Nine at the beginning means

Mighty in the forward-striding toes.

When one goes and is not equal to the task,

One makes a mistake.

In times of resolute advance, the beginning is especially difficult. We feel inspired to press forward but resistance is still strong; therefore we ought to gauge our own strength and venture only so far as we can go with certainty of success. To plunge blindly ahead is wrong, because it is precisely at the beginning that an unexpected setback can have the most disastrous results.