--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We join spokes together in a wheel, but…" description: "\"We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.\" — Laozi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/laozi-147_emptiness-inside_we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-i_3099174.jpg" --- # We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center… ![“We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.” quote by Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/laozi-147_emptiness-inside_we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-i_3099174.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/laozi-147_emptiness-inside_we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-i_3099174.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/laozi-147_emptiness-inside_we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-i_3099174.jpg) > “We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.” [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The central void gives purpose to the spokes; without it, motion lacks direction. **In simple terms:** The empty center is essential for movement. Key Takeaway Recognize the importance of the unseen core in any system. Themes purpose balance structure leadership Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - team dynamics - organizational design - creative projects - personal growth plans Key Concepts negative space centrality systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - What “center” in your life provides direction? - How do you honor both the core and its extensions? A Different Perspective Focusing only on the center may ignore the value of the spokes themselves. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness inside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-inside/) [Holes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holes/) [Makes Wagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-wagon-3378281/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Spokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spokes/) [Spokes Wheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spokes-wheel-2115990/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Wagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wagon/) [Wagons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wagons/) [Wheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheel/) [Wheel Center](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheel-center-5363280/) [Wheels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheels/) ## Related quotes > [“We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move. We shape clay into a pot,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-it-is-the-center-hole-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-charles/there-are-many-spokes-on-the-wheel-of-life-first-we-re-here-to/) [Ray Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-charles/) > [Little red wagon, little red bike, I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/little-red-wagon-little-red-bike-i-ain-t-no-monkey-but-i-know-what-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I had another idea of getting a traveling medicine wagon with a dropdown side and traveling around England. That might sound crazy to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/i-had-another-idea-of-getting-a-traveling-medicine-wagon-with-a/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [You can make one (self-contained self-rescuer) that would last all day, but you'd have to carry it behind in a wagon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-williams/you-can-make-one-self-contained-self-rescuer-that-would-last-all-day/) [Kenneth Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-williams/) > [I hitched my wagon to an electron rather than the proverbial star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sarnoff/i-hitched-my-wagon-to-an-electron-rather-than-the-proverbial-star/) [David Sarnoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sarnoff/) > [Dad could charm a dog off a meat wagon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/dad-could-charm-a-dog-off-a-meat-wagon/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [You don't have to reinvent the wheel, just attach it to a new wagon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mccormack/you-don-t-have-to-reinvent-the-wheel-just-attach-it-to-a-new-wagon/) [Mark McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mccormack/) > [I think the best advice I ever got about acting was from my dad, which was, 'If they don't buy the fish on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-shaye/i-think-the-best-advice-i-ever-got-about-acting-was-from-my-dad-which/) [Lin Shaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-shaye/) > [If you do not believe in co-operation, look what happens to a wagon that loses a wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/if-you-do-not-believe-in-co-operation-look-what-happens-to-a-wagon/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Wagon is the bread-earning horse of the Railways. Load it adequately. Make it run and don't stable it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalu-prasad-yadav/wagon-is-the-bread-earning-horse-of-the-railways-load-it-adequately/) [Lalu Prasad Yadav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalu-prasad-yadav/) > [My daddy used to say that I was too big to ride and too little to hitch a wagon - no good for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-blocker/my-daddy-used-to-say-that-i-was-too-big-to-ride-and-too-little-to/) [Dan Blocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-blocker/) > [A merry companion is as good as a wagon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/a-merry-companion-is-as-good-as-a-wagon/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [“Here's a wagon that's going a piece of the way. It will take you that far; backrolling now behind her a long monotonous succession…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/here-s-a-wagon-that-s-going-a-piece-of-the-way-it-will-take-you-that/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Take the regular wagon track and never leave it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clyman/take-the-regular-wagon-track-and-never-leave-it/) [James Clyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clyman/) ## More by Laozi > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In lightness the root is lost. In haste the ruler is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-lightness-the-root-is-lost-in-haste-the-ruler-is-lost/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-the-sage-wants-to-stand-above-people-he-must-speak-to-them-from/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Goodie-goodies are the thieves of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/goodie-goodies-are-the-thieves-of-virtue/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Way of the Sage is to act but not to compete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-way-of-the-sage-is-to-act-but-not-to-compete/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Do nondoing, strive for nonstriving, savor the flavorless, regard the small as important, make much of little, repay enmity with virtue; plan for difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-nondoing-strive-for-nonstriving-savor-the-flavorless-regard-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Without looking through the window, you can see Heaven's Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/without-looking-through-the-window-you-can-see-heaven-s-way/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What's the difference between beautiful and ugly?