out of the blue.

If it seems like it’s landed in your lap, chances are it’s not a good thing.

When traveling, don’t trust “low-price tour groups” on the street;

when job hunting, don’t buy “30k a month is no dream”;

when doing business, don’t fall for “invest 10k, get 100k back.”

Don’t even think about going after cheap, easy gains.

The moment you start thinking about it, you’ve already lost.

Second bottom line: set your mind — know where you stand.

What does it mean to know where you stand?

It means knowing what you’re capable of,

knowing your own limits,

knowing what money you should earn and what money you shouldn’t.

If you make 5,000 a month,

and someone says they’ll help you make 50,000 a month,

would you believe them?

If you do,

it’s not because you’re talented —

it’s because you’re reckless.

People who know where they stand

can’t be talked into things by others.

Because they know their own limits,

they don’t go after money that’s outside their circle of understanding.

“Don’t chase money outside your认知” —

it’s a saying that’s been repeated to death, but it’s really true.

Third bottom line: be steady — don’t keep changing your mind.

“立心勿恒” means no perseverance, no steadiness of mind:

today you want to do this, tomorrow you want to do that,

and the second you hear someone say something is profitable, you want to jump in.

People like this are the easiest to lead around by the nose.

Today you want to open a shop, tomorrow you want to buy a franchise,

the day after you want to do live streams,

and the day after that you want to get into investing.

You keep switching things up,

and in the end you don’t accomplish anything —

you just lose all your money.

What does being steady mean?

It means picking one thing,

working at it steadily and diligently,

and not getting distracted by all the flashy temptations out there.

However much money other people make, that’s their business —

it has nothing to do with you.

Do your own thing well,

and the money will come naturally.

The Life-Saving Mindset for When You’re Away From Home

After all that, it boils down to one thing:

when you’re away from home, hold onto your own heart and mind.

If your heart isn’t greedy,

no one can scam you;

if your mind isn’t scattered,

no one can lead you astray;

if your resolve doesn’t waver,

no one can shake you.

Think about it —

of all the people who get scammed,

which one didn’t let their own heart get tempted first?

The one who gives in to temptation first loses first.

Before the other person even makes a move,

you’re already handing over your wallet.

Who can you blame for that?

Remember:

whatever your purpose is for going out,

stay focused on that.

Don’t get distracted by every little shiny thing along the way,

and don’t forget who you are just because someone says a few nice words to you.

Do things honestly,

conduct yourself with integrity.

It’s okay to go a little slow —

what matters is going steady.

A Final Word

The Increase Hexagram talks about gain all the way through,

but by the end, it tells you —

gain isn’t always better the more you have of it.

When it goes too far, it turns into disaster.

莫益之，或击之。立心勿恒，凶 —

crave too much, and you’ll end up losing even more;

if you can’t hold to your true self, you’ll lose out wherever you go.

So whether you’re away from home

or just going about life and work,

don’t try to grab every good thing for yourself,

don’t try to squeeze out every last bit of benefit.

Take what you’re owed, and don’t touch what isn’t.

Holding to your own bottom line

matters more than anything.

The wisdom of the sixth line of the Increase Hexagram, put plainly, is this: the biggest traps in life are dug by your own greed. If you’re not greedy, no one can trap you.

Remember this line from the sixth line of the Increase Hexagram wherever you go — 莫益之，或击之。立心勿恒，凶。The moment greed rises, misfortune is not far behind.