The North Wind and the Sun disputed which was the more powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes. The North Wind first tried his power, and blew with all his might; but the keener became his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him, till at last, resigning all hope of victory, he called upon the Sun to see what he could do. The Sun suddenly shone out with all his warmth. The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays that he took off one garment after another, and at last, fairly overcome with heat, undressed, and bathed in a stream that lay in his path.
Persuasion i better than Force.

The north wind and the sun were disputing which was the stronger, and agreed to acknowledge as the victor whichever of them could strip a traveler of his clothing. The wind tried first. But its violent gusts only made the man hold his clothes tightly around him, and when it blew harder still the cold made him so uncomfortable that he put on an extra wrap. Eventually the wind got tired of it and handed him over to the sun. The sun shone first with moderate warmth, which made the man take off his topcoat. Then it blazed fiercely, till, unable to stand the heat, he stripped and went off to a bathe in a nearby river. Persuasion is more effective than force.

The North Wind and the Sun

The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm.

Good voyages are made both ways. A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with the wind. Even a head wind is better than nothing, No man ever worked his voyage any where, in a dead calm. The best wind for every thing, in the long run, is a side wind. If it blows right aft, how is he to get back? Let no man wax pale, therefore, because of opposition. Opposition is what he wants, and must have, to be good for any thing. Hardship is the native soil of manhood and self-reliance. He that cannot abide the storm, without flinching or quailing — strips himself in the sunshine, and lies down by the wayside, to be overlooked and forgotten. He who but braces himself to the struggle when the winds blow — gives up, when they have done, and falls asleep in the stillness that follows. Did you ever know any body stick to any kind of business, no matter how unpromising, ten years at most, who did not prosper? Not one! no matter how bad it might be at the beginning — if he stuck to it earnestly and faithfully, and tried no thing else — no matter how hard he may have found it sometimes to keep his head above water — still, if he persevered, he always came out bright in the end — didn't he?

being attached in this way to any number of things, we’re weighed down by them and dragged down. [16] That is why, if the weather prevents us from sailing, we sit there in a state of anxiety, constantly peering around. ‘What wind is this?’ The North Wind. And what does it matter to us and to him? ‘When will the West Wind blow?’ When it so chooses, my good friend, or rather, when Aeolus chooses; for God hasn’t appointed you to be controller of the winds, he has appointed Aeolus. [17] What are we to do, then? To make the best of what lies within our power, and deal with everything else as it comes.

The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.

In this world, headwinds are far more prevalent than winds from astern (that is, if you never violate the Pythagorean maxim).

fate is not just whose cooking smells good, but which way the wind blows

I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect for others, and eventually thought neither of us knew it at the time, chess games... Come from the South, blow from the wind — poom! — North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be seen.

Softer than the flower, where kindness is concerned; stronger than the thunder, where principles are at stake.” There

weak are defeated by the strong in the world of Nature. A reed by the north wind, for instance. And silence by the forest.

The East Wind, an interloper in the dominions of Westerly weather, is an impassive-faced tyrant with a sharp poniard held behind his back for a treacherous stab.

Softer than the flower, where kindness is concerned; stronger than the thunder, where principles are at stake.