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-s-the-difference-between-beautiful-and-ugly/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In stillness the muddied water returns to clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-stillness-the-muddied-water-returns-to-clarity/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He (the sage) is good to those who are good. He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-the-sage-is-good-to-those-who-are-good-he-is-also-good-to-those/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-a-thing-inherent-and-natural-which-existed-before-heaven-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job? If you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-is-a-good-man-but-a-bad-man-s-teacher-what-is-a-bad-man-but-a/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) [Explore all 1,140 Laozi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More Emptiness inside quotes > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“All my life, I've been trying to fill an emptiness inside. But that emptiness...I've built myself around it. Filling it in would be like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-charlton/all-my-life-i-ve-been-trying-to-fill-an-emptiness-inside-but-that/) [Blake Charlton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-charlton/) > [I'm still trying to figure out how to tell you I was wrong. I can't fill the emptiness inside since you've been gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-still-trying-to-figure-out-how-to-tell-you-i-was-wrong-i-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Away I turned, from the ghosts that brought me to this place. From an insatiable desperation to be wanted and my urge to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-irwin/away-i-turned-from-the-ghosts-that-brought-me-to-this-place-from-an/) [Jennifer Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-irwin/) > [“pretend to feel emotions that they don’t actually feel, as well as pretend they don’t feel ones that they actually do. They often believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-parker/pretend-to-feel-emotions-that-they-don-t-actually-feel-as-well-as/) [Emily Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-parker/) > [As if to build a fence around the fatal emptiness inside her, she had to create a sunny person that she became. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/as-if-to-build-a-fence-around-the-fatal-emptiness-inside-her-she-had/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Like the stars that shine brightly in the night sky, you came shining into my life. There was so much emptiness inside me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/superman/like-the-stars-that-shine-brightly-in-the-night-sky-you-came-shining/) [Superman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/superman/) > [I can hear the emptiness inside my heart... As I turn away… with my back against u I cry the tears that no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/i-can-hear-the-emptiness-inside-my-heart-as-i-turn-away-with-my-back/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [Addiction beggins whith the hope that something 'out there' can instantly fill up the emptiness inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-kilbourne/addiction-beggins-whith-the-hope-that-something-out-there-can/) [Jean Kilbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-kilbourne/) > [“Love, our love, had been a shooting star, burning in the darkness, unseen until it got too close, too bright and too quick to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/love-our-love-had-been-a-shooting-star-burning-in-the-darkness-unseen/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [“It was a very special feeling to wake up in the morning, all alone in a flat, it was as though emptiness were not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/it-was-a-very-special-feeling-to-wake-up-in-the-morning-all-alone-in/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“Sometimes there are just too many words filling up space and not enough emptiness left for thinking. I keep a little emptiness inside for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/sometimes-there-are-just-too-many-words-filling-up-space-and-not/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [You try hard to hide, the emptiness inside, ooh I can tell I'm losing you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-temptations/you-try-hard-to-hide-the-emptiness-inside-ooh-i-can-tell-i-m-losing/) [The Temptations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-temptations/) > [“In 1988, a cave explorer named Véronique Le Guen volunteered for an extreme experiment: to live alone in an underground cavern in southern France…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique-le-guen-volunteered-for-an/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“Mary tells herself that if only she could have a child she could carry around like an extra lung, the emptiness inside her would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-szybist/mary-tells-herself-that-if-only-she-could-have-a-child-she-could/) [Mary Szybist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-szybist/) [Browse all 62 Emptiness inside quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-inside/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laozi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-it-is-the-center-hole-that-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emptiness inside" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-it-is-the-center-hole-that-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/laozi-147_emptiness-inside_we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-i_3099174.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/laozi-147_emptiness-inside_we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-i_3099174.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/laozi-147_emptiness-inside_we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-i_3099174.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.” — Laozi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Laozi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We join spokes together in a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-it-is-the-center-hole-that-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/we-join-spokes-together-in-a-wheel-but-it-is-the-center-hole-that-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```