Economizing based on the model of ecosystems, oriented towards circularity, resource efficiency, sustainability, and future viability, is the goal of Industrial Ecology. It involves transitioning to regenerative material and energy sources, recycling and avoiding non-recyclable waste, and optimizing industrial plants, products, services, and value chains in terms of a qualitative and quantitative integration of material and energy flows into natural cycles. Practical steps to realize this vision require precise problem analyses, feasible solutions, and above all, the courage to change. Complex ecosystems and industrial systems are neither fully understandable nor can they be managed according to a plan. However, they can be influenced from within through self-organization principles, provided there is the necessary self-reflective humility.