It means: Although the journey ahead is very long, as long as you keep going, you will reach your destination; everything is difficult at the beginning, but as long as you take practical actions, you will be successful. When it's ready.

Although the road is long, you will reach it if you go, and although it is difficult, you will succeed if you do it

From: "Xunzi·Cultivation of the Body"

Original text: However, the lame turtle leads In other words, there is no other reason why the six points are not achieved. It may be done for this reason, or it may not be done for you. Although the road is short, it cannot be accomplished if it is not done; although the matter is small, it cannot be accomplished if it is not done. He is a person who has a lot of free time, so he can go in and out not far.

Translation: However, the destination that the lame turtle can reach cannot be reached by the thousand-mile horse; this has no other reason, but the different principles of "doing" and "not doing". Even if the road is far away, it will definitely not be reached if you don’t walk it. No matter how small a thing is, it won't be completed if you don't do it. Most of the self-cultivation takes time to complete, and these are no different.

Extended information:

Appreciation

This article points out that it is not easy to cultivate oneself today. Regardless of whether a saint, a gentleman, or a scholar, to achieve a perfect state, he must Incessantly. A deep understanding of the true meaning of the law is the basis for self-cultivation. Only by acting in accordance with the law can the charm of self-cultivation be reflected.

Introduction to Xunzi

Xunzi (approximately 313 BC - 238 BC), named Kuang, courtesy name Qing, Han nationality. He avoided the taboo of Liu Xun, Emperor Xuan of the Western Han Dynasty. "The two characters have similar ancient pronunciation, so they are also called Sun Qing. A native of Zhao at the end of the Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States Period. A famous thinker, writer, politician, and one of the representatives of Confucianism, he was respectfully called "Xun Qing" by people at the time. He went out to the Jixia Academy of Qi State three times to offer wine sacrifices, and later became the order of Chu Lanling (today's Lanling, Shandong). Xunzi developed Confucianism and advocated the theory of evil nature, which is often compared with Mencius' theory of good nature. He made considerable contributions to the reconstruction of Confucian classics.